T he two challengers running for the 45th District in the State House of Representatives gathered with supporters on Election Night and hoped for Republican victories — if not in their district, then at least in several statewide races or in the presidential election.
But it was not to be.
Surrounding a large TV screen at the Desert Fire Southwestern Grill in Redmond, a group of about 50 people joined the two Republican candidates, Toby Nixon and Kevin Haistings and waited for the results to come in. But the celebratory mood didn’t last long. Scheduled to run from 8 to 11 p.m., some of the party’s guests had barely arrived when they watched their party’s standard bearer, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) offer his concession speech. From a laptop computer in the corner of the room, Nixon began writing down the early tallies of state races on a large sheet of paper, which he taped on the far wall. Running since March, his race against Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) was thought to be close and became the second-most expensive House race in the State, according to the PDC. But as the returns came in, he trailed his opponent by 20 points and Haistings an even wider margin. Nearly all the Republicans were below 50 percent.
“It’s mostly the early absentee ballots received,” said Nixon. “The numbers will tighten.”
On the bright side, however, one of the two King County Charter Amendments he’d written statements for in county voter’s guides appeared to be passing.
Then Sen. Barack Obama’s victory speech was broadcast and the room again fell silent. While Haistings sat surrounded by his family, Nixon hovered near the TV and supporters, speaking in low tones and quietly shaking his head.
For a few moments, loud cheering and clapping began as updated numbers began to appear on a ticker at the bottom of the screen. The race for Governor between Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire appeared to be narrowing. But the cheer died down as Obama continued.
A grey-haired woman seated in the corner of the room, apparently frustrated by McCain’s concession, shouted, “Oh, just sit down and shut up.”
As soon as Obama’s speech concluded, the room once again hummed with chatter and activity as the candidates talked to and thanked their campaign, family and contributors.
A number of them shared their frustrations as the night seemed to indicate that Republicans wouldn’t fare well.
Kingsgate resident Scott St. Clair took the opportunity to satirize the president-elect.
“Now we’ll have four years of saying ‘Comrade Mr. President,’” he said.
Another supporter, Bill Dorsey, shared a similar view, equating Obama’s politics to Marxism.
“We’ll see real quick what his true colors are,” he said.
As the evening wound down, Haistings reflected on his first experience campaigning for elected office. The Seattle Police Sergeant said he wouldn’t soon forget some of his odd experiences canvassing neighborhoods for votes, watching out for his campaign signs and all the help he’d received from his friends and family.
“This would be a lot tougher if your friends and family didn’t support you,” he said.
