Maria Cantwell Cruises To Victory Over Susan Hutchison

SEATTLE, WA - U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell maintained her very wide lead over Republican challenger Susan Hutchison in new vote totals released Wednesday. With over 2 million votes counted, Cantwell had an 18-point lead over Hutchison.

Unseating Cantwell has been an uphill battle for Hutchison. The two candidates sparred in two debates, but other high-profile races in Washington have attracted more attention (and more money).

Hutchison is the former chair of the state GOP, a position she stepped down from in January. The November before that, state Republicans lost control of the 45th District state Senate seat to Democrat Manka Dhingra. That race made national news, seen as a predictor of Democrat enthusiasm heading into the 2018 midterms.

As state GOP chair, Hutchison helped elect Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for president in 2016 as a delegate. Later in 2016, she appeared to condone Trump's "grab 'em by the p--sy" comment. She said that Trumps was simply "channeling Bill Clinton," and highlighted that Trump was a registered Democrat when he made those comments.

Here's where Cantwell and Hutchison stood as of Tuesday night:

• Susan Hutchison (R) 725,302 votes, 41.39%
• Maria Cantwell (D) 1,144,520 votes, 58.61%

Hutchison officially entered the U.S. Senate race in May. She was one of 28 candidates from all different political backgrounds who challenged Cantwell in the August primary. One of those candidates was Joey Gibson, the leader of the Portland-based, Proud Boy-affiliated right-wing group Patriot Prayer.

Puget Sound voters probably know Hutchison better for her decades-long career as an anchor for KIRO 7. She ran for King County Executive in 2009 (and lost), but has not otherwise held office.

But Washington probably isn't ready for a Republican Senator, especially one who likes Trump. Trump only got about 38 percent of the vote in 2016 compared to 54 percent for Hillary Clinton. An Oct. 16 Crosscut/Elway poll found Cantwell way ahead of Hutchison, 53-39. In May, a Public Policy Polling poll found almost the same, with Cantwell ahead 52-36.

The Hutchison-Cantwell race was also overshadowed by some other big local elections, like the race in WA-8 to replace Dave Reichert, or the carbon tax ballot initiative.

Money was tight for Hutchison during the race. She raised just $1.5 million to Cantwell's over $11.5 million (both figures through Oct. 17).

The candidates met for two debates before the election - one at Pacific Lutheran University, the other at Spokane Community College, although Hutchison had asked for 10 debates. At the PLU debate, held in early October right after the Brett Kavanaugh affair, Hutchison appeared to echo Trump's talking points.

"We don’t want to be ruled by the mob," Hutchison said during the debate. Trump has been using the tagline, "jobs not mobs" in reference to progressive protest marches.

Hutchison ran, in part, on the Kavanaugh issue. On her campaign website, she asks voters to pick her because she'll back Trump's Supreme Court nominees.

"The unsuccessful strategy of Cantwell and the Senate Democrats - delay, obstruct, and resist – damaged lives and the reputations of two American institutions: the Senate and the Supreme Court. It underscores the need for a larger Republican majority in the Senate. I WILL vote in support of Supreme Court nominees whose record shows they will uphold the Constitution, interpret it as written, and respect the separation of powers by not legislating from the bench," a section of her website called "18 Reasons" reads.

Like most other Democrats, Cantwell focused her message on health care. More precisely, pointing out that Republicans will take away health benefits if they are allowed to control both chambers of Congress.

"Republicans voted to weaken coverage of essential health benefits, including: ambulatory patient services (outpatient services), emergency services, hospital visits, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, prescription drugs, rehabilitative and [re]habilitative services and devices, laboratory tests, preventive and wellness services, chronic disease management, and dentist visits for kids," Cantwell's campaign site reads.

Cantwell first won the junior U.S. Senate seat in 2000, beating incumbent Republican Slade Gorton. Before that, she served in Congress in the 1st Congressional District, and in the state House.

No Republican challenger has ever earned more than 40 percent of the vote against Cantwell. Hutchison likely won't break that barrier either, if returns continue their current trend.

File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch