Marcia McCraw, the Republican running for
lieutenant governor, isn’t your typical Washington State Republican.
This summer, the 54-year-old Ballard resident partied at both Sturgis
and Burning Man. She supports gay marriage and wants to legalize
marijuana. And she received a 100-percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice
Washington.
“To me, it is just a gut feeling of what is fair,” says McCraw, who
arrives at an interview wearing a crisp ivory pantsuit. “If a woman
wants to have an abortion, it should be available to her in a safe
manner, not in a back alley—that is ridiculous.”
So is McCraw really a Republican? You bet. She raised more than
$200,000 for Bush’s presidential reelection campaign in 2004. And this
year, she plans to vote for John McCain for president and Dino Rossi
for governor. McCraw says her party affiliation is grounded not in
social policy, but in her belief that Republicans would reduce business
taxes and better guard national security. A practicing Jew, she was
appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum Council; she says she was wowed by Bush’s pro-Israel rhetoric.
“A lot of Democrats don’t believe the reality of countries like Iran
making weapons and aiming them at us,” she says.
McCraw’s opponent, Democratic incumbent Brad Owen, is as at odds
with his party as McCraw is with hers. Owen, once widely considered one
of the most conservative members of the state senate, has used his
office as a launching pad to crusade against marijuana (including
medical marijuana), touring classrooms around the state with his
preachy rock band.
As Washington State’s lieutenant governor, Owen presides over the
state’s part-time senate—where Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles says he
has upset Democrats with rulings that favor conservatives—and his
duties also include standing by in case the real governor drops dead.
Given the minimal duties for the position, McCraw, who favors “smaller
government,” thinks the office’s expenses should be pared
down.
“Day one, I’d cut the car and driver,” McCraw says, referring to a
security detail and a driver provided by the Washington State Patrol.
“Unless I’m getting death threats, I wouldn’t need a… security
detail.” She would also reduce the office’s seven-person staff.
But while McCraw may appeal to some
Seattle progressives, her
chance of winning is almost nonexistent. A poll in September by Stuart Elway had Owen leading 47 to 19 percent, with 33 percent of
voters undecided. “[Owen] is way ahead and the tide is running
Democrat,” Elway says. 
I’m very disappointed in reading this article as the one comment attributed to me does not represent the whole of what I discussed with Dominic. Overall, Brad Owen has been outstanding in his presiding over the Senate sessions. I’ve had high regard for the fairness and courtesies he extends to all senators as well as his insistence on maintaining decorum. While he has on rare occasions issued rulings and voted to break a tie on amendments that seemed to have favored conservatives, for the most part he’s not been subject to charges of any bias.
Jeanne Kohl-Welles
State Senator, 36th Leg. District
If we had a lot more republicans like Ms. McCraw, A progressive like myself would register and vote repub. Unfortunately, she’s an anomaly in a party that has been highjacked by corporate and family value fascists.
Why don’t you vote anyway neo-realist? Sitting on your hands will change nothing. Apathy is ignorance in disguise.