Patty Murray, one of the most senior Democrats, beat back a surprisingly stiff challenge from Tiffany Smiley, a Republican and political newcomer.
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Senator Patty Murray is poised to become the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee.
Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, was elected on Tuesday to a sixth term, according to The Associated Press, overcoming a surprisingly stiff challenge from Tiffany Smiley, a Republican and political newcomer.
Ms. Murray, 72, who proudly dubbed herself a “mom in tennis shoes” during her initial run for the Senate in 1992 and turned it into a lasting campaign brand, will become the fourth most senior senator next year. She centered her latest campaign on three decades of legislative experience; on her leadership of the Senate health, education, labor and pensions committee, and on a pledge to codify national access to an abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Oh my God, thank you,” she said on Tuesday evening at a party in her state, surrounded by young children and relatives. She elicited cheers and applause after describing her campaign across Washington State, including running into a student she had taught as a preschool teacher.
“Voters in Washington showed up — thank you,” she said. She vowed to push to codify Roe v. Wade, an animating issue in the blue state.
Ms. Smiley, who was mounting her first run for public office after years as a nurse, veterans affairs advocate and caregiver, sought to weaponize Ms. Murray’s experience. Ms. Smiley branding herself a “new mom in town” who could bring change to both her state and Capitol Hill. Her story of fighting to support her husband, Scotty, after he was blinded by a suicide bomb attack in Iraq, also resonated with Republicans in the state. She was also a prolific fund-raiser.
But while she sought to distance herself from the right-wing positions of her party, Ms. Smiley rarely parted ways with Republicans. Early on in the campaign, she dodged questions about the legitimacy of President Biden’s election victory — though she later acknowledged it — and opposed abortion rights.
Democrats poured millions of dollars into advertising that targeting her as in lock-step with Republican extremists, while Ms. Murray ran a campaign aimed at galvanizing the deep blue cities and suburbs of her state.
Several high-profile surrogates, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Senator Elizabeth Warren, traveled to Washington State to rally core Democratic voters, as Election Day approached and Ms. Murray fretted that complacency would dampen turnout.
Having clinched a sixth term, Ms. Murray is poised to remain a senior member of Democratic leadership and become the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, the powerful committee that oversees federal spending.
Source: nytimes.com
