WA-Gov: Christine Gregoire on short list to replace Elena Kagan

Carla Axtman

I cut my early blogging teeth writing about the 2004 Washington Gubernatorial race between Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi. Mostly, I wrote about the stuff that happened after the election which was very close (see the links above to learn more). Because of my early interest in that race, I generally take note of major happenings with those two.

So today, when this National Journal Hotline story popped up, my ears perked:

WA Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) leads a short list to replace Solicitor General Elena Kagan, the WH has told members of Gregoire's home-state delegation.

Gregoire, a 2-term incumbent and a former WA AG, has been a rumored contender for other admin positions. But the WH has informed top aides to WA members that she is under serious consideration, according to several sources inside the delegation.

An admin official confirmed Gregoire's name is one of those being considered. Gregoire endorsed candidate Obama just before the WA caucuses in '08, offering a helping hand as Obama picked up two-thirds of the state's delegates.

If Gregoire is selected to replace Kagan as Solicitor General, this sends quite a few electoral dominoes cascading around Washington State. Gregoire's former electoral nemesis, Dino Rossi, has been widely discussed as the lead Republican candidate to run against Senator Patty Murray. So presumably Rossi's already busy gearing up to take on the Mom in Tennis Shoes.

However, Hotline puts Rossi on the list to run for the seat, should Gregoire move on. But apparently the guy to worry about is Attorney General Rob McKenna, who recently decided it was in the state's best interest to waste huge amounts of taxpayer dollars to fight healthcare reform.

In the meantime, conservative Democrat Brad Owen (ewww) would take the reins.

If you enjoy a little political theater with your lunch (like I do), this could be fun to watch.

By Carla Axtman May 12, 2010