Dino Rossi | |
---|---|
Member of the Washington State Senate | |
In office December 5, 2016 –November 29, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Andy Hill |
Succeeded by | Manka Dhingra |
Constituency | 45th district |
In office July 10,2012 –November 30,2012 | |
Preceded by | Cheryl Pflug |
Succeeded by | Mark Mullet |
Constituency | 5th district |
In office January 13,1997 –December 4,2003 | |
Preceded by | Kathleen Drew |
Succeeded by | Cheryl Pflug |
Constituency | 5th district |
Personal details | |
Born | Dino John Rossi October 15,1959 Seattle,Washington,U.S. |
Nationality |
|
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Terry Rossi |
Children | 4 |
Education | Seattle University (BA) |
Dino John Rossi (born October 15, 1959) is an American businessman and politician who served as a Washington State Senator thrice, from 1997 to 2003, in 2012, and again from 2016 to 2017. A Republican, he is a former chair of the Washington State Special Olympics.
Originally from Seattle, Rossi graduated from Seattle University and later pursued a career in commercial real estate. He ran for Governor of Washington in 2004, losing to Democrat Christine Gregoire by just 129 votes in the closest gubernatorial election in Washington state history. Four years later, in 2008, he contested the office a second time, losing to Gregoire by more than six points. He was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 2010, losing to incumbent Democrat Patty Murray by 4.72%.
Rossi returned to the Washington State Senate, being appointed in 2012 and again from 2016 to 2017. He was the runner-up for the United States House of Representatives for the eighth congressional district in 2018, losing to Democrat Kim Schrier by 4.8%.
Rossi was the youngest of seven children brought up by his mother Eve, a beautician of Irish and Tlingit ancestry, and his father John Rossi, an Italian-American Seattle Public Schools teacher at Viewlands Elementary in North Seattle. [1] Rossi was raised in Mountlake Terrace, graduated from Woodway High School in Edmonds, and earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Seattle University in 1982. [2]
After college, Rossi began in the commercial real estate business, [3] working for Melvin G. Heide at Capretto & Clark. Rossi followed Heide to two more firms as Heide was being investigated for fraud and false statements; Heide later pleaded guilty. [4] [5] Rossi later became a commercial real estate salesman, managing and owning real estate. [6] Rossi was formerly an owner of the Everett Aquasox minor league baseball team. [7] He is co-founder of the Bellevue, Washington-based Eastside Commercial Bank. [8]
In 1992, Rossi ran for a Washington State Senate seat in a district representing suburbs east of Seattle, in the Cascade foothills. After winning a divisive Republican Party primary, he lost the general election. In 1996, Rossi ran again for the state senate and was elected.
Rossi served in the Washington State Senate from 1997 until December 2003, when he resigned to spend full-time running for the governorship. [9] During his time as a senator, he gained a reputation for being a political consensus builder. [10]
When the Senate Republicans gained the majority in 2002, Rossi became chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee that writes the state's two year operating budget. As Ways and Means chairman, Rossi helped to carry out Democratic governor Gary Locke's plans to close a $2.7 billion budget deficit. [11] [12] The budget chief for Democratic governor Gary Locke said of Rossi in 2003, "The really good legislators move from one side to the other really effortlessly, and I think Dino did that." [10] The Republican modifications to Locke's budget plan which Rossi oversaw included reaching a balanced budget by cutting the number of children eligible for Medicaid, cutting prenatal care for undocumented immigrants, cutting raises for state employees and increased tuition at colleges and universities. [12] [13] Said former governor Locke, “For years, I have simply laughed when Dino Rossi took credit for devising a no-tax-increase budget for the 2003-2005 cycle while protecting vulnerable populations." [14]
In 1998, he co-sponsored the Mary Johnsen Act, [15] to require ignition interlock devices for certain convicted drunk drivers in the state of Washington. He also sponsored the Dane Rempfer bill [16] which boosted penalties for those who left the scene of a fatal accident, named after a 15-year-old boy from his district who was killed in a hit-and-run.
Rossi decided to run in November 2003, [17] but was already facing an uphill battle in terms of money raised, low name identification with voters and trends established by the two prior GOP candidates for governor. The sitting Washington State Attorney General and Rossi's eventual opponent in the general election, Democrat Christine Gregoire, had already raised $1.15 million by December, only weeks after Rossi officially kicked off his campaign.[ citation needed ] Furthermore, the previous two GOP candidates for governor had lost their campaign bids by 16% and 18.7% in 1996 and 2000. [18]
In the November 2 election, over 2.8 million votes were cast for governor. After the initial vote count, Rossi led Gregoire by 261 votes. [19]
Washington State law required a recount because of the small margin. After the second count, Rossi again led, but by a smaller margin of 42 votes. After a third count, done by hand, Gregoire took a 129-vote lead (expanded to a 133-vote lead after Justice Bridges' decision threw out 4 votes for Rossi). [20]
King County's election department was sued by the Rossi campaign for its handling of ballots, including untracked use of a "ballot-on-demand" printing machine. [21] Even before the election date, the U.S. Department of Justice threatened to sue Washington State for failing to mail military ballots overseas, generally assumed to be Republican votes. [22]
Republican leaders in Washington claimed there were enough disputed votes to change the outcome of the election and sued. On May 25, 2005, the judge hearing the lawsuit ruled that the Party did not provide enough evidence that the disputed votes were ineligible, or for whom they were cast, to enable the court to overturn the election. [23] Rossi did not appeal to the state Supreme Court. [24]
The election is notable as the closest gubernatorial race in the history of the United States and was the subject of the Trova Heffernan book An Election for the Ages. [25]
After the election and the ensuing court battle, Rossi returned to his work in real estate and wrote a book, Dino Rossi: Lessons in Leadership, Business, Politics and Life. [26] [27] Along with former Seattle Mariner baseball star Jay Buhner, he also purchased a minority share in the Seattle Mariners' single A minor league baseball team, the Everett Aquasox. [28] Rossi also established Forward Washington Foundation, a 501(c)(4) non-profit lobbying entity dedicated to promoting changes to Washington's small business climate. [29]
In 2007, the Washington State Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Washington Public Disclosure Committee (PDC) asserting that the Forward Washington Foundation was too similar to a campaign to be exempt from campaign finance laws. [30] Prior to her party's formal complaint, Gregoire stated to donors that she was "campaigning aggressively". [31] The PDC dismissed in totality the allegations made by the Washington State Democrats, deeming each accusatory claim as "insufficient" and stating that the organization was indeed acting consistent with its mission statement, making it "a social welfare organization (...) and not a political committee". [32]
On October 25, 2007, Dino Rossi announced his intention to seek the office of Governor of Washington in 2008. Rossi's campaign was centered on many of the same issues he ran under in the 2004 election, namely controlling the spending of the state's legislature, tax cuts, and improving the business environment within the state. [33] He was endorsed by The Seattle Times . [34]
On October 7, a lawsuit was filed against the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW), for allegedly coordinating fundraising activities with Rossi in violation of Washington's public finance laws. Rossi's campaign spokeswoman dismissed the suit as a desperate attempt by Gregoire's supporters to win an election through frivolous legal maneuvering, a claim that was denied by the lawyer that filed the suit. [35] In 2010 the lawsuit was dismissed "with prejudice". [36]
Dino Rossi was defeated by Governor Christine Gregoire in the 2008 election and formally conceded at noon on November 5, 2008. [37] Her margin of victory was 53% to 47%. [38]
Following his defeat in the 2008 gubernatorial election, Rossi "unplugged from almost everything political" and became a principal at Coast Equity Partners, a commercial real estate firm in Everett, Washington. Rossi's role at the firm was to find investors for income producing properties in Washington and four other Western U.S. states. [39]
In early 2010, Washington State Republicans began courting various conservatives to challenge incumbent senator Patty Murray in a year that was seen by many as a vulnerable year for Democratic candidates. On May 26, 2010, Dino Rossi officially announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. [40] In the blanket primary, Rossi defeated Tea Party favorite Clint Didier 34% to 12%. Rossi went on to lose the general Election on November 4, after two days' worth of ballot counting indicated that he would not have enough votes to defeat Sen. Murray. In the final tally Murray received 1,314,930 votes (52.1%) to Rossi's 1,196,164 (47.4%).
On July 10, 2012, Rossi was appointed to fill the term of Senator Cheryl Pflug. [41] Rossi left office in November 2012, when Mark Mullet was sworn in. [42]
After 2012 redistricting and the 2016 death of State Senator Andy Hill, Dino Rossi was appointed to the 45th District State Senate Seat. The Republican Party chose him over Kirkland City Councilman Toby Nixon and Joel Hussey from the King County Council. [43] Democrat Manka Dhingra defeated Republican Jinyoung Englund to take the seat in the November 7, 2017 special election. [44]
On September 19, 2017, Rossi announced that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 8th Congressional District. [45] The seat was held by Dave Reichert, who had decided not to run for reelection. [46] [47] Rossi advanced out of the top-two primary to face Democrat Kim Schrier in the general election, which he lost, getting 47.6%. [48]
Rossi is married, with four children, and lives in Sammamish, Washington. [49] He identifies as a faithful Catholic. [50]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kathleen Drew | 8,598 | 36.21 | |
Republican | Dino Rossi | 6,563 | 24.64 | |
Republican | Dick Welsh | 3,215 | 13.54 | |
Republican | Bob Brady | 2,788 | 11.74 | |
Republican | Gwenn Escher | 2,581 | 10.87 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kathleen Drew | 26,042 | 52.10 | |
Republican | Dino Rossi | 23,942 | 47.90 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kathleen Drew | 10,331 | 40.16 | |
Republican | Dino J. Rossi | 8,291 | 32.33 | |
Republican | Dave Irons | 7,100 | 27.60 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Dino Rossi | 28,286 | 53.20 | |
Democratic | Kathleen Drew | 24,882 | 46.80 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Dino Rossi | 20,318 | 77.93 | |
Democratic | Azziem Hassan Underwood | 5,754 | 22.07 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Dino Rossi | 40,460 | 69.58 | |
Democratic | Azziem Hassan Underwood | 17,686 | 30.42 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Christine Gregoire | 1,373,361 | 48.8730 | |
Republican | Dino Rossi | 1,373,232 | 48.8717 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Christine Gregoire | 1,598,738 | 53.24 | |
Republican | Dino Rossi | 1,404,124 | 46.76 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Patty Murray (Incumbent) | 670,284 | 46.22 | |
Republican | Dino Rossi | 483,305 | 33.33 | |
Republican | Clint Didier | 185,034 | 12.76 | |
Republican | Paul Akers | 37,231 | 2.57 | |
N/A | Others | 74,272 | 5.12 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Patty Murray | 1,314,930 | 52.36 | |
Republican | Dino Rossi | 1,196,164 | 47.64 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Dino Rossi [a] | 73,288 | 43.1 | |
Democratic | Kim Schrier | 31,837 | 18.7 | |
Democratic | Jason Rittereiser | 30,708 | 18.1 | |
Democratic | Shannon Hader | 21,317 | 12.5 | |
Republican | Jack Hughes-Hageman | 4,270 | 2.5 | |
Republican | Gordon Allen Pross | 2,081 | 1.2 | |
Democratic | Tom Cramer | 1,468 | 0.9 | |
Independent | Bill Grassie [b] | 1,163 | 0.7 | |
Libertarian | Richard Travis Reyes | 1,154 | 0.7 | |
Independent | Keith Arnold | 1,090 | 0.6 | |
Independent | Patrick Dillon [c] | 898 | 0.5 | |
No party preference | Todd Mahaffey | 673 | 0.4 | |
Total votes | 169,947 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kim Schrier | 164,089 | 52.42 | |
Republican | Dino Rossi | 148,968 | 47.58 |
Patricia Lynn Murray is an American politician and president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2023 and the senior United States Senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray served in the Washington State Senate from 1989 to 1993. She was Washington's first female U.S. senator and is the first woman in American history to hold the position of president pro tempore. Murray is also the youngest senator to occupy the office of president pro tempore in more than five decades. As president pro tempore, Murray is third in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
The 2004 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2004. The race gained national attention for its legal twists and extremely close finish, among the closest political races in United States election history. Republican Dino Rossi was declared the winner in the initial automated count and again in a subsequent automated recount, but after a second recount done by hand, Democrat Christine Gregoire took the lead by a margin of 129 votes.
Christine Gregoire is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the state’s second female governor, and the state’s first female Attorney General. Gregoire chaired the National Governors Association for the 2010–2011 term. She also served on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Since the death of Daniel Evans in 2024, Gregoire is the oldest living former governor of Washington.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 2004, in 11 states and two territories. There was no net gain in seats for either party, as Democrats picked up an open seat in Montana while defeating incumbent Craig Benson in New Hampshire, while Republicans defeated incumbent Joe Kernan in Indiana and won Missouri after Bob Holden lost in the primary. These elections coincided with the presidential election.
During the 2004 United States elections, there was controversy around various aspects of the voting process, including whether voting had been made accessible to all those entitled to vote, whether ineligible voters were registered, whether voters were registered multiple times, and whether the votes cast had been correctly counted.
Christopher M. Vance is an American politician who served two terms on the Metropolitan King County Council and is a former member of the Washington State Legislature. Vance is former chair of the Washington State Republican Party. He and his wife Ann raised their son and daughter in Auburn, Washington and now live in Sumner, Washington. Vance ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, losing to Democratic incumbent Patty Murray in the 2016 election by 18 percentage points.
The 2006 United States Senate election in Washington was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell won reelection to a second term.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 4, 2008, in 11 states and two territories. Prior to the election, eight of the total seats were held by Democrats and five by Republicans. Two governors were prohibited by term limits from seeking re-election in 2008. The only governorship to change party was the open seat in Missouri, which was won by a Democrat after being previously held by a Republican.
The 2008 gubernatorial election in Washington was held on November 4, 2008. Republican Dino Rossi and incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire emerged from the August 19 primary. This made the 2008 election a rematch between the candidates from the 2004 election, the closest gubernatorial election in the state's history. In contrast to the recounts and months of legal challenges in their previous contest, Gregoire was the clear winner on November 5 with about 53% of the vote. With a margin of 6.48%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2008 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in North Carolina.
The Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) is the state affiliate of the national United States Republican Party, headquartered in Bellevue.
Washington's 8th congressional district is a district for the United States House of Representatives located in western Washington State. It includes the eastern portions of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, and crosses the Cascade mountains to include Chelan and Kittitas counties. The district's western part includes the exurban communities of Sammamish, Issaquah, and Maple Valley but does not include Seattle and Tacoma's more immediate suburbs. On its east side, the 8th's population centers include the rural communities Wenatchee, Leavenworth, and Ellensburg. It is currently represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Democrat Kim Schrier, who was first elected to the seat in 2018.
A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan elections, which are segregated by political party. This is a two-round system.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Washington took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 2, 2010, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democrat Senator Patty Murray won re-election to a fourth term by a margin of 52.4% – 47.6% over Republican Dino Rossi, who had run for governor in 2004 and 2008. This was the last U.S. Senate election in Washington where the margin of victory was single digits.
Elections were held in Washington on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Primary elections were held on August 17, 2010.
The 2012 Washington State Senate elections took place on November 6, 2012. Twenty-five of Washington's forty-nine state senators were elected. Each state legislative district has one senator elected to a four-year term, but state senate elections alternate so that about half of the senators are elected in presidential election years and the other half are elected in non-presidential even numbered election years. A top two primary election on August 7, 2012 determined which candidates appear on the November ballot. Candidates were allowed to self-declare a party preference.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Washington was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Washington. Incumbent Democratic Senator Patty Murray ran for re-election to a fifth term, and won by a significant margin, winning 59% of the vote, to Republican Chris Vance's 41%.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the 10 U.S. representatives from the state of Washington, one from each of the state's 10 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. All nine incumbents seeking re-election were re-elected, however the Democratic Party won the open-seat in the 8th District previously held by a Republican, improving from a 6–4 margin to a 7–3 margin.
A special election was held on November 7, 2017, to fill the vacant seat in the Washington State Senate representing the 45th district. The seat was left vacant after the death of incumbent Andy Hill in October 2016. Dino Rossi, a former candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 and for governor in 2004 and 2008, was appointed to fill the seat until the election. He announced that he would not run for the seat. The election was then contested between Manka Dhingra of the Democratic Party and Jinyoung Lee Englund of the Republican Party, who advanced as the top two finishers in the August primary. Dhingra won the election by more than ten percent, giving the Democratic caucus a 25–24 majority for the 2018 session.
Kimberly Merle Schrier is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from Washington's 8th congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party.