Washington State Senate Election

In this , Washington 's state senate election 2006 is discussed First , the pro about Washington is given including its demographic characteristics , political history , and any unique characteristic relevant to its politics . Then , the pros of each of the major candidates including their credentials and political experiences are discussed . An account of what happened in the race especially those that are relevant to its outcome is also given . Finally , an explanation on the outcome of the race is given that would help nonspecialists understand the race better

WASHINGTON THE STATE

Named

after the first President of the United States , Washington is located in the Pacific Northwest of the Unites States . It is bed by Canada in the north , Idaho in the east , Pacific Ocean in the west and Oregon in the south . It is the 18th largest of the 50 states of the America covering 71 ,303 square miles . It was originally called Columbia but the Congress said that it would be confused with the District of Columbia , so they named it Washington State distinguishing it from Washington DC . Its capital is Olympia

In 1770s , only white male property owners aged 21 years old and over have the right to vote . It was not until 1971 , that every Washington resident of at least 18 years old was given the right to vote . In 1983 special elections were allowed to be conducted by mail ballot ADDIN EN .CITE 151512A Tradition of Independence : 1971-now Changes in Voting2006November 18WashingtonWashington Secretary of Statehttp /www .secstate .wa .gov /ele ctions /timeline /time5 .htm "A Tradition of Independence : 1971-Now Changes in Voting In 1991 , any registered voter in Washington can apply for a status as an absentee voter

As of 2000 , the state 's population has reached almost 5 .9 million , 50 of which are male and 50 are female . Almost 4 .4 million of the residents are aged 18 years and above and therefore are eligible to vote . Almost 25 are senior citizens . As of 2002 , it has reached almost 6 million and as of 2005 , it has reached 6 .3 million which is an increase of almost 394 ,000 since the year 2000 . The six largest reported ancestries in the state include German (18 , English (12 Irish (11 .4 , Norwegian (6 .2 , Mexican (5 .6 ) and Filipino (3 .7 Most counties in the state have many residents of Scandinavian origin It has the fifth largest Asian population of any state , with the Filipino community being the largest ADDIN EN .CITE 2006111 112Washing ton State Demographics2006November 172006Washington Almanachttp /www .washingtonalmanac .org /Demographics_INDEX .htm "Washington State Demographics . Majority of the Washingtonians are Christian comprising 77 of the population . Of this 45 are Protestants and 22 are Roman Catholics . Twenty-seven percent of the population identify themselves as non-religious , the highest percentage of any state in the US

The state is said to be politically divided - the western being liberal and the eastern conservative . The Democratic Party usually gets more votes since population is larger in the west...