Larsen survives scare by Koster in District 2 (Snohomish County, WA)

[gateley]

Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen is headed back to Congress for a sixth term after defeating his Republican rival, Snohomish County Councilman John Koster.

Larsen led Koster 51 percent to 49 percent in the state's 2nd District with more than 281,000 votes counted by Monday night, well outside the range for a mandatory recount.

Larsen trailed by about 1,200 votes Nov. 2 but has steadily gained ground against Koster, who had hoped to ride the national Republican tide that ousted dozens of incumbent Democrats and reclaimed a GOP majority in Congress. / snip

An upbeat Larsen, speaking from his campaign headquarters in Everett, said, "All year I've been telling my staff that the way to beat back a tide is to build a wall. We built a wall with hundreds of volunteers." / snip

Larsen's victory means only one Washington state congressional district changed party hands this election. Republican state Rep. Jaime Herrera defeated Democrat Denny Heck in the 3rd District in southwest Washington — a seat held by Democratic Rep. Brian Baird, who is retiring.

State Democrats now hold a 5-4 majority in House seats. / snip

Last week, with Koster falling behind, his campaign implied Democrats might try to steal the election. Stickney said Monday that some results still troubled the campaign, including San Juan County, where Larsen led with 66 percent of the vote. / snip

more: >>>> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2013380915_2nddistrict09m.html


This is GREAT news! Koster had backing from Palin. Oops. :evilgrin: