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Washington state voters have rolled back new taxes on candy, gum, pop, bottled water and some processed foods.
Washington voters have rejected a state income tax on its top 1 percent of earners that supporters said would have raised billions for key education and health programs.
Democrats gained more breathing room in the Senate with the victory of Washington U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, whose fourth term was secured after a three-day vote count.
A seemingly dry topic that actually generates some of the most heated political battles in Washington state is on the ballot for voters this year: workers' compensation insurance.
Washington's unemployment rate held steady at 9 percent last month as the state lost about 3,200 jobs, officials said Tuesday.
The state that produced America's richest man has never taken a cut of its residents' income. Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and his father would like to change that.
The state that produced America's richest man has never taken a cut of its residents' income. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his father would like to change that.
Patty Murray was stuck. Down in the polls for months and facing a well-known Republican challenger, the three-term Democrat was finding a difficult market for her hard-working-senator sales pitch.
All bets are off at Betcha.com, a Seattle-based online bookmaker that couldn't skirt the state's gambling laws by making it optional for losing bettors to pay off wagers.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington will face Republican challenger Dino Rossi in November.
Veteran Sens. John McCain and Lisa Murkowski counted on voters to reward political experience Tuesday as they faced spirited Republican primary challenges in Arizona and Alaska 10 weeks before the general election. Florida weighed the merits of wealthy outsiders vs. establishment candidates in primaries there.
Delivering dollars for Washington state is a point of pride for Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, whose efforts have helped her comfortably win re-election twice. Republicans insist that this November, it will be her downfall.
A campaign to end the state's monopoly on workers' compensation insurance appears to have enough support to qualify for the November ballot, adding to a busy initiative season in Washington politics.
Fed up with the established political parties? In Washington state, so are some of the candidates.
Four governors and a leading national economist urged Congress on Wednesday to send an additional $24 billion bailout to the states, saying cash-strapped governments face deep budget cuts and thousands of lost jobs without the aid.
Democrats stepped up their pre-emptive campaign against potential Republican Senate candidate Dino Rossi on Thursday, alleging that $20,000 in delinquent property taxes owed by his business partners show poor ethical standards on his part.
Calling it a "sensible and modest" solution to Washington's historic budget crisis, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday approved a revenue package that nets roughly $780 million to avoid deeper cuts in education, health care and human services.
Hoping to tap a populist surge following the Great Recession and corporate bailouts, liberal activists want to implement an income tax aimed exclusively at Washington state's wealthier residents — couples pulling in $400,000 or more annually.
Voters could see an initiative this year to break up the state government monopoly on liquor sales, although it's not clear who is behind the campaign or whether it has enough steam to make the fall ballot.
Hold on to your six-packs: Democratic lawmakers are considering a tax increase on mass-market beer, betting that suds drinkers won't mind paying a little more to bail out a busted state budget.
A politically active construction-industry group wants voters to decide whether Washington's workers' compensation system should face private competition, a move bitterly opposed by organized labor and top Democratic lawmakers.
Voters would decide whether to launch a statewide package of energy-efficient school makeovers under a bill approved Wednesday by the state House.
Washington's Legislature got a head start on its cost-cutting chores Tuesday, discussing bills that would close state offices once a month, extend a wage freeze for nonunion workers and trim about 175 full-time government jobs.
Handing the state's fiscal woes to the Legislature, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed a new budget-balancing plan that would cut nearly $1 billion in spending and rescue some $780 million in government programs.
Gov. Chris Gregoire won't suggest a full roster of tax hikes to pay for the programs she wants rescued from the state's $2.6 billion budget deficit, deferring instead to the Legislature while state officials wait for word of another federal bailout.
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