In approving R-71, Washington voted to protect all of its families equally, rejecting a No campaign that appealed to fear and bigotry. Voters responded positively to an incredible grassroots effort and a simple appeal to fairness. The Secretary of State and all the geeked-out models set up by the smart people we know say that last night's 51%-49% margin will continue to grow. 

Tim Eyman hit the ropes hard with a 55%-45% (and growing) smackdown for I-1033 -- his second consecutive landslide defeat. People looked at a future minus more than $8 billion in funding for education, healthcare and public services and just said No. I-1033 lost throughout Washington (58% No in Adams County). No word on how Eyman sugar daddy Mike Dunmire feels about the return on his investment in recent years. He typically bankrolls Eyman to the tune of $250k-$500k per initiative, weighing in at $300k on this one. 

King County voters chose a tested progressive champion --  Dow Constantine -- for King County Executive. They saw through conservative TV personality Susan Hutchison's lightweight resume and systematic efforts to hide her right wing values and party affiliation and recognized that running the 14th largest county in the nation requires substantive experience. Hutchison's early lead evaporated into a 14-point triumph for Dow. 

Tim Eyman's sidekick Mike Fagan ran for Spokane City Council, challenged by progressive Amber Waldref. Spokane voters served up another Eyman smackdown, with an overwhelming 63% choosing Waldref. Progressive Jon Snyder is also winning his race for a seat on the Spokane City Council.

Fuse volunteers gave tens of thousands of dollars, made thousands and thousands of phone calls and forwarded voting recommendations to tens of thousands of people to support progressive victories in this election. A huge THANK YOU to all of them.

We're not kidding when we say every vote counts. Progressive champion Dan McShane is currently winning his Whatcom County Council race by 630 votes. There are 462 votes separating Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan in the Seattle Mayor's race and 171 votes separating Marilyn Strickland and Jim Merritt in the Tacoma Mayor's race. All your efforts made a difference! 

It would be very ironic if Mallahan, heavily criticized for failing to vote in 13 elections since 2001, loses by a handful of votes. Susan Hutchison, who failed to vote in eight elections since 2001, lost big to perfect voter Dow Constantine.