Rossi maintains lead; Gregoire holds out hope

[Freddie Stubbs]

By Ralph Thomas and Keith Ervin
Seattle Times staff reporters

OLYMPIA — Republican Dino Rossi yesterday inched closer to becoming Washington's next governor after another tally of absentee ballots increased his lead over Democratic Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

But with an estimated 85,000 ballots left to count — including a big stack of provisional ballots in King County — Gregoire could retake the lead.

While election officials continue tallying votes, the state's political parties are going to great lengths to get their candidate's votes counted and, in some cases, to question votes in counties where their candidate is losing.

Only tiny Whitman County plans to tally ballots today, but 21 are scheduled to count more votes tomorrow. The race might not be decided until Wednesday, when counties are required to certify the vote, and an automatic recount still is possible.

more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002087868_gov11m.html