Embattled Seattle Republicans Hoping for a Comeback

Deborah Wang
12/17/2008

The City of Seattle is living up to its reputation as a democratic stronghold. This past November, just 14% of Seattle voters cast ballots for Republican candidate John McCain. 84% voted for Barack Obama. That's from data recently released by King County Elections. The city has long been in the Democratic camp, and it hasn't elected a Republican to the Legislature since the 1970's. So what's it like to be a Republican among so many Democrats? KUOW's Deborah Wang asks the question.

THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT THE TYPICAL PATRONS OF THIS BALLARD SPORTS BAR...

MOST OF THE PEOPLE HERE ARE WATCHING MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, BUT THESE GUYS ARE HUDDLED AROUND TABLES TALKING POLITICS....REPUBLICAN POLITICS.

CONVERSATION: "I supported Fred Thompson in the primaries. Amen brother! Heck of a good guy! Yeah!"

THIS IS HAPPY HOUR FOR THE KING COUNTY YOUNG REPUBLICANS. ONCE A MONTH, THEY MEET AT A DIFFERENT BAR OR RESTAURANT IN SEATTLE. IT'S A SMALL, TIGHTLY KNIT GROUP, AND IT USUALLY NUMBERS A DOZEN OR SO PEOPLE. MARK GRISWOLD IS ONE OF THE REGULARS.

GRISWOLD: "You know when you go overseas and you go to a country where you don't speak the language, and you're walking down the street and then all of a sudden you see someone, I mean, and you say oh my god, hey we're both American! And it's like that in Seattle, you say, your Republicans I'm Republican, hey! We're both Republicans! Alright!"

REPUBLICANS ARE A SHRINKING MINORITY IN THE CITY. BUT IN ANY GIVEN ELECTION, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES CAN PULL IN 15-20 PERCENT OF THE VOTE. THAT'S POTENTIALLY 75,000 PEOPLE. GRISWOLD SAYS THAT FACT IS LOST ON MANY DEMOCRATS.

GRISWOLD: "I was riding in an elevator last week, the day after the election and this lady turned to me and said, aren't you just so happy about this election, and I turned and said no ma'am, I'm not happy, and not everyone in Seattle believes the way you do."

NOW, IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHERE ALL OF THOSE REPUBLICANS ARE, IT COULD BE THAT THEY JUST DON'T ADVERTISE. MANY REPUBLICANS I SPOKE WITH SAY SEATTLE IS NOT A FRIENDLY PLACE FOR CONSERVATIVES.

ROSS MARZOLF LIVES IN THE HEART OF SEATTLE'S CENTRAL DISTRICT. HE'S A CHIC DRESSER, AND HE WEARS LOTS OF BLACK, COOL GLASSES, AND SLIGHTLY SPIKED HAIR. MARZOLF SAYS PEOPLE ASSUME BY THE WAY HE LOOKS THAT HE'S A LIBERAL.

MARZOLF: "I get that a lot, oh you don't look like a Republican. Hmm. I didn't know we looked a certain way."

MARZOLF IS A REPUBLICAN PARTY ACTIVIST, THE CHAIR OF THE 37TH DISTRICT REPUBLICANS. HE SAYS IT'S ALWAYS BEEN TOUGH TO BE A REPUBLICAN IN THE CITY, BUT IN RECENT YEARS, IT'S GOTTEN WORSE.

MARZOLF: "On Election Day, I was driving some people to the polls, and some folks drove by me in a car and saw that I had a 'No Obama' bumper sticker, and they slowed down, and pulled to the other side, and when I went by they rolled down their window and spit at me."

AND IT'S NOT JUST A FEW PEOPLE, REPUBLICANS SAY IT'S AN ENTIRE POLITICAL CULTURE. PHIL BEVIS IS A REPUBLICAN ACTIVIST WHO OWNS ARUNDEL BOOKS DOWNTOWN.

BEVIS: "It's a city that celebrates diversity and tolerance in every aspect of life except one, and that is political affiliation, they are very affirming of every point of view as long as it's theirs."

BUT THERE WAS A TIME IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT PAST WHEN SEATTLE WAS POLITICALLY DIVERSE.

DAN EVANS IS A REPUBLICAN. HE'S THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAS SERVED THREE CONSECUTIVE TERMS AS GOVERNOR OF THE STATE.

EVANS BEGAN HIS POLITICAL CAREER BACK IN THE '60'S. HE WAS A STATE REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE 43RD DISTRICT. THAT'S NOW A DEMOCRATIC STRONGHOLD.

EVANS SAYS EVEN AS THE STATE BECAME MORE DEMOCRATIC, SOME REPUBLICANS CONTINUED TO WIN SEATTLE VOTES.

EVANS: "When I ran for a third term against Al Rossellini I carried my 43rd district by about 75 percent of the vote, and George McGovern beat Richard Nixon in that same district."

EVANS THINKS SEATTLE IS NOT A LOST CAUSE. HE THINKS IN THE RIGHT YEAR, AND WITH THE RIGHT CANDIDATE AGAINST THE RIGHT INCUMBENT, REPUBLICANS COULD WIN SEATS IN THE CITY. THE PROBLEM, HE SAYS, IS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS MOVED TOO FAR TO THE RIGHT, WHICH DOESN'T FLY IN SEATTLE.

EVANS: "I don't think the Republican Party, organized Republican Party has done a very good job at selecting candidates. They want them to be more pure in terms of the litmus test of their view of Republicanism instead of picking candidates that fit the district from which they run."

THERE ARE THOSE WHO DISAGREE WITH EVANS, AND THE DEBATE IS NOW RAGING. HOW DOES THE PARTY REGAIN ITS FOOTING AFTER THE MOST RECENT DEMOCRATIC WAVE?

THAT'S WHAT MARK GRISWOLD AND THE YOUNG REPUBLICANS IN BALLARD ARE TALKING ABOUT.

CONVERSATION: "That's what we need to do as Republicans we need to start grooming a rock star. No. You know what I mean, we would be giving up our principles no we hold our principles. No we hold our principles. A perfect example, Rob McKenna our Attorney General here, that guy is a rock star. We got one! He knows how to go out there...one GOP guy made it!"

BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING REPUBLICANS NEED, SAYS GRISWOLD, IS TO STOP BEING QUIET IN PLACES WHERE THEY ARE OUTNUMBERED... PLACES LIKE....SEATTLE.

GRISWOLD: "And that's the thing, we need to get out there and say we are Republicans, we're proud to be Republicans and we are not going to stay silent."

AND FOR PARTY ACTIVIST ROSS MARZOLF, THE DEMOCRATIC VICTORY IN 2008 MAKES IT EVEN MORE ESSENTIAL THAT REPUBLICANS STICK TO THEIR CORE VALUES... WHICH HE SAYS ARE SMALLER GOVERNMENT, AND LOWER TAXES.

MARZOLF: "One party rule always leads to bad things, excesses in government, absolute power you know corrupts, and so even if our job is to be the loyal minority that stands up and protests about things and maybe has some successes by pointing out things that other people have missed, it's a valued role."

AND JUST BECAUSE SEATTLE VOTES IS OVERWHELMINGLY DEMOCRATIC TODAY, REPUBLICANS TAKE THE LONG VIEW. ANYTHING CAN CHANGE IN FOUR YEARS.

I'M DEBORAH WANG, KUOW NEWS.

© Copyright 2008, KUOW

Editor's Note: Transcript has been edited and differs from the braodcast version. (12/22/2008)