Howard Dean on Darcy Burner

"Howard Dean believes she can help the Democrats take Washington State's 8th Congressional District and the U.S. Congress—with your help.

In his speech, Dean dropped Burner’s name more often than any other Democratic candidate running in Washington State this year. That’s an unusually high- level plug for a 35-year-old woman who’s never held elected office. But it makes sense: Dean is hoping to turn this year’s widespread voter discontent into a Democratic takeover of both the House and Senate in November. While the 2004 presidential election was about the swing state, this fall’s congressional elections will be all about the swing district, and Burner, a former Microsoft executive, is running in Washington’s swing district par excellance, the 8th Congressional District.

Most of the people at the crab feed weren't residents of the district Burner wants to represent, but they cheered whenever she was mentioned. Their enthusiasm for a race they likely won't be voting in felt familiar: During the 2004 presidential election, many Washington Democrats, propelled by this same type of enthusiasm, flew on their own dime from safely blue Washington to volunteer in contested swing states like Ohio and Iowa. Their "Will Travel for a Win" attitude sprung from a recognition that national elections, be they for control of Congress or the presidency, turn on outcomes in relatively few locales. This year, however, Democrats in the deep blue cities of Western Washington don't have to go all the way to Iowa or Ohio. To be a part of halting the Bush agenda, they simply have to drive 15 minutes across Lake Washington."-from the article in The Stranger, via Darcy Burner.