Josh Feit: "Jay Inslee’s Turnaround"

Josh Feit (seattlemet.com):

Jay Inslee defies initial dismissals that he didn’t have what it took to beat Rob McKenna in the 2012 Washington state governor’s race.---They hadn’t been planning on a primary election night party. But one broke out anyway. Standing by the life-size cutouts of Barack and Michelle Obama in the back corner of the bland phone bank room at Democratic campaign headquarters in early August, the spokeswoman for gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee high-fived a colleague, her feet momentarily leaving the ground as she reached to slap his hand. They had something to be psyched about: The latest returns had just put Inslee ahead. It was a surprising turnaround that mirrored the arc of the last 12 months. Inslee had been trailing his Republican opponent, Washington State attorney general Rob McKenna, by four points earlier that night and had defensively told reporters that his campaign was “going to count the numbers in November when they matter.” MORE...

H/t to Sandeep.