Patty Murray	59%
Linda Smith	41%

When Washington voters went to the polls on election day, they voted to protect the environment by voting against Linda Smith. Washington voters made a clear choice between anti-environment Linda Smith and pro-environment Patty Murray, proving once again that the environmental issue can make the margin of difference at the polls. Voters rejected Smith in part because she earned a clearly failing grade on the environment.

Key Polling Results: 

• The environment was a decisive issue in this race, a total of 83 percent of voters viewed the environment as a very important or somewhat important issue affecting their voting decisions.

• LCVAF was successful in elevating the environment as a key reason to vote against Smith. Smith's votes against clean water and the public's right to know on toxics emerged as the number two reason Murray backers cited in opposing Smith.

• Nearly half of Washington voters, 46 percent, said they had seen environmental ads directed against Smith.

Dirty Dozen Campaign Activities: 

Total budget: $262,000. Directed by a full-time and a part-time organizer in Seattle, this campaign demonstrates the power of preparation for a serious Get Out The Vote operation. LCV Action Fund, in conjunction with several local partners including Washington Conservation Voters, spent the summer identifying 62,000 pro-environment voters, or "green voters." The payoff came as election day neared and each of these green voters received a direct mail piece on Smith's anti-environment voting record, and absentee voters received two GOTV calls and poll voters received one GOTV call.

This intense GOTV effort was backed up by a broadcast television buy in the Seattle media market where 54 ads aired, as well as multiple media interviews. The ad against Smith highlighted her votes "to weaken clean water laws" even though "more cancer-causing toxins are dumped into Washington's waterways than any other state." It also criticized Smith for putting Washington's majestic beauty at risk and for voting to limit the public's right to know about poisons dumped into their communities.

The Smith campaign responded by attempting to portray her designation as a positive campaign development.