Background Information on the Candidates for U.S. Senate 2010

Dino Rossi is a businessman who knows that turning our economy around and putting Washingtonians back to work starts with getting government spending, which has led to massive growth in debt and government, under control. Dino was born in Washington. He and his six siblings were raised in Snohomish County by their father, who was a Seattle public schoolteacher, and their mother, a beautician. Dino is no stranger to hard work.  While earning his Business degree from Seattle University, he worked as a janitor waxing floors at the Space Needle.  After graduation, he made a successful career in the commercial real estate business(Dinorossi.com). Dino served in the Washington state Senate from 1997 through 2003. He represented the 5^th Legislative District in east King County. In 2003, he served as chairman of the Senate Ways & Means Committee where he was charged with producing the state’s budget. That year, he won acclaim for writing a bipartisan balanced budget that dealt with a massive budget deficit without raising taxes, while still protecting Washington’s most vulnerable citizens.
In 2004, Dino ran for governor. By appealing across party lines to independents and moderate Democrats, he became the most successful Republican gubernatorial candidate in decades. In a historically close race, he won the first two vote counts and narrowly lost the third – by only 129 votes (Everett Herald).
After the election, Dino wrote a book on leadership and founded the non-partisan, non for profit Forward Washington Foundation, which is dedicated to improving Washington’s business climate.
In 2008, Dino ran for governor because he knew that Washington needed a change in leadership to bring success to our state.  His campaign saw record support, breaking donation records set by his campaign in 2004.  Though Dino ran 11 points ahead of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, it was not enough to overcome the Democratic wave that swept the nation that fall (dinorossi.com).

Born in Bothell on October 11, 1950, Patty Murray is one of seven children. Murray was educated in the public schools of Bothell and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington State University. She is married to Rob Murray and they have two adult children, Sara and Randy (Pattymurray.com).
Patty Murray was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992 by waging an underdog campaign against a 10-year veteran of the U.S. House of Representatives.   With the support of her family and friends, she won, becoming the first woman to serve Washington State in the U.S. Senate.
Since gaining her seat, Senator Murray has worked tirelessly to support the needs and values of Washington State, and today she holds the honor of being elected by her peers to serve in the Senate’s Leadership as Conference Secretary.  Additionally, she serves on the Appropriations, Budget, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Veterans’ Affairs, and Rules and Administration Committees.  She chairs the Transportation-Housing Subcommittee and Employment Workplace and Safety Subcommittee on the Appropriations and HELP Committees, respectively (Murray.senate.gov).