Todd Donovan

Despite winning election to Congress eight times, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith is treading new ground in his defense of Washington’s 9th Congressional District seat this year.

The incumbent Democrat faces radically altered home terrain – both physically and politically. Redrawn boundaries now…

For decades, voters in Skagit County have been represented by one congressional district.
But that all changed this year when redistricting efforts spawned two districts — and a second congressional seat.
After the 2010 census, the state’s redistricting commission was tasked with…

I know we should consider it a compliment.

Imitation, after all, is the highest form of flattery. And California knowingly imitated us two years ago when its voters adopted an initiative creating a top two primary election. Voters there get a first taste of the new primary June 5.

…

Three months after his first quest for governor came to an end in 1996, Jay Inslee began draining the $6,000 surplus in his campaign account by sending out a refund of $1,000 - to himself.

With the opportunity to return contributions to any of the hundreds of…

The debate over debates continues in the Washington governor’s race. Republican Rob McKenna announced Monday that he will commit to 15 joint appearances with Democrat Jay Inslee. Meanwhile, Inslee made it official: he will not participate in one debate that’s become a tradition in Washington.…

Monroe voters like their members of Congress to be Republican. But for a dozen years, they've gone without.

That streak could end this fall.

As a result of redistricting, Monroe finds itself in a physically reshaped and…

I predict that politics will be a hot topic in 2012, along with jobs, the economy and health care.Beyond that, the future is a blurry haze to me.Such uncertainty didn't discourage some local residents from complying with my request for their predictions for the coming year.

Why is this decline in trust happening? We certainly don’t believe that city and state governments have actually become less trustworthy over time, notwithstanding perceptions. Todd Donovan, a professor of political science at Western Washington University, has one notion that makes a lot of…

Why is this decline in trust happening? Todd Donovan, a professor of political science at Western Washington University, has one notion that makes a lot of sense to us. He believes the constant barrage of information has contributed to the trend.

Conservative Jack Louws beat Doug Ericksen for Whatcom County executive not because rural, right-leaning voters chose him but because liberal Bellingham ones did.
In the battle between the two conservative candidates, Bellingham voters strongly supported Louws, former mayor of Lynden, over…