By David Ammons, The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire, who faces a potentially bruising battle for re-election this fall, on Tuesday touted what she called “great progress” in the past four years, including a surging Washington economy that has created more than 200,000 new jobs.
In her State of the State Address to a joint session, the Democratic governor essentially laid out the case for her re-election.
In her view, Olympia has “turned things around and made real progress” on a number of fronts, taking the state from a huge deficit to a big surplus.
Gregoire’s 45-minute speech, frequently punctuated with ovations led by her fellow Democrats, prompted a partisan reaction.
Republicans, including her re-election rival Dino Rossi, said she took too much credit for the economic expansion and didn’t acknowledge that she has jacked up the state budget by 33 percent.
Democrats loved the speech and her expansive summary of Olympia’s accomplishments.
