Whatever other lesson one may want to draw from the “victory” of incumbent Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, in the mid-term election, one thing stands out: the gerrymander of the 3rd Congressional District was successful, despite the heightened enthusiasm, and consequent increased turnout, of Democratic voters in Clark County.
The combination of the population center in this county with the thinly populated counties that stretch along the Columbia from the coast to beyond the Cascades during the redrawing of election-district boundaries after the 2010 census, masterfully deflected the “blue wave” that otherwise would have made short shrift of our aloof “representative” in Congress, despite her lack of a positive record, and mendacious campaign.
Until this structural impediment to the will of the people is remedied there is no point for a Democrat even running in the 3rd District. So the Democrats in the Legislature and the governor’s mansion have their work cut out for them in the coming years.
