Dino Rossi vs. Patty Murray: Round 1 Introductions

We want to kick off this blog with a little introduction of the 2010 Washington United States Senate race between businessman Dino Rossi and the "mom in tennis shoes" Senator Patty Murray. This race is being watched with national interest, as it is very close and commonly known to be the possible "51st vote" for a Republican majority in the United States Senate.

Dino Rossi is the Republican in this race. He is currently a commercial real estate executive. He was elected to the Washington State Senate in 1996, and worked his way up to become Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. He ran for Governor of the State of Washington twice, losing both times. In 2004, he lost the Governors race by hand recount in what became the closest Gubernatorial race in the history of the United States. He lives in Sammamish, is married to his wife Terry, and they have 4 children.

Patty Murray is the Democrat in this race. She is currently the incumbent United States Senator. Murray is currently serving her third term in office, and is a member of the Democratic leadership team. She previously served on the school board, and was elected to office in 1992. She was born in Bothell, WA, one of 7 children. She is married to her husband Rob, and they have 2 grown children.