Democrat wins Washington state Senate race
Patty Murray claims victory over Republican Dino Rossi; win preserves breathing room for the Senate's shrunken Democratic majority.
Washington — Washington US Senator Patty Murray won a narrow victory Thursday, surviving voters' backlash against Democrats and ensuring that US President Barack Obama's party will keep 53 seats in the 100-seat chamber.Murray, for whom Obama had campaigned, claimed victory over Republican Dino Rossi after three days of tallying, preserves breathing room for the Senate's shrunken Democratic majority. Republicans made inroads there Tuesday and took control of the House of Representatives for the rest of Obama's first term. RELATED:Obama calls for bipartisan White House meetingCantor to be highest-ranked Jewish House member ever Alaska remains the only remaining undecided Senate race.
Murray's win was secured Thursday as tallies pushed her lead to about 46,000 votes out of more than 1.8 million counted, or about 51 percent to 49 percent. About three-quarters of the expected ballots had been counted in unofficial returns.