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A blue wave or a ripple? 5 things to watch in Tuesday’s election

Democrats in Washington state are gearing up to have a big election night Tuesday. Just how big will it be? Here are a few things to watch for as the results come in.

Democrats in Washington state may have ample reason to celebrate Tuesday night. The August primary, which often serves as a predictor of general-election results in state legislative races, saw Democrats outperforming GOP candidates in 16 races for legislative seats now held by Republicans.

Meanwhile, Democrats are making strong runs for three of Washington’s Republican-held congressional seats, including that of U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, who is retiring from the 8th Congressional District. Elsewhere, Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is fending off a challenge from Lisa Brown, a former state Senate majority leader, while U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler is locked in a tight race against Democrat Carolyn Long.

President Trump has gone all out in recent days to stoke fears surrounding illegal immigration, including sending thousands of troops to the U.S. border to meet a still-distant migrant caravan and pledging to end birthright citizenship.

Cornell Clayton.
Clayton

But those issues are unlikely to motivate Republican voters in Washington state—and could end up alienating highly educated suburban women, said Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy at Washington State University.

This could hurt Rossi in the 8th District, which includes suburbs in east Pierce and King counties, as well as Herrera Beutler in Southwest Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, Clayton said.

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Seattle Times

Cancer Targeted Technology Files Investigational New Drug Application for Novel Radiotherapy

Cancer Targeted Technology (CTT), a privately-held Seattle-based biotechnology company, announced today that it filed an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with the FDA to move forward a radiotherapeutic drug, CTT1403, into human clinical trials for prostate cancer. CTT1403 is a peptidomimetic drug that targets Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA).

“We are very excited with the potential for CTT1403 to make a difference in men with advanced stage prostate cancer. This is a highly innovative molecule that combines excellent PSMA-targeting characteristics, already proven effective in prostate cancer, with the ability to enhance circulation time allowing for greater anti-tumor effects,” stated Dr. Beatrice Langton-Webster, CTT’s CEO and Principal Investigator for the clinical program.

Clifford Berkman.
Clifford Berkman

The unique chemical structure for CTT1403 was designed by Dr. Cliff Berkman, Professor of Chemistry at Washington State University and consultant to CTT as its Chief Scientific Officer.

The work to discover and progress CTT1403 through preclinical development to IND was funded by a $2.3M Small Business Innovation Research contract from the NIH.

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KHQ
Associated Press
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NOTE: This story was picked up by the AP and went all over the U.S.

Facebook, Google and Twitter shine light on campaign ads — but only so far

The companies acted under threats of federal regulation after reports that Russian operatives bought politically divisive social media ads under fake names.

A push this year by tech companies to open a window on the political ads that they sell has failed to satisfy lawmakers and researchers who worry that shadowy groups could still use the services to manipulate voters before an election.

Facebook, Google and Twitter all launched searchable databases this year that allow people to see details of election-related advertisements that run on theirs sites. People who visit the databases online can see videos and images from the ads, as well as spending data and, in theory, who is behind each of the ads. But huge loopholes in the databases remain, lawmakers and researchers say.

Travis Ridout.
Travis Ridout

Travis Ridout, a Washington State University political science professor, said the tech companies’ databases are better than what existed before, “which was nothing,” he said. But their efforts aren’t everything that advocates for transparency hoped for.

“They sort of have a bargain right now: that government will not intervene if the companies take some responsibility,” Ridout said. Whether that bargain continues, he said, “I’m not certain.”

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NBC News

A pumpkin-splattering good time

WSU Physics and Astronomy Club celebrates 14 years of tossing squash from Pullman’s highest point.

For the past 14 years, Washington State University’s Physics and Astronomy Club has experimented firsthand with the explosive capabilities of pumpkins.

WSU hosted the club’s annual pumpkin drop Saturday, where attendees painted around 80 of the doomed gourds with an array of brightly colored acrylics before they were heaved from the top floor of Webster Hall, splashing stringy orange innards against the cheering crowd below.

Brian Saam

“It’s the oldest experiment,” WSU Physics and Astronomy Chair Brian Saam said. “Drop two objects and watch them fall at exactly the same rate, regardless of how big they are or how heavy each one is.”

The event offered hot drinks and pumpkin pie to those in attendance as well as variety of physics-related demonstrations.

Many of the demonstrations were interactive experiments displaying the idiosyncrasies of various physical phenomena such as the curious properties of liquid nitrogen and the insistent pull of electromagnetism.

“It’s a smattering of different disciplines throughout the physics realm,” Physics and Astronomy Club President Trevor Foote said. “It’s just a little bit of all the different major groups of physics—electrodynamics, gravity-related magnetism—that sort of thing.”

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Democrats eye upset in conservative Washington state district

Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who is fourth in House leadership and the highest-ranking woman in the GOP, faces a formidable challenge in the 5th Congressional District from Democrat Lisa Brown.

It is one of three U.S. House races in Washington state getting national attention as Democrats try to gain control of the chamber. Democrats also are mounting strong challenges for two other Republican-held districts—the 8th, which stretches from Seattle’s eastern suburbs across the Cascade Mountains, and the 3rd, in southwestern Washington.

Congressional races in Washington state are usually predictable, with incumbents holding their seats with relative ease.

“I think it’s just a matter of everyone anticipating that 2018 would be a good year for Democrats,” said Travis Ridout, a political science professor at Washington State University. “A lot of high-quality Democratic candidates saw that they might have a good chance and decided to run this year.”

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SFGate

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NOTE: This article went out through the AP. It was picked up by many more media outlets. Too many to list.