For the past 10 years, Chelan and Douglas county voters have mostly favored Republican candidates. There are pockets of blue in places like Leavenworth, south Wenatchee and Rock Island, but the two counties are mostly red.

Whether the trend continues remains to be seen until Tuesday’s election, which includes federal, state and local races.

“I think the fundamentals suggest that you’re going to see a significant shift in favor of Democratic candidates” nationwide, said Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University.

According to a Gallup poll for the week ending Sunday, President Donald Trump’s approval rating nationally was 40 percent.

Between that and successful fundraising efforts by Democrats, it looks like the odds are in that party’s favor, Clayton said. The party holding the presidency typically does worse in mid-term elections, he added.

“Now, in many ways, it’s hard to predict just because we’re in sort of uncharted political waters with the Trump presidency and his intense base strategy, which he’s cranking up now,” he said.

“That is clearly having some impact in terms of increasing motivation on the Republican side. If you look at the results so far of ballots cast to date … Republicans have a slight advantage there. And you would expect that, especially in red states. In a state like Washington where we’re so divided, it’s hard to tell how that will play out.”

Clayton said he’s noticed an increase in “purple” districts since the last mid-term election.

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Wenatchee World

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.

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

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