WASHINGTON
Population (1994): 5,343,000 (up 9.8% from 1990); 2.1% of U.S. total
Voting-age population: 4,000,000; 1994 turnout, 37%
Median age: 33.1 years
Median household income: $33,533 ($1,269 above U.S. median)
Unemployment: 6.1% (0.5% above U.S. average, March 1996)
Last presidential election: Clinton (D): 43% Bush (R): 32% Perot (I): 24%
Congressional delegation: Three Democrats, eight Republicans
In recent decades Washington's manufacturing industry has been overtaken by high-tech companies like Nintendo and Microsoft, plus a thriving import-export sector. The Seattle area also gave birth to two major '90s trends: gourmet coffee shops, like Starbucks, and grunge music, via bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. The shifting economy and an influx of newcomers has led to political instability: in 1994 Washington's House delegation shifted more than any other state's, with six of nine seats moving from Democrat to Republican. This year, an electorate that's leaning leftward could bring some of those seats back to the Democratic side of the House Chamber.
JEFF COOPERSMITH (D) District 1 (Puget Sound--north Seattle suburbs; Kitsap Peninsula)
BORN: Nov. 21, 1959, Washington, D.C. EDUCATION: Princeton U, B.A., 1982; U of Wisconsin, J.D., 1989 FAMILY: Wife, Karen O'Leary RELIGION: Jewish MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Jobs-program coordinator; deputy county prosecutor; congressional aide POLITICAL CAREER: Sought Democratic nomination for Washington House, 1994 ADDRESS: 22933 Highway 99, Edmonds 98026. Tel.: 206-771-5333
Coopersmith is a temperate liberal--he's pro-environment, wants a bigger budget for Superfund hazardous-waste cleanups and improved habitat for Pacific salmon; and he's strongly pro-choice. But he favors the death penalty and supported a labor-union decertification, which has made it harder for him to win union support.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES Abortion NO Guns YES Gays NO Bosnia NO NAFTA YES Welfare NO Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "Sexuality education encourages responsible behavior--saying that sex education leads to promiscuity is like saying driver's education leads to accidents."
RICK WHITE (R) District 1
BORN: Nov. 6, 1953, Bloomington, Ind. EDUCATION: Dartmouth College, A.B., 1975; Georgetown U, J.D., 1980 FAMILY: Wife, Vikki; four children RELIGION: Presbyterian MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Lawyer POLITICAL CAREER: U.S. House, 1994- ADDRESS: P.O. Box 8156, Kirkland 98034. Tel.: 206-822-9306
A social moderate and a deficit hawk, White usually votes pro-choice and gets higher ratings from civil-liberties and environmental groups than any other G.O.P. Representative from his state. However, he's strongly committed to a balanced budget and opposes all tax cuts until then. White was a come-from-behind winner against Democrat Maria Cantwell in the 1994 election, but now he has to worry that his opponent, Jeff Coopersmith, will do the same to him.
The Issues Budget YES Medicare YES Defense YES Abortion YES Guns YES Gays NR Bosnia NO NAFTA YES Welfare YES Medical Leave NO (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)