$1.1 million raised by end of November

MOSES LAKE - Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi said Friday he wouldn't have entered the governor's race again if a statewide voter registration database hadn't been implemented since the 2004 election.

With the database, 176,000 dead, double-registered and felon voters were removed from voters' lists, he told the Columbia Basin Herald's editorial board.

Gov. Chris Gregoire was declared the winner of the last governor's race by 129 votes after two recounts.

Rossi toured Eastern Washington last week with rallies in Richland and Walla Walla. He also stopped in Moses Lake to meet with one of his campaign's finance committees.

His campaign raised $1.1 million by the end of November, with 40 percent new contributors, he said.

His platform still involves supporting a strong business economy, much like the message of his 2004 campaign.

"People in this region would like to be entrepreneurs," he said.

Washington state has the highest business failure rate in America, according to Rossi.

"It doesn't have to be that way," he said.

Rossi said some of the problems of business are because of the attitude of state government.

The attitude and the business environment needs to change so all can thrive, he said.

Rossi blamed Gregoire for creating a sizable deficit and having "blown through" the state's $2.1 billion surplus.

He also accused her of pushing for a state income tax, which Rossi said he won't support. He's also against a death tax.

The challenging candidate said the campaign between Rossi and Gregoire is different this time.

"Gregoire could say whatever she wanted (last time). Now we can compare and contrast what she's said," Rossi said.