Gregoire, Rossi: We totally tried

The important thing to remember tonight is neither Gov. Chris Gregoire nor her Republican challenger Dino Rossi will win. It's too bad, too, after all that money they spent and all that campaigning they did.

I mean, if I had spent millions of dollars that thousands of people had given me because they believed a I had a fighting chance, and then didn't think I had a shot in a non-binding run-off against one serious competitor -- man. That would be tough.

Here's the thing though: the historical statistics were just too powerful. Everybody knows it. Rossi's camp already explained how Republicans just don't win in primaries, plus there's all those other candidates to dilute the anti-Gregoire vote.

And the state Democrats (who've been dealing with Rossi, not Gregoire's team) have all the data to show that the primary is really all about Republican voters. That’s just the way it is.

And spending $13 million isn’t going to change it.

So who will win? If neither Rossi nor Gregoire, you've got a whole raft of possibilities. The local kid that could make good is Lacey Republican Javier O. Lopez.

I guess the real question is, how will the top two finishers handle the general election, since there must be insurmountable data spelling out the futility of a fall campaign, as well.