Leadership and structure at the federal and state levels continues to take shape as the week ends.

Federal
On Thursday evening Dino Rossi conceded the U.S. Senate seat  to Patty Murray. As of Thursday night, Murray led Rossi by more than 46,000 votes statewide, taking 51% to Rossi’s 49%.

Results for the 2nd Congressional District seat remain undetermined. As ofyesterday, Democrat Rep. Rick Larsen maintained a narrow lead over Snohomish County Councilman John Koster in the latest vote tallies.

Larsen trailed on Election Day by about 1,200 votes. On Thursday, he had pulled ahead by 1,451 votes, or 0.66 percent. A recount is required if the candidates are less than one-half a percentage point and fewer than 2,000 votes apart.

State
At the time of this blog, the Democrats appear to be retaining control of both the Washington House and Senate. Though no final determinations have been made for a handful of Senate and House seats.

It is also unclear whether or not a recount will be triggered. In Washington a machine recount is automatic when the difference is less than 2,000 votes and 0.5% of total votes cast for both candidates.

A manual recount is triggered when the difference is less than 1,000 votes and 0.25% of total votes cast for both candidates for statewide offices; and 150 votes and 0.25% of total votes cast for both candidates for regional and local offices.

Regardless of the outcome, the majorities in both chamber will be much smaller than in the prior biennium.

Two-days after the 2010 mid-term election ballots are still being counted. It is expected that it will take weeks before a handful of state legislative races or control of the Legislature is decided.

Here is a quick summary of how races are shaping up across the state, based on election results posted on the Secretary of State’s website today. 

Federal
U.S. Senator Patty Murray(51%) is leading former state senator Dino Rossi (49%).  Most election observers believe it will take some time and a possible recount to determine this race.

In the open 3rd Congressional District, State Rep. Jaime Herrera (53%) leads former state legislator Denny Heck (47%). The 3rd Congressional District represents The Evergreen State College.

In the 2nd Congressional District, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen is in a close race with Snohomish County Council Member John Koster. Larsen leads by just over 500 votes.

Of the remaining congressional races, seven of the nine incumbents are clearly returning to Washington D.C. They include: U.S. Representatives Norm Dicks, Richard “Doc” Hastings, Jay Inslee, Jim McDermott, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, Dave Reichert, and Adam Smith.

Washington Legislature
This January 25 new legislators will arrive in Olympia. At least 21 new House members and 4 new Senate members will join the Washington Legislature.

A smaller gap between the number of majority and minority members in both chambers is likely to mean changes, such as in committee structure.  Republicans  won several seats this election, closing the prior 13 member gap held by the Senate Democrats to five (27 Democrat; 22 Republican) at the time of this blog.

In the House, the Democrats held a 61-37 advantage. All 98 seats were on the November ballot, with 16 open seats. Since Tuesday, the Democrat advantage has been reduced to half, closing the gap to 12 votes (55 Democrats; 43 Republicans) at the time of this blog.

In addition, the loss of current House Ways & Means Committee Chair Kelli Linville as well as races too close to call for House Capital Budget Chair Hans Dunshee and House Education Appropriations Chair Kathy Haigh means possible change with regard to budget committees.

House Democratic leadership also faces changes with the retirement of Majority Leader Lynn Kessler and a race too close to call for current Democratic Caucus Chair Dawn Morrell. Finally, the chair of the House Higher Education Committee did not run nor did the chair and ranking member of the House Education Committee, leaving holes in both of these policy committees.

Budget
The 2011 legislative session is expected to be another difficult fiscal session for all of Washington.  The state faces an immediate budget gap of least $500 million (gap in the 2009-11 biennium) and an estimated $4.5 billion for the 2011-13 biennium. Tough choices are expected with the 2010 tax increases gone and a return to the two-thirds requirment with the passage of I-1053.

What is Next
On November 15, the next revenue forecast is scheduled. The preliminary forecast showed little change from September, but an increase in caseloads is expected.

Between now and the end of December any unknowns regarding the election will be cleared. In addition, information regarding legislative leadership and committee chairs should emerge.

Finally, towards the end of December Governor Gregoire will release her budget. Followed by the beginning of the 2011 legislative regular session on January 10.

Election results in Washington continue to change one-day after the 2010 mid-term election. 

Several races, at the state and federal levels, remain too close to call, including the U.S. Senate race between Murray and Rossi and several state senate and house races.

Reports state that nearly a third of all votes have yet to be counted in Washington. These votes are expected to be counted as they trickle in via snail mail.

What we do know is that the number of Republicans and Democrats in the Washington Legislature is expected to be much closer than in the prior legislative session. In addition, the majority of initiatives on the ballot are failing with two exceptions. Both I-1053 and I-1107 are passing.

Specific to Evergreen we will likely welcome a new U.S. Representative for the 3rd District, Jaime Herrera as well as  a new state representative, Chris Reykdal. In addition, we will continue to be represented by Rep. Sam Hunt and Sen. Karen Fraser.

Stay tuned for updates!