By Leyna Krow, Assistant Editor, JTNews
Leyna Krow
Assistant Editor, JTNews
As the election nears, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor Marcia McCraw has stepped away from the campaign trail — and into the passenger seat of a vintage Jaguar.
With just over a week to go before Washington voters would decide whether or not she is Olympia-bound, McCraw, 54, departed for Southern Mexico to take part in La Carrera Panamericana, a 2,000-mile, seven-day road race for classic car owners. McCraw, who admits to knowing little about her new sport of choice, is acting as navigator for a more car-savvy friend. When JTNews talked to her on day four of the race, McCraw, speaking from her hotel room in San Luis Potosi Mexico, noted that she and her racing partner were currently ranked number 72 out of the 100 entrants, a placement she was feeling pretty good about.
“This is the first day we’ve made it from start to finish without our car breaking down,” McCraw said.
For many candidates, leaving town so soon before an election would be a source of anxiety, but McCraw noted that the time away from Washington and the day-to-day stress of campaigning has been refreshing. Plus, how many opportunities does a Seattle attorney get to ride the length of Mexico in a racecar?
“It’s almost a nice break,” she said. “I’m running against the longest sitting lieutenant governor in the whole country. He’s done so many favors for so many people over the years. I’ve had a hard time even raising money. Even people who know me very well have been afraid to voice their support.”
Despite these concerns, McCraw remains optimistic about her chances, especially after having received an endorsement from the Seattle Times.
The incumbent, Brad Owen, a Democrat and Washington native, has been the state’s lieutenant governor for 12 years. McCraw said that it was, in part, Owen’s long tenure that led her to vie for his job.
“It just seemed like an office ripe for change. There are qualified people running for governor, and the position [of lieutenant governor] seemed right for someone with my skills,” she said.
McCraw, originally from New York, made her way to Washington State in 1993 via Hawaii and California. Her résumé includes stints with the New York State Department of Labor, the Mikiki Council in Honolulu, and Seattle-based attorney recruitment firm Quid Pro Quo. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Western New England College School of Law and is fluent in Mandarin.
In 2005, President Bush appointed her to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Council and she has served as a board member for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for the past seven years.
In 2006, McCraw was named Republican Woman of the Year by the Republican Women of Seattle.
McCraw is the mother of two adult children. She currently resides in Ballard with her two dalmatians, one of which she won at a Jewish Family Service auction, the other from an auction at Temple De Hirsch Sinai.
The lieutenant governor is, first and foremost, responsible for performing the role of governor in the governor’s absence, as well as presiding over the state senate. McCraw said that if she is elected, her emphasis will be on strengthening the state’s economy, specifically by increasing trade with Asia, revamping the tax system and improving infrastructure.
“Transportation is a major problem,” she said. “Our tax system is a major problem. I’m talking about things that impede business here.”
McCraw has received endorsements from a number of local Republican politicians and organizations including King County Council members Reagan Dunn and Jane Hague, the Log Cabin Republicans and the Washington Federation of Republican Women, as well as gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi. Likewise, McCraw has thrown her support behind Rossi, although she was quick to point out that she would also be pleased to have the opportunity to serve with Chris Gregoire.
“Gregoire’s a very bright woman and it would be a pleasure to work with her as well,” she said.
McCraw said that although she is a Republican, she considers herself “socially liberal, but economically conservative,” and has come out as pro-choice and in support of same-sex marriage. She hopes that voters will look beyond her party affiliation and vote based on who they think is best suited for the job.
“I know many in the local Jewish community are Democrats, and it’s hard for them to think of supporting a Republican candidate, but I’m hoping people will be willing to bend a little,” she said.