One more day

As expected, the final days of the election season showed most races tightening. Some races are as close as possible, within just one percentage point. My last-minute handicapping, with predictions:

• The Montana and Rhode Island Senate races have seen a resurgence by the Republican incumbents, Conrad Burns and Lincoln Chaffee, respectively. Chaffee might be able to hold on at the last minute, but Burns is going down despite Air Force One criss-crossing the state to fire up the base. Arizona is also now a tossup, though I believe incumbent Republican Sen. John Kyl will hold on -- barely.
• Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington state Senate races all will turn or remain in Democrat control.
• Tennessee will stay Republican because Harold ford Jr. won't be able to make up the deficit, and because I really do believe racists undercurrents have inflated opinion polls to date.
• Missouri and Virginia will both flip to Democrats. The stem-cell issue in Missouri should turn out progressive voters, and if George Allen in Virginia has never been above 45% in polls as an incumbent, this Democrat tide will sweep him out.
• That means, as long as the Dems keep New Jersey and Montana, they could lose Rhode Island and still win a majority with Missouri and Virginia.
• On the House side, all indicators point towarda Democratic pickup of at least the needed 15 seats for a majority, plus an additional 15 seats or so. That will be tough to spin by the GOP on Wednesday morning.

On the local scene, the hottest race seems to be the one for Chelan County District Court judge. A Wenatchee World newspaper report showed that Nancy Harmon, the candidate who won 42 percent of the primary vote, has raised $58,000 toward her campaign with about $45,000 coming from her own money. The job pays about $125,000 per year -- well over her current salary as a Douglas County deputy prosecutor. Her opponent, Tony DiTommaso, has spent about $38,000 with about a third of that coming from his own money. They both seem like nice people to me, and I would be satisfied with either, though I am supporting Harmon and donated to her campaign. Both have run fine campaigns, if a bit snippy at times.

I think the statewide initiatives will have mixed results:

• I-920 would abolish the state estate tax, which is 4% on estates over $2 million. Family farms are exempt. Family newspapers are not, and the state's family-owned newspapers (like The Wenatchee World and The Seattle Times Company, which owns papers in Seattle, Yakima, Walla Walla and Maine) are very much in favor of eliminating this tax. I predict it will not be abolished.
• I-933 would allow landowners to sue the state for compensation when the state devalues property through eminent domain or prohibiting development. This is strongly backed by the state Farm Bureau. I predict it will not pass.
• I-937 would force power utilities with a certain number of customers to develop alternate and renewable energy resources, ultimately comprising 15 percent of their total power generation. This is something I generally believe in and support, yet the initiative does not include hydro power as a renewable resource. That's why I oppose it. The law, if passed, would force utilities like our PUD to siphon resources into untested alternatives over the current clean renewable power source from the river. Sadly, I predict it will pass. I hope it gets amended or thrown out by a court.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.