Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers' (WA-05) Primary Election Statement

The following statement is from Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers:

"I want to thank the people of Eastern Washington for their continued support and their vote. I feel good about tonight's numbers – although tonight is only the first snapshot and our final vote totals won't be known for at least another week. I am confident our margin of victory will only increase as more ballots are counted.

"Since being elected to serve Eastern Washington in Congress, I have worked hard on the issues we all care about including growing the economy, reducing taxes on families and small businesses, helping our farmers, improving access to health care and meeting America's energy needs with innovation, investment, and more domestic oil production.

"I want to congratulate Mark Mays on his victory tonight and look forward to a campaign that is focused on the issues and our different ideas on how to address the challenges facing our region and our country. With this election, the voters of Eastern Washington have a very clear choice.

My campaign will be focused on my record and the work I have done on behalf of Eastern Washington including:

- Serving as a member on the Farm Bill Conference Committee which passed legislation important to Eastern Washington farmers;
- Serving as Ranking Republican on the Water and Power Subcommittee where I am working to promote hydropower as a renewable resource;
- Serving as a member of the Higher Education Opportunity Act Conference Committee which included my proposals to increase our nation's competitiveness, make college more affordable and crack down on diploma mills;
- Sponsoring legislation to ensure Eastern Washington veterans have access to the benefits they've earned;
- Advocating for Fairchild Air Force Base receive the next generation of air refueling tankers;
- Protecting the helicopters based at Fairchild AFB that are used for survival school training and search and rescue missions."

A reminder: Tonight's numbers only reflect the ballots that were received prior to Election Day. Counties will continue to count ballots well into next week and the primary election will be certified on September 9, 2008.