For the first time in decades, Republican caucus-goers in Washington state may have a real say in who runs for president.

"We have always been the ugly sister who never gets invited to the dance," Washington state Republican Party Chairman Kirby Wilbur said. "But this year we're the princess, and we really like it."

All of the remaining four GOP presidential candidates have campaigned in the Evergreen State hoping to get the lion's share of the 43 delegates at stake.

But perhaps the most important impact of this Saturday's straw poll will be the potential bump gained by the winner heading into Super Tuesday when 10 states vote and 419 delegates are up for grabs.

Preferring to compete in caucus states rather than states that hold large primaries, Ron Paul is believed to have the best organization in Washington state...

The National Labor Relations Board has formally dropped its legal challenge against Boeing over a nonunion plant the aviation giant opened in South Carolina -- a move met with jeers by Republicans who long described the case as "frivolous" and anti-business.

The decision, announced Friday by the board's top attorney, comes after the Machinists union approved a 4-year contract extension with Boeing. As part of that deal, the union agreed to withdraw its charge that the company violated federal labor laws.

"This is the outcome we have always preferred," Lafe Solomon, the board's acting general counsel, said in a statement.

The NLRB counsel had originally challenged Boeing's decision to open the South Carolina plant, with the union claiming the company did so in retaliation for past strikes in Washington state. Under the recent deal, Boeing promised to build the new version of its 737 airplane in Washington state...

WASHINGTON – A contentious labor dispute between the government and Boeing Co. that spawned a national political fight likely will be settled after the company and the Machinists union announced Wednesday they'd reached a tentative deal on a new four-year collective bargaining agreement.

If the deal is finalized, it would appear to leave in place the work at a new $750 million Boeing plant in South Carolina, a right-to-work state where the company opened a new production line for its 787 airplane.

The National Labor Relations Board filed a lawsuit earlier this year alleging that Boeing violated labor laws by opening the South Carolina line.

Voters in Maine, Mississippi and Washington will decide election-reform questions this November, joining a wave of 36 states that in 2011 moved to increase identification requirements, limit the early-voting period, or toughen up registration rules.

“We’ve been seeing quite a lot of legislation to strengthen voter identification laws and create voter identification laws where they don’t exist,” said Jennie Bowser, senior analyst with the National Conference on State Legislatures.

While voting reform isn’t always a partisan issue, the surge in election-related proposals has been attributed largely to the Republican Party’s success in gaining legislative majorities in 2010.

“It’s like any issue — when you gain control of the legislature after being out of power for a long time, you usually have a list of things you want to see done,” said Ms. Bowser.

WASHINGTON -- The whole point of President Obama's three-day swing through the West was to make sure the region knows it's important in 2012, though the White House may have ended up offending a few folks in Colorado.

The administration gave reporters a fancy blue credential with a map of the United States marked, "THE TRIP OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA TO THE AMERICAN WEST" that had special colors trying to highlight the three states he was visiting: California, Colorado, and Washington state.

But there was a snafu because the credential instead highlighted Wyoming -- instead of Colorado.

Seattle (AP) - When Maria Gianni is knocking on voters' doors, she's not bashful about telling people she is in the country illegally. She knows it's a risk to advertise to strangers that she's here illegally -- but one worth taking in what she sees as a crucial election.

The 42-year-old is one of dozens of volunteers -- many of them illegal immigrants -- canvassing neighborhoods in the Seattle area trying to get naturalized citizens to cast a ballot for candidates like Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who is in a neck-and-neck race with Republican Dino Rossi...

The race for the Senate continues to heat up as Republicans lead for two seats currently held by Democrats -- Nevada and Washington -- while another Republican has closed into striking distance for an open seat in Connecticut.

Republican Linda McMahon has taken a bite out of Democrat Richard Blumenthal's lead in Connecticut while her fellow GOPers Dino Rossi and Sharron Angle cling to slim leads over entrenched Democrats in Washington state and Nevada.

With just three weeks to go, control of the U.S. Senate may hang on a handful of ballots in these key states...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new slate of polls shows pro-life candidates holding leads in a handful of top Senate races, close in others and losing in Delaware. As Lifenews.com has noted, there is a chance pro-life advocates could take control of the Senate from pro-abortion leaders, including Harry Reid.

In New Hampshire, pro-life Republican Kelly Ayotte for the third month in a row earns more than 50% of the vote against Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in New Hampshire shows Ayotte with 51% support to Hodes’ 44%, unchanged from a month ago. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and two percent (2%) are undecided....

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A handful of new polls form late last week show pro-life candidates either winning or facing close election contests. The new numbers come as some political observers are saying the odds of pro-life advocates recapturing the House and Senate from abortion proponents is now 50-50.

In the Washington Senate race, pro-life Republican challenger Dino Rossi has edged slightly ahead of pro-abortion incumbent Democrat Patty Murray.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Washington shows Rossi with 49% of the vote, while Murray’s support stands at 46%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and two percent (2%) are undecided...

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has temporarily blocked Washington state officials from releasing the names of people who signed a ballot measure on gay rights.

Kennedy's ruling Monday temporarily blocks a federal appeals court ruling last week that ordered the release of the names. Kennedy said his order would remain in effect while he considers a request by a pro-marriage group that asked him to reverse the appeals court ruling.

The case involves Referendum 71, a ballot initiative that asks Washington voters to approve or reject the state's so-called "everything but marriage" law, which grants registered domestic partners the same legal rights as married heterosexuals...