For most of the 40-plus years I have been covering politics in this state, Republicans have been battling away within their ranks like the Jews and the Arabs without the violence, each side determined to hold or regain its ground.

Enough already, says the man who must reconcile both sides, state chairman Chris Vance

“My mantra is unity. Unity, unity, unity. The party has got to be unified. It’s been years since we had a candidate everybody could rally behind. We have not had a gubernatorial candidate to even get 45 percent of the vote in a very long time. We are constantly dividing ourselves. If we are not unified, we cannot win. We have to rehabilitate our brand name.”

George Bush has done a lot on that score, he said, “but a lot of the problem is beyond our control. Since 1994, Republicans here have had one setback after another, largely driven by a national message that is not very popular in the Pacific Northwest. We have got to find candidates who can win statewide. That’s the problem, in my view.“

Some of his troops get their backs up when he talks like that, said Vance. “The pro-lifers start thinking I am trying to shift the party to the middle. That isn’t it at all. The problem is regional, not ideological. The state of Washington is so incredibly diverse, which is no problem for Democrats. They don’t have to win eastern and rural Washington. They can win in Puget Sound. For Republicans, it’s harder. We have to fit a coalition of rural conservatives and more suburban pragmatists. Life for an orchardist in Cashmere is different from a software engineer in Woodinville. We need candidates to appeal to both. Jennifer Dunn could do it, Slade Gorton has done it.”

The GOP’s problem really began when it started losing the suburbs and, in particular, women voters in the suburbs. A statewide candidate can carry all of eastern Washington and rural western Washington and still lose. What’s required in addition, said Vance, is 40 percent of the vote in King County. Secretary of State Sam Reed and Doug Sutherland each got 41 or 42 percent in 2000, just enough to put the two Republicans over.

The GOP has done polling and research on the 17 legislative districts in Puget Sound, most of which are held by Democrats, and has data on issues that appeal to those voters. “The worst thing the Democrats did last session was raise college tuition,” he said. “That is a bread-and-butter, kitchen table, mom-and-dad issue, and that’s the kind of issue we need to get back to.”

“I am working with the House and Senate to make sure the campaign in Puget Sound is different than in rural areas,” he said. “I am asking to personally review candidates’ literature, to make sure they are talking about education, the environment, transportation, quality of life things.”

Another problem for Republicans “is that we just don’t come across as very likeable. but as dour, scolding, negative, condescending, talking down to people. Our problem is working white women. Women don’t like to be talked down to. They want to know we care about the things they care about. I’ll be working with our candidates and telling them to do what they don’t like to do. Talk about yourselves, talk about your community experience. Smile, take the tie off.”

The state convention comes up June 28 and 29 in Bellevue, during which Vance’s challenge will be to keep his party from taking a stand for or against the $7.7 billion transportation referendum. “I feel very strongly that we need to be neutral on this, because the party needs to reflect where its members are,” he said. “The Republican family is divided over this. We need to stay out of it. This is a big diverse state. What matters in Pacific county is different from Pierce County.

“Then I intend to get very serious about 2004. The minute the polls close on Nov. 5, I will get this sorted out and by July 1, have one great candidate for governor and one great candidate for the Senate.” Like whom? Too early yet, but they’re out there somewhere. And how does former Speaker Clyde Ballard’s retirement affect this scenario? That’s another story.

(Adele Ferguson can be reached at P.O. Box 69, Hansville, WA., 98340.).