3 Republicans Seeking Chance To Face Cantwell -- Battle Between White, Lowe Is Heating Up

She has been described as a "rising star" in Congress, a young reformer angling for change, even "Queen of the Suburbs" in the politics of the '90s.

Still, Republicans smell Democratic blood in this year's elections, and three GOP candidates are working hard for a chance to nab U.S. Rep. Maria Cantwell's turf.

For months, Rick White, a business lawyer from Bainbridge Island, has all but declared himself the Republican candidate in the 1st Congressional District, backed by $250,000 in contributions, support from the oil industry and the backing of key state GOP leaders.

Some Republicans are already planning a White-Cantwell match-up this fall in a mostly suburban district that stretches from the Kitsap Peninsula across the subdivisions of Edmonds to the high-tech corridor of Redmond. But with Tuesday's primary near, others aren't writing off Anthony Lowe, a deputy King County prosecutor from Redmond.

"I'd say it's a dead-even race, too close to call," said Paul Elvig, chair of the Snohomish County Republican Party. "Both are very good candidates and well thought of."

The race has definitely heated up, however. There's been sparring over the oil and out-of-state interests backing White and alleged favoritism by the party for one candidate over the other.

Beyond that, some Republicans figure Lowe, who is African American, is contending with another unspoken political factor: his race.

He has raised just $47,000 - barely matching the budgets of most legislative candidates. Yet many Republicans say Lowe's impassioned style and persistence have kept the race competitive.

Both White and Lowe count themselves among the new generation of Republicans: personable, articulate and middle-of-the-road. And both draw support from "mainstream Republicans" as well as Christian conservatives.

Philosophically, there isn't much difference. Both believe government is too big and intrusive, both criticize the new crime bill as well-intentioned but ill-written, and neither wants to get specific on abortion.

Lowe worries that the party has all but anointed White, 40, a partner in the Seattle law firm of Perkins Coie and the son of a wealthy oil executive, even though GOP leaders publicly say they're neutral.

White, for example, has gotten advice from Chairman Ken Eikenberry and got political research from the same firms working for the state GOP. A few weeks ago, a ranking official from the National Republican Congressional Committee appeared at a fund-raiser for the Bainbridge Island candidate.

State Republican officials say they had nothing to do with that visit and that they've made a conscious effort to be even-handed.

Nevertheless, Lowe believes White has leverage because of the help provided by his father, an executive with the Marathon Oil Company of Ohio. Of 109 itemized contributions in July and August, just over half the donations came from people outside the 1st District and the state of Washington.

"If oil companies give you money, I don't think they give it you because they like you. They're going to expect something," said Lowe, whose financial support has come mostly from the district.

White brushes that off.

"All that's going on here is a dad trying to raise money for his son," the candidate said. Besides, he added, the only way the Republicans can beat Cantwell, who has nurtured a pro-business reputation and has distanced herself from her own party on some issues, is to nominate someone who can raise a lot of money.

This week, White is spending most of what's left in the bank running prime-time television ads and radio spots that portray him as the neighbor-next-door. He says he doesn't even want to run for office but feels compelled to work for "common sense solutions" - namely, a balanced budget amendment and other proposals to reduce the size of budget.

Accentuating his family-man image, White is often seen with his wife and four children at GOP events but has raised some eyebrows among Republicans who wonder if he's not stretching the theme a tad too far. One daughter, asked to lead the Pledge of Allegiance before 200 people at White's kick-off breakfast in Bellevue, broke down and cried.

"I personally would leave the children at home," said King County Councilwoman Louise Miller, a Republican from Woodinville who says she likes both candidates. "The children are too young to be brought to anything but a picnic."

White, however, says his family "is part of who I am" and that he takes one child on the campaign trail every day because he doesn't want to lose time with them.

Lowe stresses his experience as a deputy prosecutor, previous work as an aide to U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton and his roots in the 1st District.

He began working neighborhoods in Snohomish County and North King County early to see how voters would react to a black candidate running in a mostly white district.

The reaction has been mostly positive, and Lowe has also gone out of his way to stress his conservatism and faith in traditional, middle-class values.

But Lowe took the unusual step of bringing race into the contest himself, running radio ads declaring that he would not join the Black Congressional Caucus if elected.

The Black Caucus has been a favorite target of right-wing talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Lowe said he figured the issue was on the mind of conservatives when someone asked him about it at a forum.

Elvig, the Snohomish County chair, says he thinks the fact Lowe is a minority "is intriguing to people" and earned him more attention.

Miller agreed. But she says she is also sure race will cost him some votes: "There are people out there, who, when they see the pictures of the two, will vote for the wholesome white boy."

The third Republican, Bill Tinsley of Shoreline, is a missionary with a populist agenda. If elected, he vows to turn the 1st Congressional District office into a phone bank that would contact 30,000 residents a month and help radio talk shows lobby Congress.

The 1st District, home to some of the best-educated and highest-income residents in the state, had been held by the GOP for 40 years until 1992.

Cantwell, a former state legislator from Mountlake Terrace, broke the GOP's winning streak that year when she took on State Sen. Gary Nelson.

With $292,569 in the bank, she began running two television ads last week to help bolster her numbers in the Sept. 20 primary. She's touting herself as a tight-fisted representative who has cut spending.

Noticeably absent is any mention that she's a Democrat.

Republicans contend the incumbent is more liberal than she lets on. And White describes Cantwell as too ambitious and having a life devoid of anything but politics.

"You don't have to be married to be an effective Congressman . . . but you do have to have something else in your life," he said.

Don McDonough, Cantwell's campaign manager, calls such statements "sexist" and an attempt to impugn Cantwell for being single.

"If Maria were a man, would someone suggest that that he has nothing else in his life because he is single?"

Cantwell faces Democratic opposition from Patrick Ruckert, manager of a magazine and publication company. But not even Ruckert, a supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, is taking his challenge too seriously.

He says he got into the race to spread LaRouche's message about pending "chaos" in the U.S. economy and to stress the need for more jobs.

Also on the ballot is Michael Huddleston, a candidate for the Natural Law Party and a building designer from Bainbridge Island.

Regardless of who gets the GOP nod Tuesday, political insiders figure they'll have a tough time trying to dismantle Cantwell's image in the seven weeks before the Nov. 8 general election.

The incumbent, meanwhile, is confident that her voting record will appeal to independent-minded constituents. She seems eager to take on White, whom she describes as "a lot like Gary Nelson."

---------------------------------------------. Anthony Lowe:

Party: Republican. Age: 33. Residence: Redmond. Occupation: attorney, King County prosecutor's office.

Bill Tinsley. Party: Republican. Age: 63. Residence: Shoreline. Occupation: missionary.

Rick White. Party: Republican. Age: 40. Residence: Bainbridge. Island. Occupation: attorney, Perkins Coie law firm.

Maria Cantwell. Party: Democrat. Age: 35. Residence: Mountlake. Terrace. Occupation: Member of Congress.

Patrick Ruckert. Party: Democrat. Age: 50. Residence: North Seattle. Occupation: Office manager, publishing firm.

Michael Huddleston. Party: Natural Law. Age: 39. Residence: Bainbridge. Island. Occupation: building designer.