BELLEVUE - The great blue wave that swept Republicans out of Congress from coast to coast wasn't enough to sway Seattle's ticket-splitting suburbs.
Republican Rep. Dave Reichert, a freshman who barely won in 2004, held on to his seat in another close race by defeating Democratic neophyte Darcy Burner, a former Microsoft Corp. manager.
Reichert's lead grew to 5,767 votes on Tuesday, or 51.3 percent to Burner's 48.7 percent. Overall, 220,083 votes had been counted in the race.
With the win, Reichert continues the unbroken line of Republicans sent to the House from the 8th District - a suburban and rural area outside of Seattle that has increasingly favored Democrats in other local and national races.
Burner congratulated the former King County sheriff in a Monday night phone call, but she refused to publicly concede the race until a Tuesday morning news conference.
In a phone interview from Washington, D.C., where he was starting the new session of Congress, Reichert acknowledged the difficult position of keeping his seat amid the Democrats' sweep into power.
But Reichert said he hoped his centrist, bipartisan message would gain currency because he survived the strong Democratic challenge.
'I think there's a bit of respect that comes with winning a close race like this,' he said Monday night. 'The handful of us here, I think they're going to be paying attention to what we have to say. And I think that's a good thing.'
Burner, 35, was making her first run for elected office. On Tuesday, she left the door open to future campaigns but made no promises.
'I haven't made any decisions,' Burner said, standing behind a hastily arranged lectern in an office littered with campaign leftovers. 'I plan on taking my son to Disneyland this weekend, as I promised I would.'
The Reichert race was the Democratic Party's last hope for knocking off a GOP House member in 2006. Freshman Cathy McMorris defeated rancher Peter Goldmark in central and Eastern Washington's 5th District, and Doc Hastings, chairman of the House ethics committee, faced little opposition.
Reichert and Burner raised more than $5 million combined for their race, and national party committees added a similar amount.
Burner's campaign played up Reichert's GOP ties, and her strategy was helped when Reichert welcomed President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and several other top Republicans to the district to raise campaign cash.
Reichert played up his centrist votes and his attempts to move away from Bush, but he also pointed out his heavy advantage in public service. To Reichert's 30 years in law enforcement and two terms as an elected sheriff, Burner could only respond with a long-ago stint in the Civil Air Patrol or her time as president of a suburban community club.
Reichert said negative ads targeting him may have hurt Burner in the end.
'The only position she had to draw from, the only basis or foundation for her campaign, was to paint me with this national brush,' Reichert said. 'It came down to, people know me. And I think the Democrats underestimated the power of that personal connection that I've developed in the community.'
