Elections 2012

America's deadline poet Calvin Trillin presents this talk about the 2012 presidential election -- in verse. With wry humor, Trillin discusses politics, campaigns and poetry, including the frustrating difficulty of trying to rhyme words with presidential candidate names. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on December 10, 2012.

Last week Seattle voters approved funding for rebuilding Seattle's waterfront seawall. But some waterfront businesses say the construction schedule will hurt the tourist trade. Ross talks to Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the transportation committee.

The charter school initiative has passed by a narrow margin, according to the Associated Press. The vote stands at 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent. That's a difference of about 44,000 votes. Statewide, 269,000 ballots remain to be counted. The No on 1240 campaign Facebook page says campaign managers won't consider the race over until every vote is counted.

The 1st District was supposed to be the Republican Party’s best chance of picking up a Congressional seat in the state this year. But after Democrats won the seat decisively, Republicans are pointing fingers over who is to blame.

It’s Friday — time to review the week’s news. Joni Balter, Eli Sanders, Peter Jackson and C.R. Douglas join us to wrap up the presidential race and the week's big national, state and local election stories. What’s your take? Call us at 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org.

The battle for Jay Inslee’s old seat in Congress now appears to be over.

Republican John Koster sent a letter to supporters Thursday night informing them that he plans to officially concede the race today.

At a post-election lunch for politicians and labor leaders, Democrats were savoring their victories, but also contemplating the tough choices awaiting progressives in Congress this month.

Supporters of same-sex marriage in Washington are celebrating victory. The campaign to approve Referendum 74, Washington United for Marriage, says it's now confident their four-point lead will hold.

The 2012 presidential race is in the history books as the most expensive campaign in American history. That is, at least until 2016. The Obama and Romney campaigns spent an estimated $1 billion each on the race. What did all that money accomplish? Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation has some insight.

As the vote count continues, Washington Republicans are preparing for possible losses in several key state races.

Democratic attorney general hopeful Bob Ferguson leads Republican Reagan Dunn. The two are vying for the seat left open by Republican Rob McKenna, who stepped down to run for governor. McKenna has held the office since 2005.