KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the final days before the presidential election, we'll be taking a closer look at some of the key battleground states. And today, our focus is on Washington State in the Pacific Northwest. CNN's Chris Black joins us from there. And Chris, why don't we start out talking about what makes Washington State a battleground.</s>CHRIS BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, Washington State has a reputation for being a Democratic state because it's really part of the Democrats' base. A Democratic presidential candidate can't win without it. But it's a swing state. In the last 10 presidential campaigns, they voted for the Republican five times and the Democrat five times, and people in this state are used to splitting their tickets. They have no compunction at all of voting for a senator or governor from one party and a president from the other. So they're really independent.</s>PHILLIPS: Chris, in 1992, Ross Perot got 24 percent of the Washington State vote. How does a third party candidate fare this year?</s>BLACK: Well, this is a state, again, that has no compunction of voting for a third-party candidate. And Ralph Nader is definitely a factor in this state. Although the independent poll conducted by Stuart Elway last week shows his support at only 3 percent, it's a very energized 3 percent. Al Gore was leading in that poll by nine points. But the pollster told us that about one-third of that vote is what is known in pollster parlance as "soft." That means it could change. And there's a lot of energy behind the Nader vote. A lot of the local activists who were involved just a year ago in those WTO demonstrations that virtually shut down downtown Seattle are very much involved in his campaign.</s>PHILLIPS: Chris, do you think this is Bush's last visit to Washington?</s>BLACK: George Bush will be showing up in Seattle tomorrow. This is, the Republicans say, a sign that they really believe this is a competitive state. They think they have a shot here.</s>PHILLIPS: All right, Chris Black, thanks for the update from Washington State.
Election 2000, Eight Days to Go: Bush Making Bid for Washington State Electoral Votes