Republican activists in Oregon and Washington are by and large as conservative as anywhere else.
But they've seemed to conclude that to be competitive in these two states, they need to give their statewide candidates a lot of leeway on abortion.
Chris Dudley ran for Oregon governor in 2010 as a supporter of abortion rights and came as close to winning as has any Republican since 1982.
And now Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, locked in a tight race for governor against former Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee, is emphasizing that he too supports keeping abortion legal.
The issue is back in the news, of course, because of the furor surrounding Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's claim that a victim of a "legitimate rape" would rarely get pregnant. Akin later said he misspoke but refused demands from GOP leaders that he drop out of the race.
The Akin controversy also cast the spotlight on the platform being developed for next week's Republican convention that calls for a prohibition on abortion without mentioning any exceptions.
McKenna made it clear Wednesday that he's staying far away from his national party on abortion. From the News Tribune of Tacoma:
"I support a woman's right to choose under the laws made by the people of this state. I think they are the right laws. I don't think those will be affected in any way by what is happening nationally," McKenna said. He added, when asked if he supports the national GOP platform, "I support the laws we have in our state which provide a woman with control over reproductive decisions."
That's not to say that McKenna is in the same place as Inslee on abortion. Earlier this year, a Democratic tracker goaded McKenna over his opposition to a bill in the state Legislature that would require insurance plans that cover maternity care to also pay for abortions.
In an interview with KIRO TV in Seattle, McKenna noted that he never received the endorsement of groups on either side of the abortion divide. Instead, he insisted, "I'm like 80 percent of the people in the state" who think abortion should be legal "within certain parameters."
