Veteran Murray and newcomer Smiley battle for US Senate seat

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press

Republican Tiffany Smiley is seeking to oust U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democratic stalwart who has gone from the upstart “mom in tennis” shoes to one of her party’s most powerful officeholders in her nearly 30 years in the Senate. Smiley has repeatedly attacked Murray’s tenure and stature in the Senate during the campaign as the pair argued over abortion, crime and inflation during the run-up to Tuesday’s election. Murray won her first campaign for the Senate in 1992, a suburban parent motivated to run in part by the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas. She and others felt the senators treated Anita Hill, who had accused Thomas of sexual harassment, unfairly. Murray has again made women’s rights a signature of her campaign.