336 sLAde goRton: A hALf centuRy in poLitics
Rove agreed. The revelation “knocked us off message at a critical time,”
flipped a lot of voters to Gore and caused many social conservatives to sit
on their hands, Bush’s strategist wrote in his autobiography.^41
There was one more twist: Washington State Republicans were infuri-
ated to learn a week after the recount that $1.1 million in contributions
was still in the bank. When Rove met with Don Benton, the newly elected
state GOP chairman, before the National Convention, his first question
was, “Are you holding up your end?” Benton said yes. “Holding up” now
took on a whole different meaning.^42
The party’s coffers were so flush that Benton had decided to buy a new
headquarters for $360,000. When the executive board blew a gasket over
the unspent contributions, he emphasized that most of the money came
from restricted national party funds, and much of it arrived too late to buy
TV time or hire consultants to design last-minute mailings. Sam Reed,
the party’s candidate for secretary of state, said he asked Benton for help
in those final days and was told the cupboard was bare. “I’m upset, disap-
pointed and feel like I was out there giving my all,” said Reed, who was
$22,000 in debt after winning a squeaker. “To not have my party give me
money when they had it was very disappointing.”^43
Benton countered that campaign representatives for Gorton and Jen-
nifer Dunn shared check-signing responsibility for the national commit-
tee money. He said he had no idea so much money was sitting in the ac-
count. One board member shot back, “Maybe we should name this
building the ‘Maria Cantwell Building’ because it will have been con-
structed on the political grave of Slade Gorton.” Benton protested that he
was being scapegoated and refused to comply with a call for his resigna-
tion. Come January, he was defeated for re-election by Chris Vance, a
King County councilman.^44
A eecd Ad AfteR the Loss, Gorton gave a lecture at Seattle University on
the findings of the 9/11 Commission. Afterward, he says a woman came
up to him and confided she had been stewing over something ever since
the 2000 campaign. She claimed the Cantwell campaign had stiffed
her on the rent for one of its offices. “I knew if I went to the press she
might lose. I wasn’t particularly for her, but I finally decided I just
couldn’t do that. So I’ve come to you to apologize for being partly re-
sponsible for your loss.”
When he stopped laughing, Gorton said, “Don’t worry about it. You
greatly improved my life!”