SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Sen. Don Benton: Trump will negotiate better deals for Washington

Nov 10, 2016, 12:45 PM

State Sen. Don Benton is ready to take his victory lap with Donald Trump. And he told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Wednesday that workers in Washington state will be joining them soon.

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Washington voters supported Hillary Clinton with 58 percent of the vote over Trump during Tuesday’s election. However, Benton, who led the Republican’s campaign in Washington state, says Trump’s win will be a “great thing” for the state. That includes the Republican’s pledge to tear up some trade deals. Dori asked: With Washington being China’s largest state trading partner, what will that mean?

“It’s gonna be a great thing for our state,” Benson responded. “It means we are gonna get paid a fair price for our goods and services and our dock workers are going to be able to go back to work and our machinists are going to be able to go back to work and any Washingtonian that wants a job is gonna be able to have one, and it’s gonna be a great day for Washington state.”

“Especially for Washington state because we … are dependent so much on trade but we haven’t been getting a very good deal with our trade deals and if anybody knows how to negotiate deals, it’s Donald Trump,” he said. “That’s one of the things he started this campaign with and finished strong with, and that is we’re going to negotiate better deals for the American people, period. And I believe him.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington state’s unemployment rate in 2015 was 5.5 percent; 3.3 percent in Seattle. In fact, it has consistently gone down from a high of 10.4 ever since 2009, following the great recession.

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Sen. Don Benton: Trump will negotiate better deals for Washington