October Surprise: Luke votes Republican

Every election, it seems there’s talk of a potential “October surprise.” This year, KIRO Radio co-host Luke Burbank has one of the biggest. The self-avowed bleeding heart liberal actually voted for not one but two Republicans.

The unprecedented move came over the weekend when he filled out his official mail-in ballot.

Luke says the easier of the two was for GOP Lt. Governor candidate Bill Finkbeiner, a former Republican state senator.

“He’s got a surprising number of endorsements from groups that would not normally endorse a Republican. He’s a RINO (Republican in name only,) I think, and I mean that as the highest compliment,” Luke says. Plus, he’s a loyal listener of Luke’s podcast TBTL.

But the real shocker came when Luke decided to darken the circle for Republican Rob McKenna for governor. It’s a complete turnaround from just a few weeks ago when he endorsed Democrat Jay Inslee in the official MyNorthwest.com Voter’s Guide.

Luke says he was automatically voting for Inslee just because of the “D” behind his name. In the Voter’s Guide he wrote:

“This is a tough one for me because I always find Rob McKenna to be a straightforward, reasonable guy when we talk to him on the show. However, his opposition to the state Legislature’s approval of gay marriage really bothers me. I can’t vote for someone who opposes gay marriage, it’s a civil-rights issue as far as I’m concerned.”

But after speaking extensively with both candidates in interviews and public appearances, he ultimately felt more comfortable with McKenna’s proposed handling of the state’s fiscal matters.

“Which one of these guys do I actually trust with the situation more? It was for me, Rob McKenna,” Luke says.

He says he clearly disagrees with McKenna on a number of issues, but says he’s always criticized conservative voters for focusing on just a few social issues like abortion and gay marriage, and realized he tended to do the same. Luke came to the conclusion the governor can’t do much about them even if he wanted to.

“He can’t do anything about gay marriage, abortion or Obamacare. If I take those three issues away, I like a lot of what Rob McKenna stands for,” Luke admits.

Inslee continues to hold a slight lead in the polls, and Luke expects the Democrat to win, despite his admitted flip-flop. He worries now that he’s admitted his change of allegiance, Inslee will refuse to appear on his shows in the future. But it’s too late now to change his mind again, even if they wanted to.

“I guess they’re going to be wasting millions of dollars trying to reach me with those ads because I’ve already filled this thing out and sealed it,” he says.