While the rest of the Democratic Party is riding a blue wave with Obama at the top of the ticket and strong left-leaning candidates down the ballot, there’s one democrat who’s running to the right.

That’s Jason Osgood, computer programmer and blogger, taking on Sam Reed for the Secretary of State spot. According to David Postman at the Seattle Times, Osgood "says the state Democratic Party will support his campaign."

Despite what he says about the Democratic Party, it’s clear that Osgood is counting on an appeal to republicans still holding a grudge against Secretary of State Sam Reed. Reed was widely criticized by state and national republicans in 2004 for following the law and refusing to create some imaginary issue that would put Dino Rossi into the governor's office instead of Chris Gregoire. Many republicans refuse to believe that the final vote tally was correct, and they have never forgiven Reed for costing Rossi the election.

So-called democrat Jason Osgood is one of those who is still holding a grudge, so he has made Reed his opponent while King County Elections remains his personal nemisis. Osgood disapproves of mail voting, ballot tracking and high-speed vote counting machines; he also wants to protect voter privacy and ensure a fair and accurate count (don’t we all). He’s already earned the endorsement of the right-wing bloggers at Sound Politics.

Secretary of State Sam Reed, on the other hand, has proved that he can rise above petty party politics and do what is right under the law and for the people. He implemented elections reforms to improve voting accuracy and access under federal law. A former county auditor himself, he understands the ground-level details and mechanics of elections, public records and business filings. He saved our State Library and fought to procure a new State Heritage Center to bring Washington history to life for our children. He is liked and respected by county auditors, by former Secretary of State Ralph Munro, by unions, environmentalists, and activists across the board. Secretary of State Sam Reed knows his stuff, voters can trust him and he deserves to win this grudge match.