Incumbent Senator Patty Murray (D) is trailing challenger Dino Rossi (R) in the race for United States Senate in the deep-blue state of Washington. The latest poll, conducted for KING 5 news, shows Rossi with a seven-point lead: 52-45%.

The development is terrible news for Democrats. Washington hasn’t voted for a Republican presidential nominee since the state voted to re-elect Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Now the Democratic nominee for United States Senate, a multi-term incumbent and staunch liberal, isn’t even within the margin-of-error of the Republican nominee. That’s a bad year for Democrats.