CQ Voting Studies are an annual analysis of a member's support or opposition to a given position. Interest Group Ratings are based on rankings from groups chosen to represent liberal, conservative, business and labor viewpoints.Voting Participation scores are based on the number of times a member voted "yea" or "nay" on roll call votes (not including quorum calls in the House). CQ Vote Studies Year Presidential Support Party Unity   S* O* S O 1998 27% 73% 93% 5% 1997 29 71 93 4 1996 32 63 91 5 1995 17 83 96 4 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 98 1997 98 1996 96 1995 99	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 0% n/a 89% 96 % 1997 5 13 100 92 1996 0 0 93 95 1995 0 0 100 88
Note on Interest Groups: ADA=Americans for Democratic Action; AFL-CIO=American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations; CCUS=Chamber of Commerce of the United States; ACU=American Conservative Union

WASHINGTON 5 : East - Spokane

The fertile soil and rolling hills of eastern Washington make the 5th's protein-rich wheat some of the most desired in the world. Politically conservative, the district remains dependent on markets for its natural resources, including timber and precious metals.

The 5th takes up the eastern third of the state, with Spokane as the district's population center. Largely dependent on manufacturing, the area has suffered intermittent layoffs, but a sharp rise in demand in the electronics manufacturing industry offered opportunities for workers to retrain. Also known as the "Inland Empire," Spokane serves as the retail and industrial center for eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon and western Idaho.

The 5th's politics are closer to Idaho than western Washington. The rural communities and natural resource-dependent economy make for people who like to keep federal interference to a minimum. Democratic majorities cannot be counted on in Spokane, one of the nation's more conservative cities. Democrats do get elected in the southeast where the population around Washington State U. provides some liberal support.

Major Industry
Agriculture, timber, electronics manufacturing

Military Bases
Fairchild Air Force Base, 4,675 military, 1,021 civilian (1998)

Population
540,865 (1990)

Cities
Spokane, 186,562; Walla Walla, 28,529; Pullman, 24,643 (1996)

People
52% urban; 13% age 65+ (ranks third of nine in state; middle third nationally); 55% married couples, 26% married couples with children; 20% college educated (ranks fourth of nine in state; middle third nationally); 57% white collar (ranks fifth of nine in state; middle third nationally), 23% blue collar (ranks seventh of nine in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)

Race
93% white, 1% black, 2% Asian; 3% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$25,107 (ranks eighth of nine in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
Sonora Smart Dodd, of Spokane, thought up the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909, and in 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.

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