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A Vote for Pedro

Feature: GOP candidate in Washington state hopes to ride anti-Democrat wave into House

@Pedro4Congress Twitter
October 24, 2014

LYNDEN, Wash.—Political scientists don't put much stock in the persuasive power of political yard signs. However, in the case of Pedro Celis, those rectangles of cardboard on stakes may have been all-important.

The former Microsoft engineer came out on top in a field of four Republicans, beating his nearest competitor by fewer than 1,000 votes. The main thing he had going for him was the "VOTE FOR PEDRO (Celis for Congress)" signs, a reference to the movie Napoleon Dynamite.

"Pedro was given a 'Vote for Pedro' t-shirt shortly after the movie came out. When he was discussing running for office, the 'Vote for Pedro' slogan was frequently brought up at various events and social functions with friends and family," wrote campaign spokesman Gray Delany in an email. "The idea really took hold when Pedro wore a 'Vote for Pedro' t-shirt to a parade shortly after declaring his candidacy. … The slogan certainly grabs people’s attention especially among people that do not normally get engaged in the political process."

Catchy slogan or no, Celis faces an uphill battle against Democrat Suzan Delbene.

Real Clear Politics ranks Washington's First Congressional District race as competitive, but only just. DelBene got just over 50% of the vote in the state's top-two primary to Celis's 16.5% and she's already won the district twice in 2012, first in a special election and then in a general.

However, in 2010, she lost an election in the Eighth Congressional District against Republican Dave Reichert.

DelBene enjoyed two advantages in 2012’s race, the first following post-Census redistricting. First, she has a personal fortune from working as a Microsoft executive, which she dipped into to help fund her campaign. Second, she faced John Koster, a candidate who managed to get snagged up in that year's media obsession known as "rapegate."

In a normal election year in Washington state, DelBene would likely squeak by. Celis's team hopes this isn't a normal election year and that the anti-Democratic "wave" will sweep DelBene away.

To that end, they emphasize Celis's biography, his conservatism, and the Democrats' lack of results.

Celis, like his Dynamite inspiration, is an immigrant from Monterrey, Mexico. He both looks and sounds the part. "I am the candidate with the charming accent," Celis said in the "Microsoft Debate" last week. An intro video on his campaign website sounded the same note: "I'm the guy with the heavy accent."

Celis left his whole family behind to head north, first to Canada at the University of Waterloo, and then to America as a computer science professor and engineer.

This was "one of the hardest decisions of his life," according to his website. Delany says Celis later tried to sponsor a brother to come to the United States, but said sibling found a faster way in.

Immigration is the one tripwire that could hurt his chances with Republican voters. He calls citizenship "a privilege, not a right" and calls for "secure borders." However, he's also supported Washington's version of the DREAM Act and in the past flirted with a grand bargain that would include some sort of limited amnesty.

Other than that, he's in lock-step with the conservative base.

Celis wants an amendment to balance the budget, Obamacare's repeal, and to keep the minimum wage right where it is. He called oil production and a new proposed coal exporting port in Whatcom County good for the environment. He thinks the Hobby Lobby case was rightly decided and is against gay marriage, but for civil unions.

An internal Celis poll conducted by the firm Moore Information in mid-September found that though DelBene lead Celis in name recognition 78 to 43 percent, she only led him among likely voters by 43 to 34 percent, with 23 percent of voters yet to decide.

For Team Pedro to win it, late deciders have to break overwhelmingly for Celis. In Napoleon Dynamite, the young Pedro is an exchange student from Mexico who overcomes long odds to win election for class president with the promise that if the rural Idaho high school students will vote for him, "All your wildest dreams will come true."

So I had to ask the campaign: If folks in the First District vote for Celis and he wins, will all of their wildest dreams come true?

"That is a promise that Pedro cannot make," Delaney said.

Published under: 2014 Election