Republican Renaissance?

Publicola: "A Great Day for Rob McKenna’s Gubernatorial Aspirations?
by Chris K., 05/18/2009, 2:42 PM

This post was actually written by Sandeep.

This e-mail (subject line: “A Great Day”) just got forwarded to me: well know Republican political consultant and commentator Randy Pepple (who has been a regular on King 5’s Sunday public affairs show, “Up Front”) e-mailed firends and colleagues this afternoon to announce he is giving up his communications consulting position to take a position as Attorney General Rob McKenna’s new chief of staff. He will replace current chief of staff Mike Bigelow, who is retiring on June 30.

Pepple is a former chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Rick White, and is known around town as a smart, savvy political operator with a well developed web of connections in Republican insider circles. Adam Wilson of the Olympian, the first to post this news, had the same initial thought I did: given all the chatter about a potential McKenna gubernatorial bid in 2012, the selection of a veteran political operative like Pepple as COS is an indication that McKenna is getting serious about laying the groundwork for a run. McKenna’s staff denies any connection, but then again they would, wouldn’t they?"