SEATTLE – Four American Indian and Alaska Native leaders in Washington state are running for election or re-election to state and national office.

Dino Rossi, who is of Tlingit, Irish and Italian ancestry, is running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. He hopes to replace Democrat Patty Murray. Rossi is a former state senator who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2004 – losing by 133 votes – and in 2008. He is one of 15 candidates, including Murray and former NFL tight end Clint Didier.

Under Washington state law, the top two vote-getters in the Aug. 17 primary – regardless of political party affiliation – advance to the Nov. 2 general election.

Rossi’s Tlingit ancestry has been mentioned in official biographies, but he talked more openly about it in the 2008 campaign than in 2004. A group called Swift Canoe Indians for Truth accused Rossi of pandering in the 2008 election, saying he needed the Native vote to win.

The group ran YouTube clips of TV interviews in which Rossi characterized contributions from tribal governments to his opponent’s campaign as “money laundering.” Rossi also said he opposed tribal gaming.

In his Senate campaign, Rossi said the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has failed to stimulate the economy and “the massive debts we’ve run up in the past 18 months threaten our long-term economic prosperity.”

“Lower taxes promote economic growth and job creation,” Rossi said on his campaign Web site, dinorossi.com.

“Congress must make permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax relief which spurred economic growth and job creation, repeal the death tax, and lower the tax rates paid by our job creators. The problem isn’t that taxes are too low; it’s that spending is too high.”

Regarding government spending, Rossi proposes directing unspent bailout and stimulus funds toward deficit reduction; passing a balanced budget amendment that requires a supermajority to raise taxes; and cutting government employment and reducing “overly generous pay and benefits.”

Rossi proposes replacing the Pelosi-Reid health care bill with a bill that allows citizens to buy health insurance across state lines, makes offering insurance more affordable for small businesses by allowing them to join together and get discounts available to large corporations, and gives individuals the same tax deductions as corporations.

Rossi proposes lessening America’s energy dependence by developing more domestic resources, increasing our reliance on alternative fuels, and expanding domestic energy production “in an environmentally and fiscally responsible way.”

Rossi opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants. He wants to finish the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, use technology to more effectively patrol the border, expand the use of employment verification technologies to “reduce the employment magnet,” and permit more high-skilled workers and students to legally enter or remain in America.

In state races:

Jeff Morris, Tsimshian, is running for an eighth term as state representative from the 40th House District. Morris, a Democrat, is House speaker pro tem. He is being challenged by Howard Pellett, Green; and John Swapp, Republican.

Morris is a member of the House Audit Review and Oversight Committee; the Ecology and Parks Committee; the Rules Committee; the Technology, Energy and Communications Committee; and the Transportation Committee.

Morris is an expert on energy resources planning. He is CEO of Energy Horizon LLC and directs energy resource planning in the Pacific Northwest Economic Region for the company. He is co-founder of an investment group that invests exclusively in new energy technologies. As director of the Northwest Energy Technology Collaborative, Morris and his team worked to accelerate growth of the energy-technology industry in the region.

He is a past chairman of the Council of State Governments-WEST. The Canadian Consulate recognized him for his legislative efforts to eliminate commerce barriers between the U.S. and Canada.

John McCoy, Tulalip, is running for a fifth term as state representative from the 38th House District. McCoy, a Democrat, is being challenged by Hugh Fleet, Republican.

McCoy is chairman of the House Technology, Energy and Communications Committee. He is a member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, and the Financial Institutions, Housing and Insurance Committee. McCoy is chairman of the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators.

In the House and in his community, McCoy has worked to expand access to affordable energy, health care and technology, create jobs and improve vocational education. He is manager of Quil Ceda Village, an economic-powerhouse municipality on the Tulalip reservation. Quil Ceda Village is the fourth-largest source of jobs in Snohomish County; businesses there include the largest outlet mall in Washington state and the largest hotel between Seattle and the Canadian border.

Claudia Kauffman, Nez Perce, is seeking a second four-year term as state senator from the 47th District. Kauffman, a Democrat, is being challenged by Joe Fain, Republican.

In one term, Kauffman has earned a reputation as a tireless advocate for early learning and has risen to assistant majority whip and vice chairwoman of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee. She also serves on the Human Services and Corrections Committee, Rules Committee, and Transportation Committee.

She has sponsored and supported legislation to improve and expand early learning programs and services, and to improve education funding.

Kauffman is the Muckleshoot Tribe’s charity fund and federal relations liaison.

Other leaders to watch: Steve Oliver, Lummi, is serving a four-year term as Whatcom County treasurer. He was a Ferndale City Council member and a 10-year deputy county treasurer before his election in November 2007. He is also president of the Ferndale Boys & Girls Club and a representative on the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence. He is up for re-election as county treasurer in November 2011.

Bob Kelly, Nooksack, resigned from the Whatcom County Council in November to run for a position on the Nooksack Tribal Council. He won in March and is now Nooksack council chairman.

Richard Walker is a correspondent reporting from San Juan Island, Wash. Contact him at rmwalker@rockisland.com.