As far as the 2012 governor's race is concerned, yesterday's Washington Poll merely confirmed what two other polls taken last month found: Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna is running well ahead of Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee.

But there's one bright spot for Inslee in this latest poll.

While September's KING 5/Survey USA poll showed Inslee running dead even with McKenna in the Puget Sound region (a terrible sign for Inslee's chances of pulling out a statewide victory), yesterday's Washington Poll showed Inslee up by five points among Puget Sound voters.

With McKenna still walloping Inslee in Eastern Washington (51-26, according to the Washington Poll), Inslee definitely needs to keep on climbing in the liberal Puget Sound region. But if he can continue to up his percentage in this area—the densest concentration of votes in the state—he has a clear path to victory.