for the seat to swing the balance of power in the state senate, the race was expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive in the state. Brown went on to win the election, receiving 57.65% of the vote in the September primary and 55.3% of the vote in the general election. Brown was unopposed in 2000. She won over 60% of the vote in 2004 and almost 75% of the vote in 2008. Political positions Tax policy At a candidates' debate in Spokane in 1996, State Senator John A. Moyer, whom Brown was challenging, questioned why Brown voted in 1993 for what he called the biggest tax increase in state history. Brown replied that Moyer mischaracterized the vote, and said she supported the tax increase to balance the budget. In 1995, when the state had a budget surplus, Brown criticized Republicans for not offering tax breaks to middle class families. Brown supported using the surplus to lower the state sales tax and property taxes for low- and middle-income families. She opposed a Republican-supported measure to raise the gas tax. In 2005, Brown voted against a $258 million property tax cut. Washington law, passed by voter initiative I-960, requires that a two-thirds majority be reached in the legislature on bills which raise taxes. As State Senate Majority Leader, Brown initiated a lawsuit in 2009 challenging the measure, which the state supreme court rejected unanimously. Later, in 2010, Brown voted yes on S.B. 6843 and S.B. 6130 to suspend the two-thirds threshold required by state law to raise taxes. In 2005, Brown had advocated for the legislature to be given the authority to raise taxes without having to meet the two-thirds threshold. Welfare policy Brown's time in the House coincided with a national movement for welfare reform, a large part of President Bill Clinton's agenda. Brown was opposed to welfare reform that involved making any cuts to the program, specifically those which cut programs for parents and children. She opposed a welfare bill that would end benefits for teenage parents and put a two-year cap on benefits for everyone. Approximately 40% of the citizens in Spokane relied on public assistance programs during Brown's tenure. Health care policy Brown, during her 2018 campaign for the House of Representatives, proposed the U.S. federal government provide a public option for health insurance, the lowering of the age of eligibility for Medicare, and