A few weeks after the state's November 2004 gubernatorial election, which Democrat Chris Gregoire won by a tiny margin following two recounts, Hastings' former chief of staff, Ed Cassidy, called McKay to ask about investigating voter fraud. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the election case—which McKay declined to prosecute—came up when he was interviewed for a federal judgeship in 2006. One lawyer in the White House counsel's office said McKay had "mishandled" the case. He didn't get the judicial seat.