Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, a White House favorite, makes the Top 50 `politicos to watch' list' just released by the beltway insiders' chatty Politico. As you'll recall, Gregoire has been mentioned for a variety of cabinet posts, and the Obama Administration made no secret that she's on their short list to succeed Elena Kagan as Solicitor General.

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“It’s not surprising that Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire is on President Barack Obama’s shortlist to replace Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan as solicitor general. Gregoire, a superdelegate who backed Obama in the 2008 presidential race, has long been rumored as a candidate for various White House posts. Yet after the election, amid speculation that she could be nominated as commerce secretary or a Supreme Court justice, she told reporters she intended to run for reelection that year: “I made it clear early on I would not accept an appointment.” She may feel differently now. Gregoire, who got her law degree from Gonzaga University, has a strong legal background. She began her career in the state attorney general’s office, and she served for 12 years as Washington’s first female attorney general — taking on drug companies and joining lawsuits against Big Tobacco — before running for governor in 2004."