It’s been a quarter century since “Maggie” and “Scoop” gave Washington state the strongest one-two punch in the U.S. Senate, but political candidates here still invoke their names.

And not just Democrats, which Warren G. Magnuson and Henry M. Jackson were. This year, both Sen. Maria Cantwell and her challenger, former insurance executive Mike McGavick, have conjured the two titans’ records and reputations.

If Magnuson and Jackson were still around, they undoubtedly would give strong backing to Cantwell as a fellow Democrat. But Washington voters need to ask themselves which candidate is better suited to restore the influence and effectiveness that Washington’s two legendary senators had begun to demonstrate by the 1960s and ‘70s. We think the answer is McGavick.

In July 2005, when he was contemplating this race, McGavick declared that Washington needs senators who are “up to the standards” of Democrats Magnuson and Jackson, as well as Republicans Dan Evans and Slade Gorton. His remarks recalled a time when serious Democrats and Republicans were better at making partisanship secondary to the shared policy goals that were best for their constituents. The Pacific Northwest enjoyed a team that included Republicans Jim McClure of Idaho and Mark Hatfield of Oregon, and the region’s interests were well-represented no matter which party held the majority.

That history is relevant to the 2006 race in which McGavick has stressed his determination to be independent of party marching orders, whether they come from Senate leadership or the White House. That would be a welcome departure from the present divisive climate in that chamber. It could be especially important at a time when party control of Congress may be in flux and majority rule an unreliable asset.

Cantwell’s six years in the Senate have coincided with a rigid ideological divide that makes it difficult for the Congress to work on challenges facing the nation.

Let’s give her credit for securing passage of federal legislation allowing Washington residents to deduct state sales taxes on their federal income tax returns. However, when that legislation expired this year, and a bill to extend it included additional tax provisions with sharp partisan overtones, Cantwell voted no.

McGavick, as a former legislative aide to Gorton, has political background that would allow a comfortable transition to the Senate. As the Eastern Washington coordinator for Gorton’s 1980 campaign, he also would bring some needed familiarity with this side of the state.

Mostly, he would bring to the Senate the expertise acquired as CEO of Safeco Insurance, where he is credited with reversing serious financial trends that threatened the survival of the corporation. Significantly, campaign attack ads have implied that he laid off employees and took a fat buyout in return. Excessive compensation of corporate honchos is a valid issue, but to draw a feeble connection with that and the restructuring move that prevented the loss of many more jobs is underhanded and irresponsible.

The Safeco experience shows McGavick to be an effective problem-solver and decision-maker.

Cantwell has been an adequate senator for the past six years, but in the tradition of Maggie and Scoop, Washington deserves something more. McGavick has the potential to fulfill that expectation.