Compared with the relative hysteria elsewhere, the race can seem restrained. Mr. Rossi, known for balancing a tough budget in the legislature, is no Tea Party apostle, nor is he an outspoken social conservative. He is not a billionaire or a professional wrestler. He is also not a proven winner. His last two campaigns, both for governor, ended in defeat. Republicans recruited him once again this year, in part, because he has what one supporter called “an honorable name.”

Ms. Murray is the opposite of flash. After 18 years in office, she still reminds voters that she was a young mom in tennis shoes when she first took on lawmakers at the State Capitol in the 1980s. She is quick to say she is proud of President Obama and proud of bringing home millions of dollars in earmarks.

Without substantial scandals or wedge issues to work with, the candidates mostly argue about actual policy, principally fiscal, whether in person or in an endless stream of television commercials, some of which have been misleading.

Mr. Rossi says Ms. Murray is emblematic of a Congress that is bankrupting America by passing stimulus spending and the health care overhaul and by spending millions on earmarks. He often accuses her of “playing class warfare” by suggesting that he wants to protect the wealthy. He says his message of low taxes and limited regulation is for the middle class.

“When people are broke and out of work, they’re willing to listen to other ideas,” Mr. Rossi said in an interview here after rallying campaign supporters.

Ms. Murray says Mr. Rossi will bankrupt America by giving tax breaks to the wealthy, and she does not back down from her votes for the Democratic agenda. She says Mr. Rossi, who has vowed not to seek any earmarks, is misreading what voters want and what the state needs.