I don’t have a cite but I heard or read that the federal prosecutors who were fired were all in swing states were/will be replaced by people who are expected to prosecute “voter fraud” cases in 2008, which in GOP code is suppressing the vote of minorities. If the gambit is true, and it works, this could bail out the Republican party in the upcoming elections.
And you thought Karl Rove had lost his touch. 
The SoW is rarely a swing state — it most often falls on the blue end of the spectrum.
Insofar as there was a political component to McKay’s firing, it was probably his refusal to investigate alleged voter fraud in the 2004 Washington gubernatorial election. Dino Rossi ® beat Christine Gregoire (D) in the initial count by 261 votes, and a mandatory recount confirmed the Rossi win but shrank the margin to 42 votes. The state Democrats took advantage of a provision in state law that allows a party to request a third (hand) recount by ponying up the anticipated cost. This final recount swung the election to Gregoire by 133 votes. (The Democrats, by the way, got their money back.)
Since there were some major screwups in the King County elections office — which covers heavily-Democratic Seattle — the possibility of fraud reared its head. The state Republicans sued to overturn the election, but the judge, after hearing extensive testimony, ruled against them. (The judge, who happened to be a Republican in a heavily-Republican county, chided them for bringing a basically groundless lawsuit.)
Whether there was political pressure for McKay to pursue the matter in the Federal arena is a matter for debate. It is a fact that the chief of staff for US Rep “Doc” Hastings called him to ask if he was looking into allegations of fraud, but McKay cut the conversation off as soon as it became clear where it was heading.
It’s still not crystal clear what pulled the trigger on McKay’s dismissal, but if it was political, it was probably punishment for a “sin of omission” rather than a setup for electoral harassment in 2008 — the subject is still too fresh in everyone’s mind.
Thanks.