Dino Rossi Announces Candidacy For U.S. Congress

SAMMAMISH, WA - State Senator Dino Rossi announced his candidacy Thursday night to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in Washington's 8th Congressional District. Reichert, 67, announced at the beginning of the month that he would not seek re-election in the district that straddles the Cascades and includes parts of Puget Sound-area cities like Sammamish, Renton, Enumclaw and Puyallup. Rossi, of Sammamish, is a two-time Republican nominee for governor.

Rossi made the announcement at a Bellevue Republic party event and now has a "Dino for Congress" website.

"Congress is broken and needs fresh leadership," Rossi says on his website. "Working together, I believe we can solve problems for the families and communities of Washington's 8th Congressional District."

Political experts, such as the Cook Political Report, consider this race to be a toss-up. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won the district by 3 points in 2016. Democrats have their eye on taking back the House of Representatives in the 2018 mid-term elections, but will need to win 24 seats.

At least five Democrats are vying for their party's nomination in the race: Issaquah pediatrician Dr. Kim Schrier, former deputy King County prosecutor Jason Rittereiser, Renton mortgage broker Mona Das, Issaquah Councilman Tola Marts and former 9th Congressional District candidate Tom Cramer.

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Image via Creative Commons