Will the fourth time be the charm? Republican state Sen. Dino Rossi announced on Thursday that he'll make his fourth bid for higher office next year, this time to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Dave Reichert in Washington’s 8th Congressional District. About four-fifths of the district covers the outer suburbs on the eastern edge of the greater Seattle-Tacoma area, while the other one-fifth includes more rural territory east of the Cascades. Rossi is a commercial real estate developer who has served in the state Senate on and off again since his initial 1996 victory, with his most recent stint following an appointment last year to replace a Republican incumbent who died.
Rossi was Team Red's nominee for Senate in 2010 and governor in 2008 and 2004, but lost all three times in heavily contested races. His first bid for governor was for an open seat against Democrat Christine Gregoire, which saw him fall shy by just 129 votesafter an ugly and drawn-out recount during which Rossi had unsuccessfully fought for a new election to take place. He lost their 2008 rematch by 53-47, but considerably outran John McCain's 57-40 defeat in that year's presidential race. Rossi then challenged longtime Democratic Sen. Patty Murray in 2010, but fell short of victory by 52-48.
Although Rossi failed to win at the statewide level in those three contests, he carried the 8th District each time, including a solid 55-45 edge over Murray here in 2010. This seat backed Hillary Clinton 48-45 and Obama by 50-48 in 2012, but it's no stranger to supporting down-ballot Republicans like Rossi. For instance, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee lost it by 54-46 last year even as he was winning statewide by that same margin. Rossi will consequently be a formidable candidate if he ends up as the GOP's standard-bearer
However, Rossi isn't the only Republican who is interested in this seat. State Rep. Drew Stokesbary confirmed that he's still considering a bid of his own. No other prominent Republicans have formally joined the race yet, but if Rossi draws just one other notable GOP rival, it could complicate things for Democrats thanks to Washington's electoral system.
All candidates run on a single primary ballot, and the top-two finishers advance to the general election regardless of party. With several Democrats running before Reichert announced his retirement and more interested in the race afterward, a fractured Democratic field could allow Rossi and another Republican to take both general election spots if they more evenly divide the GOP vote.
While this sort of debacle hasn't yet happened in Washington since the adoption of top-two, the very same thing occurred in a 2012 House race in California, costing Democrats a seat that easily backed Obama that year. However, if no additional strong candidates run for Republicans, it significantly increases the odds that a Democrat will face Rossi in what is one of Team Blue's top pickup opportunities next year.