State Rep. Jaime Herrera easily defeated two more conservative Republican candidates in Washington’s top two primary Tuesday and won the chance to face Democrat Denny Heck in the high-stakes 3rd Congressional District race this fall.
In preliminary returns from all seven counties in the district, Herrera, R-Camas, was drawing about 27.16 percent of the vote to 31.5 percent for Heck. In Clark County, Herrera did slightly better, drawing almost 31 percent to Heck’s 32 percent.
It was another notch in the 31-year-old lawmaker’s meteoric political career — and a disappointment for the man considered to be her main Republican opponent, Olympia financial consultant and former Bush administration official David Castillo. He finished fourth, behind David W. Hedrick, a Tea Party candidate.
“I’m very excited,” Herrera said at her campaign headquarters in Hazel Dell, where family, friends and supporters munched on deviled eggs and homemade brownies as they waited for the vote tally. “We’ve had the same mission throughout the campaign: We need to rein in federal spending and we need to focus on job creation . . . I look forward to the opportunity to get into how we go about creating jobs with my Democratic opponent.”
Heck, greeting friends at Tommy O’s Bistro in downtown Vancouver before the vote numbers began trickling in, said, “The only number I care about tonight is 13.3” — the latest unemployment percentage for Clark County, also released Tuesday.
Asked whether he thought job creation would be an effective issue against his Republican opponent in the general election campaign, Heck said “It’s an authentic issue. Whether it’s effective will depend on the voters. They are the ones who will make this choice.”
Castillo, a financial consultant, launched his campaign against Democratic U.S. Rep. Brian Baird last summer, six months before Baird announced he would not seek re-election. He said from his home in Olympia that he had no regrets.
“This was a neat experience,” he said. “I set out to advance conservatism and get some conservative ideas into the debate, and I think we did that. I congratulate Jaime Herrera and Denny Heck, and I’m looking forward to building my business back up.”
Hedrick respectable
If there was a surprise Tuesday, it was the strong showing by Hedrick, who gained notoriety last year when he challenged Baird at a town hall meeting about health care reform.
Hedrick, a management consultant who lives in Camas, captured 13.8 percent of the vote district-wide and 15.45 percent in Clark County with an aggressive campaign in which he called for privatization of Social Security and strict adherence to the original U.S. Constitution. Castillo had the endorsement of Freedom Watch, which helped launch the Tea Party movement last year, and the endorsements of all the state’s major newspapers, but he won less than 12 percent of the vote district-wide and 9.7 percent in Clark County.
Toss-up district
The 3rd District is one of a handful of true “toss-up” districts in the country, and the outcome of the race in November could help determine whether Republicans gain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Taken together, the three Republicans in the race commanded nearly 53 percent of the vote, signaling that Heck will face an uphill fall campaign in a year when the GOP has the momentum to capture seats held by Democrats.
The influence of the Tea Party in Washington politics is still an open question. Asked whether she expected to attract support from voters who favored Castillo and Hedrick, Herrera said,” I am open to anyone who agrees with my message that the federal government is out of control.
Herrera, who grew up in Clark County, quit her Capitol Hill job three years ago to come home and win appointment to an open seat in the 18th Legislative District. When Baird announced last December that he would retire from Congress at the end of 2010, she quickly jumped into the race with backing from her former boss, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Colville, and mentors including state Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield.
Her youth, gender and Hispanic heritage captured the attention of the national party.
Heck an early favorite
Heck won early endorsements from Baird and Gov. Chris Gregoire. A former legislator from Clark County, he became a political insider in Olympia as chief of staff to Gov. Booth Gardner and founder of the TVW public affairs station. More recently, he made shrewd investments in several businesses, which allowed him to contribute $350,000 to his primary campaign.
His campaign has focused almost exclusively on his record of job creation and the need to boost employment and economic development in Southwest Washington.
Olympia peace activist Cheryl Crist, a Democrat, won 11.45 percent of the vote, and Independent Norma Jean Stevens of Pacific County, a political newcomer, attracted 4.15 percent.
Kathie Durbin: 360-735-4523; kathie.durbin@columbian.com
