Former gov. candidate to put Washington state in play for GOP with Senate race entrance

GOP hopes candidate will flip Wash. Senate seat

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Dino Rossi is best known for losing one of the closest governor’s races in U.S. history.

Now Republicans hope he can ride a Republican tide and unseat Washington state’s powerful senior senator, Democrat Patty Murray.

Rossi is set to officially announce his entry into the race Wednesday. National Republicans courted Rossi aggressively, in part, because he represented a chance to put an 11th Senate seat in play for the GOP in November’s election.

But Rossi hesitated for months, and many wondered if the former real estate agent and father of four was willing to tackle another campaign after two failed bids for the governor’s mansion.

His 2004 defeat came after two recounts and a court case. Democrat Chris Gregoire won the 2008 rematch by some 200,000 votes.