Failed governor candidate Loren Culp to run for US House

REPUBLIC, Wash. (AP) — Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp will challenge U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, a fellow Republican, in next year’s primary after Newhouse was one of 10 members of the House GOP — including fellow Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler — who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump.

Culp, a Trump supporter who lost badly to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, spent months after the November election claiming the outcome was rigged, alleging that thousands of people had voted illegally. In December, he filed a lawsuit demanding an audit of paper ballots, vote counting machines, and results in six Washington counties.

Pair of Washington GOP lawmakers vote to impeach President Trump

A month later, Culp withdrew his lawsuit, facing criticism from Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who both labeled it baseless.

A former police officer in the town of Republic, Culp has now filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission recently saying he had created Culp for Congress to run in next year’s primary in the conservative 4th District that covers much of central Washington.

In March, GOP state Rep. Brad Klippert of the Tri-Cities also said he will run against Newhouse. Both Newhouse and Herrera-Beutler have faced criticism within their party for their impeachment votes in January, the latter of whom was formally censured by the Clark County GOP.

Many Republican organizations in the central Washington district also demanded that Newhouse resign. Newhouse, first elected in 2014, refused.

Newhouse, 65, was reelected with 66% of the vote in November. The district has a large agricultural base and runs from Canada to the Oregon state line. Trump won it with nearly 58% of the vote in the November election — his highest support in any Washington congressional district.

MyNorthwest staff contributed to this report