Republican doctor drops out of gubernatorial race, eyes US Senate run

Raul Garcia announced he would be withdrawing from the 2024 Washington state gubernatorial race and would make a run for the U.S. Senate instead.

Sources tell Jason Rantz on KTTH that Garcia will be ending his bid for governor and announcing a senate run against incumbent Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell. Cantwell is currently serving her fourth term in office. Garcia also confirmed in an interview with KING 5 that he was dropping out of the race.

Former sheriff who nabbed ‘Green River Killer’ to run for Washington governor

Garcia previously announced his governorship candidacy in May, shortly after the incumbent governor Jay Inslee said he would not seek reelection. Inslee has been the governor of Washington since 2013 and is the second elected official to serve three consecutive terms as the executive of the state’s government.

Garcia is a Yakima resident working as a trauma and Emergency Room doctor. He previously ran for governor in 2020, where he got fifth in the primary with 135,000 votes, or 5.4%.

Garcia also said that he will be endorsing former U.S. Representative Dave Reichert in the gubernatorial election.

Former King County Sheriff and former congressman Reichert filed with the public disclosure commission as a Republican candidate for governor at the end of June.

Reichert served as a member of Congress from 2005 to 2019. But he might be best known as the former King County Sheriff who helped track down the Green River Killer.

Republicans Semi Bird, Laurel Khan, Martin Wheller, Kriss Schuler, and Jim Daniel have also declared their candidacy for governor. They are facing off against several other democrats, including Public Land Commissioner Hilary Franz, Washington state Sen. Mark Mullet, and State Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

The last time a Republican governor was elected in Washington state was in 1981.

A primary election is set for August 2024, leading to a general election in November.