Second Republican candidate announces bid for late Sen. Ericksen’s seat
Jan 31, 2022, 1:22 PM
The Senate seat in Washington state that was previously occupied by the late Sen. Doug Ericksen will be on the general election ballot in November.
New state Senator Simon Sefzik views his young age ‘as an asset’
The Whatcom County Council recently named Simon Sefzik to serve in the seat for the remainder of Ericksen’s term. But one of the three candidates considered for the role in the state Senate was Whatcom County Councilmember Ben Elenbaas, who has now announced his intention to run.
“Ever since this whole process started, I felt overwhelming support from my friends and neighbors, and I believe in my ability to win and hold that seat,” Elenbaas told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “And I believe that my friends and neighbors do too. It was their support that motivated me to run.”
He says he was shown a “ton of respect” by his colleagues in the appointment process.
“I think [they have] respect for my resume and respect for how I’m viewed in the community and the support that I have,” he said. “I’m pretty sure that a lot of their decision was based off of them wanting to protect their candidate. It didn’t cause me any hard feelings with my peers. I felt like it was a respectful move on their part.”
Elenbaas does not think they named Sefzik because the young Senator would be easier for someone else to beat in the general election.
“I’m sure they view him as a threat,” Elenbaas told Rantz. “He’s a very talented and smart young man, and he’s got a bright future.”
Sefzik has also said he will run for this seat once it’s up, as has Sharon Shewmake, who is the Democrat state representative in the 42nd District.
Knowing that Sefzik will run, is Elenbaas at all concerned that the Republican vote would be split?
“I don’t think it would be split to the point that it’s going to cause any issues in holding the seat,” he replied. “I think two strong conservatives in the race is going to create a lot of energy in the primary. And I think that we have more good conservative candidates out there right now for both the House seats and the Senate seat than we’ve had in a long time. I think that’s going to create energy and positivity.”
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