Didier Top Vote Getter in Washington State Primary Election

Tea Party favorite Clint Didier (R) earned the most votes in the Washington state primary election Tuesday to advance to the November ballot for the 4th Congressional District seat held by retiring Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). Also on the ballot will be fellow Republican Dan Newhouse. Washington state uses a top-two voting system that allows the two candidates with the most votes to advance to the general election regardless of party. Didier, who played on three Super Bowl teams with the Washington Redskins, had almost 31 percent of the vote counted by Wednesday in a 12 person-field. Newhouse, a former state legislator and state agriculture director, had almost 27 percent of the vote.

Didier said at a campaign forum that a $2 billion annual budget for Hanford was more than adequate, but has also said that the nation is obligated to clean up Hanford and that it can be done effectively with existing tax revenue. He criticized bureaucracy, including the Tri-Party Agreement, saying it was interfering with timely cleanup at Hanford. Newhouse said on a Tri-City Herald questionnaire that Hanford is not an appropriate target for budget cuts. “Greater transparency from the federal government and more decision-making authority here rather than 3,000 miles away in Washington, D.C., are needed to ensure that cleanup is conducted as safely, efficiently and quickly as possible,” he said.