Democrat Denny Heck hasn’t given up on serving in Congress after being defeated by Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler last November in an effort to represent Southwest Washington.
Heck filed documents with the Federal Election Commission last Thursday showing his intent to run again. While he currently lives in the northern end of the 3rd Congressional District, redistricting to add a 10th congressional seat in Washington could place him in that new district.
The Olympia Democrat initially filed to run in that still-to-be-created 10th District, before refiling less than an hour later indicating he was running in a yet-to-be specified district.
He told The Seattle Times that he’d intended to list “00” as the district, but his accountant mistakenly wrote in “10.”
Heck told the Seattle Times he is open to running in a rematch against Herrera Beutler or in the new congressional district.
Redistricting could give Heck an easier path to Congress. There has been some talk that the new 10th Congressional District could be anchored around the more liberal-leaning Olympia area.
Heck did fairly well last year running in what is considered a swing district during a year that tilted toward the GOP. He took 47 percent of the vote compared to Herrera Beutler’s 53 percent.
As the economy continues to sputter, Heck is sure to tout his extensive business background as the difference between himself and his eventual opponents. He co-founded Intrepid Learning Solutions, a Washington based worker-training program, and was an original investor in RealNetworks, the digital company that first began streaming video on the Internet.
