Republican David Castillo, the fourth-place finisher in last Tuesday’s primary race for the open 3rd Congressional District seat, urged his supporters on Tuesday not to sit out the general election but to support the Republican candidate in November.
That happens to be state Rep. Jaime Herrera, R-Camas, but Castillo stopped short of calling his statement an endorsement.
“I was getting contacted by a lot of people who were very disappointed and said they just might not vote,” Castillo said in an interview. He said he doesn’t want to be responsible for costing the Republican Party a chance to win the open seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat.
“I knew it was important to put out a statement saying we need to support the Republican nominee, and it’s her,” he said.
Herrera won 27.9 percent of the vote to Castillo’s 12.1 percent, according to the latest state returns. Tea Party Republican David Hedrick came in third with 13.7 percent. Democrat Denny Heck was the first-place finisher, with 31.4 percent of the vote. Herrera will face Heck in the November general election.
Top priority: Beat Democrats
Castillo, an Olympia financial consultant and former Bush administration official, had been campaigning for the seat since June of 2009. He said he got into the race because of deep concern for his 4-year-old son’s future.
“Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and President Obama are bankrupting this wonderful nation,” Castillo said in a statement. “They have rejected America’s unique role in the world and its place in history. They have put the needs of their special interest allies, like big unions and big corporations, before those of the American people. We cannot allow their misguided efforts to continue to undermine America’s prosperity. Denny Heck, if elected to Congress, will vote to continue the Pelosi regime. He will vote with those who want to restrict the economic and individual freedoms of all Americans. He will not do anything to stop the reckless spending that is occurring, or rein in the unsustainable debt that is accruing.”
Castillo urged disappointed supporters to “set aside any notion of sitting out this election, conducting a write-in campaign, or worse, voting for Denny Heck. “
“It is imperative that Republicans gain control of the House of Representatives in order to stop progressives like Denny Heck from marching this country into the abyss,” he said. “Republicans must capture every seat in which we have a realistic chance of victory — that includes the 3rd Congressional District. Jaime Herrera won the primary and is the Republican nominee. She now has the opportunity to put the 3rd Congressional District back in the Republican column.”
Hedrick endorsed Herrera the day after the primary. Together, the three Republicans captured 53.7 percent of the votes cast in the 3rd District contest.
