VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — The Republican and Democratic candidates for one of the hottest congressional races in the nation don’t agree on much but this: jobs and the struggling economy are the main concern for voters in Washington’s 3rd District.
The district that spans southwest Washington from Olympia south to Vancouver and from the Cascade Mountains east to the Pacific Ocean has regularly had the highest unemployment rate in the state. The epicenter is Clark County, which saw its rate — currently at 13.1 percent — go as high as 15.2 percent in March.
Democrat Denny Heck and Republican state Rep. Jaime Herrera agree that creating jobs is critical, but they have different ideas on how to do that.
For the thousands who are unemployed in this politically diverse district, traditional politics is less important than what the candidates promise to do about the economy.
