Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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Chris Mulick has worked for the Herald since 1998 and has served as the statehouse correspondent covering state government and politics since 2000. He works year-round out of the Herald's Olympia bureau on the state Capitol campus. Have a question? Send Chris an e-mail and he'll answer the best questions regularly. |
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closeRetiring state Rep. Shirley Hankins has endorsed Kennewick businessman Skip Novakovich’s Republican campaign for her seat.
“After doing my homework — researching all the candidates and visiting with most of them in person, I believe Skip Novakovich is, without a doubt, the most qualified and best person for the job,” Hankins said in a press release. “His years of community leadership, success as a small business owner, sincere desire to listen to the constituents, and his commitment to represent everyone in the district — with no personal agenda — is what we need.”
What will the endorsement mean for Novakovich? Well, in a five-way primary that will probably advance just one Republican to the general election, any edge helps.
The local Democratic base alone plus a name identification developed from her years on the Richland City Council should propel Richland’s Carol Moser to the general. And that would leave Novakovich and fellow Republicans Steve Simmons, Rick Jansons and Brad Klippert scrambling for the other spot.
Novakovich used to work on Hankins’ campaigns. And he is the only candidate who waited until after Hankins announced her retirement plans to announce his campaign.
“It’s almost like a slap in the face to her,” Novakovich said at the time.
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