Since the beginning of Washington’s top-two primary four years ago, most of the Democrat vs. Democrat or Republican vs. Republican general elections have come in one-party legislative districts where no one from the other party has filed for the office.
When no Republican ran for Snohomish County prosecuting attorney last year, the Democrat vs. Democrat general election was one of the most noticeable in the state.
This year, the 7th Congressional District could become the state’s first really high-profile one-party general election. That’s because the most active challenger to six-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott is another Democrat, Andrew Hughes.
The district now includes Edmonds, Woodway, Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, in addition to most of its traditional Seattle base and some of Seattle’s southwest suburbs.
Although four Democrats, three Republicans and one independent will be on the primary ballot, only McDermott and Hughes have been actively campaigning.
Hughes has been campaigning on a platform of reforming Congress through publicly financed campaigns, term limits and nonpartisan redistricting.
Hughes has reported raising $162,847 to $170,145 for McDermott and $11,343 for a third Democrat, Donovan Rivers. None of the other candidates have reported any fundraising or spending.
In the 2010 general election, McDermott defeated an independent candidate, 83 percent to 17 percent. In 2008, he defeated a Republican, 84 percent to 16 percent.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.
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