Washington politician Dino Rossi to announce US Senate bid

Former Washington Republican state legislator Dino Rossi is to announce on Wednesday that he is running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democratic Senator Patty Murray. The story broke Tuesday morning with reports that Rossi had begun hiring senior campaign staffers including Pat Shortidge, who most recently worked on Marco Rubio's Senate campaign in Florida.

While Rossi failed twice at winning the Washington State governor's office in 2004 and 2008, a poll by the University of Washington in early May 2010 showed that a Senate race between Patty Murray and Dino Rossi would be close. Meanwhile, several other Republicans in Washington State have already declared their intentions to run against Murray. A Rossi announcement this Wednesday could cause some turmoil within the Washington State Republican party, as other candidates have already gathered key endorsements and are moving forward with their campaigns.

On August 17, 2010 Washington State will have a primary election where the two candidates who get the most votes will advance to the general election in November.