It may be three-and-out for former Redskin tight end Clint Didier as fellow Republican Dan Newhouse is claiming victory in the cliffhanger race for a U.S. House seat in Washington state.
The race in the state’s 4th congressional district is one of the last in the nation still undecided from last week’s midterm vote. Mr. Newhouse issued a statement last Monday claiming the win.
A loss would give Mr. Didier, a tea party conservative who won two Super Bowl rings with the Redskins, his third campaign defeat after running for Senate in 2010 and for state lands commissioner in 2012.
Mr. Newhouse is projected to have won by just over 2,600 votes, 1.5 percentage points, after all of the votes have been accounted for, according to unofficial results posted by Washington state’s Secretary of State’s office. The results of the race will be official No. 24 when counties certify results.
Four days after the Associated Press declared Mr. Newhouse the victor, Mr. Newhouse, a former state agricultural commissioner, is flying to Washington, D.C. to join the other freshmen members for orientation organized by the House Committee on Administration on Wednesday. Mr. Newhouse’s campaign could not immediately be reached for confirmation.
“We’re confident that Dan received the most votes and will be certified as the winner of the election by the Secretary of State, and Dan has already begun planning the transition,” spokesman Jim Keough said last night in an email to the Yakima Herald.
Mr. Didier has not yet conceded the race, and his campaign could not be reached for comment.
• Mark Pace can be reached at mpace@washingtontimes.com.
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