Carolyn Long
Carolyn Long

Washington state Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, will challenge Republican Congresswomen Jaime Herrera Beutler in the state’s 3rd Congressional District.

Moeller represents the most formidable challenger to enter the 2016 race against Jaime Herrera Beutler.

“It means that is a competitive race, where it wasn’t before” said Carolyn Long, a political professor at Washington State University Vancouver.

Moeller served as a member of the Vancouver City Council before running for state representative. He was elected to the Washington House in 2002 and served as speaker pro tempore until giving up his seat this year to run for lieutenant governor.

Moeller has worked as a drug dependency councilor in Clark County for the last 30 years. While in the Washington Legislature, he authored a bill that became law aimed at curbing opiate addiction.

Long said Moeller will have access to donors and likely party resources because he’s been in Democratic politics for so long. She said those connections will help him run a competitive race.

But Long also noted that when Washington’s 3rd Congressional District was redrawn, it was done so as a relatively safe district that favors Republicans.

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