Ex-WA governor candidate Culp announces run against Rep. Newhouse in fiery speech
Loren Culp officially announced his plan to run against Rep. Dan Newhouse at the end of a three-hour rally in Kennewick on Friday night.
But news of his intent to run began spreading earlier this week after he filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.
The former Republic police chief and failed Washington gubernatorial candidate is the latest Republican to take aim at Newhouse after the 4th District congressman voted to impeach former President Donald Trump.
“Newhouse voted with the socialists to impeach one of the greatest presidents of my lifetime,” he said in a fiery 35-minute speech to a crowd of about 150 outside of the Clover Island Inn.
Newhouse represents the 4th District, which runs from Benton County to Okanogan County and the Canadian border. It includes Douglas, Grant, Yakima, Franklin and Adams counties.
Public records show Culp’s last address is in tiny Republic, Wash., in Ferry county, east of the district’s boundary.
Culp promised to push back against the “socialist Democrat way.” He claimed Republicans are accepting too many compromises.
“I will quit fighting when I draw my last breath on the day that I die,” he told the crowd. “This is not a spectator sport. We can’t stand on the sidelines. “
He blamed Democrats for rioting, looting and racial division, as well as saying they are “pro-crime, anti-police, sexualizing our children.”
“They are pushing hard to ruin this country, and they are succeeding,” he said. “The Democrats are the ones that create the racial divide.”
As a constitutional conservative, he said he believes in less taxes, less regulation and more individual freedom.
Culp continued claims that the vote-by-mail system invites voter fraud, saying that a Republican won’t get elected to a statewide office “until we go back to in-person voting.”
He sued the state over his claims, but later withdrew the lawsuit. He said he did so only because it would have been too costly to continue fighting.
The Associated Press reported Culp was facing a threat of legal sanctions for making meritless claims.
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, also a Republican, denies that there was widespread fraud in the system.
Along with announcing his own intention to run, he urged the crowd at the event to get involved by running for local elections. He said he never thought about pursuing public office until he refused to enforce Initiative 1639, which imposed some restrictions on semi-automatic rifles.
This story was originally published April 24, 2021 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Ex-WA governor candidate Culp announces run against Rep. Newhouse in fiery speech."