West Seattle Businessman Joins Senate Race

West Seattle businessman Gordon Herr has entered the U.S. Senate race as a Republican, 18 years after losing his seat in the state Senate.

Herr is the third declared candidate in the GOP primary, joining U.S. Rep. Linda Smith, R-Wash., and former King County prosecutor Christopher Bayley.

The former state senator and lumberyard owner said his biggest challenge will be raising $1 million to defeat Smith, considered the front-runner for the GOP nomination.

Herr is a longtime Democrat who switched parties when Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992. He ran for Seattle mayor last year, spending several thousand dollars of his own money and finishing eighth in the primary.