Clint Didier joins Washington’s 4th District race

Clint Didier has joined in the GOP hunt to replace outgoing 4th Congressional District Rep. Doc Hastings.

Didier, a Central Washington rancher and former NFL tight end, announced his candidacy Monday afternoon. The 59-year-old aligned himself with the tea party segment of the Republican Party in a failed bid for U.S. Senate in 2010. He thanked Hastings for his service during a brief statement declaring his entry into the race.

“This is no exploratory committee,” said Didier, wearing cowboy boots with dress slacks. “I’m in. I’m all in.”

The two-time Super Bowl champion with the Washington Redskins mustered a third-place finish in the 2010 blanket primary, trailing Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and eventual GOP candidate Dino Rossi. Didier said Monday he would try to appeal to a larger segment of the public in this campaign.

The district, which stretches from Canada to Oregon in Central Washington, tends to favor GOP candidates. Gov. Jay Inslee was the last Democrat to win election in the 4th District, in 1992, and he served just one term.