Spokane psychologist to challenge McMorris Rodgers

Mark Mays, a Spokane psychologist and attorney, is running as a Democrat for Congress in Eastern Washington’s 5th District.

Mays, 59, informally announced his candidacy Thursday in an e-mail and at a lunch with about a dozen potential supporters, including current and former Democratic Party officials and a previous candidate for the office.

After the luncheon, Mays described his candidacy as a chance “to bring new energy and new perspective to Eastern Washington,” but he declined to answer questions about any issues that could come up in the campaign. He plans to make a formal announcement of his candidacy in the coming weeks, he added.

Democrats have been searching for months for a candidate to run for the U.S. House seat held by Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Democrats held the district, which contains Spokane and 11 other counties, for 30 years but lost it in 1994 when Spokane attorney George Nethercutt defeated House Speaker Tom Foley.

Nethercutt defended the seat easily in four successive elections until he left it in 2004 in an unsuccessful Senate run. McMorris Rodgers, a state legislator at the time, won a hotly contested Republican primary and then defeated Democrat Don Barbieri, a Spokane business leader. Barbieri was among the Democrats at Thursday’s luncheon.

Two years ago, McMorris Rodgers defeated Okanogan rancher Peter Goldmark, surviving in a year when Democrats took control of the House. That race set spending records for the district, with McMorris Rodgers spending more than $1.9 million and Goldmark nearly $1.2 million.

One of the problems that Goldmark faced, Democrats said in 2006, was entering the race late. He announced his candidacy in the fall of 2005, dropped out for several months, then re-entered the race in March after no other candidate surfaced.

McMorris Rodgers has not officially announced a re-election campaign but is raising money. At the end of 2007, her Federal Elections Commission reports showed more than $570,000 in contributions and about $280,000 in the bank after campaign expenses. She usually announces her campaigns in mid-March.