Former GOP official challenges Cantwell

Associated Press

SEATTLE - Former state Republican Party chairwoman Susan Hutchison, a loyal supporter of President Donald Trump, said Friday she will challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Hutchison, who filed just before the candidate-filing deadline, is the best-known of more than two-dozen challengers seeking to unseat the three-term Democrat.

"I have just been watching the situation and I think that a sitting senator who is known for doing nothing for us does not deserve a fourth term," Hutchison said in an interview with the Seattle Times. "She is a fake senator. She is a ghost in the state and in the Senate."

Hutchison also called Cantwell "a leader of the left-wing elite that are destroying our state."

State Democratic Party spokeswoman Ansley Lacitis dismissed Hutchison's prospects.

"We're confident with our chances with Sen. Maria Cantwell, a woman who has been fighting for Washington state her whole career," she said.

Before Hutchison's filing, Cantwell had faced only little-known rivals.

Hutchison is a former television news anchor who became state Republican Party chairwoman in 2013.