HOQUIAM — State Sen. Jim Hargrove, the Democrat who has held the Senate seat for the North Olympic Peninsula since 1993, announced that he will seek re-election this year.
By doing so, he ended speculation on whether he would seek the congressional seat being vacated by Norm Dicks.
“After much prayer and discussion with my family and my colleagues, I have concluded that the best way I can make a difference is to continue my service in the Washington State Senate,” said Hargrove, a forester who resides in Hoquiam.
“I believe I will have a greater ability to help people as an experienced leader in the Washington State Senate than as a freshman in the 435-member House of Representatives [in Washington, D.C.]. I have invested my adult
life in reducing government waste and reforming the criminal justice system in Washington state, and I feel like I should see that work through to fruition.”
Before election to the Senate in 1993, Hargrove was a state House member for the 24th District, which includes Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County that includes his hometown of Hoquiam.
He was first elected to the state Legislature in 1985.
