State Rep. Beth Doglio, D-Olympia, announced her candidacy for Washington’s 10th Congressional District on Saturday.
The two-term legislator from the 22nd Legislative District made the announcement before her family, friends and colleagues at the Thurston County Democrats annual brunch, according to a press release.
“I am honored to serve in the Legislature, but the stakes are simply too high, and the consequences of continued dysfunction at the federal level are too dire for me to sit on the sidelines,” she said in a press release. “I want to take what we have done in this Washington to the other Washington … We need progressive leaders with a track record of building coalitions who get things done so we can get our country back on track.”
Doglio currently works as the campaign director at Climate Solutions, a regionally-based clean energy economy nonprofit, and serves as the regional co-director for the Power Past Coal campaign, according to her House Democrats biography.
In her current seat in the state Legislature, Doglio has been a staunch advocate on fighting climate change and turning Washington’s economy over to the greener side.
She had hinted at a potential run last year following the announcement of Congressman Denny Heck’s retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives
If elected to the seat, Doglio says she plans on bringing her track record on clean climate solutions, affordable housing and gun control from the state level to the federal.
“We need strong leaders in Congress who step up to call for Medicare for all while working now to improve the Affordable Care Act bringing down drug prices and insurance CEO pay. I want to tell the positive story about how we in Washington have raised wages and expanded family leave while building a strong diverse economy,” she said.
Doglio enters this race with funds raised from her exploratory committee campaign and says she doesn’t plan on taking corporate political action committee (PAC) dollars. Data from her exploratory committee has not yet been posted on the U.S. Federal Election Commission’s website.
From 1991 to 1995, Doglio served as the founding executive director of Washington Conservation Voters, and in 1996 was the field organizer for the National Abortion and Reproduction Rights Action League, according to her online biography.
She’s lived in the Olympia area for more than 20 years and, in addition to working in campaign leadership positions, has worked in the the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
For more information, visit her website at www.bethdoglio.com.