Culp announces run for Congress

OLYMPIA – Loren Culp filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday to run for Congress in Washington state's 4th District.

The seat is currently held by Dan Newhouse.

Culp formally announced his candidacy Friday, April 23 in an "Ignite the Right Freedom Rally" in Kennewick, after launching his website culpforcongress.com that morning.

Culp is the third person to announce he's running against Newhouse, who fell out of favor with many Republicans after voting to impeach then-President Donald Trump. State Rep. Brad Klippert of Kennewick and Prosser businessman Jerrod Sessler are also running for Newhouse's seat.

Culp, a former police chief in Republic, first became involved in politics when he refused to enforce strict gun laws following the passage of I-1639, and proposed an ordinance to city council to make Republic a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary City.

Passionate about the subject, Culp wrote "An American Cop: Upholding the Constitution and Defending Your Right to Bear Arms," publishing it in early 2019.

Culp then ran for governor against Jay Inslee last year and received 43.12% of the vote despite being new to the field.

Culp spent the last two years traveling across Washington state speaking about constitutional rights, individual freedoms and liberty.

A former sergeant in the U.S. Army, Culp served as Republic Police Chief after being a patrol officer, narcotics detective, and K-9 handler. He went into law enforcement after years as a private business owner.

Although Culp lives in Ferry County, and Congressional District 4 covers Douglas, Okanogan, Grant, Yakima, Franklin, Benton and Adams counties, the U.S. Constitution states House members must live in the state they represent, but not necessarily the same district.