Bloglander

Three weeks ago, State Senator Don Benton was leading the pack of Republicans for the Washington state primary to challenge Democratic Senator Patty Murray.

But then in walks Dino Rossi, perhaps the best known Republican in Washington State. 

Rossi told The Inlander that Benton had once promised him that Benton would step down if Rossi joined the race. Rossi joined the race.

But when we interviewed Benton last week, he welcomed Rossi into the race, noted how many views they shared, and showed no signs of exiting the race.

A week changes things. Today, at www.bentonforsenate.com, Don Benton announced he was dropping out of the race to be able to consolidate resources more effectively and threw his full support behind Rossi, his old friend from the state senate. Watch the full announcement here.