Rep. Hankins endorses Novakovich for her seat in LD8

Chris Mulick at the TCH is reporting that retiring Rep. Shirley Hankins (R-Richland) has endorsed Skip Novakovich for her open seat this year. When he entered the race in mid-May Novakovich, who used to work for Hankins, swiped at his opponents for announcing their candidacy before Hankins formally retired.

"I'm kind of surprised, really," Novakovich said at the time. "It's almost like a slap in the face to her. She's making a tough decision."

Hankins said in a press release that her decision was based on his qualifications.

"After doing my homework - researching all the candidates and visiting with most of them in person, I believe Skip Novakovich is, without a doubt, the most qualified and best person for the job," Hankins said in the statement. "His years of community leadership, success as a small business owner, sincere desire to listen to the constituents, and his commitment to represent everyone in the district - with no personal agenda - is what we need."

Also in the race are Democrat Carol Moser and Republicans Rick Jansons, Brad Klippert and Steve Simmons.