Benton: 'Too late' for Rossi

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Washington state Sen. Don Benton says he doesn’t expect Republican Dino Rossi to enter the race for U.S. Senate this year, citing his personal friendship with the two-time gubernatorial candidate.

Benton, who has already entered the race against Sen. Patty Murray on the Republican side, told POLITICO Monday: “Dino’s a good friend of mine. I’ve talked to him many times. I don’t believe Dino would allow me to sacrifice my family time and my business if he was going to run for U.S. Senate. “

“If he had serious plans, I really believe he would have told me that,” Benton said. “I just don’t see it.”

Benton is one of several lesser-known Republican candidates who have lined up to take a shot at Murray, a three-term Democrat whose approval rating has flagged over the last year.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35679.html