Washington County and the 1^st District will be witnesses to a major showdown in the fall of 2010, as incumbent Democrat Congressman David Wu is being challenged by a Tualatin businessman for the congressional seat.

            Sports consultant and marketer Rob Cornilles, a registered Republican, threw his hat into the ring on Tuesday, citing Wu’s fiscal votes as the primary reason for his challenge. Cornilles told Rob Kremer on Friday's Lars Larson program that “[his] family has decided to put our personal desires aside and to go forward with this opportunity”. Cornilles also mentioned that he made his decision after visiting with members at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).  

            In a press release on Thursday, Cornilles stated that “Oregonians desperately need a responsible voice in Washington, DC – someone that was born and raised here, lives and works here and recognizes the opportunities that are possible here when you have a fiscally responsible representative in Congress that truly relates with and fights for Oregon’s middle class families.”

            Wu, who was first elected to the seat to replace Rep. Elisabeth Furse in 1999, has been seen as largely ineffective on Capitol Hill and has been hit in recent days for his votes on TARP, the Waxman-Markey “cap and trade” bill, as well as making remarks about “klingons in the White House” during the Bush Administration.

            Oregon’s 1st District has not elected a Republican to the seat since 1975, when Les AuCoin beat Wendell Wyatt. The district covers all of Clatsop, Columbia, Yamhill, Washington, and a part of Multnomah County, which was allocated to the district in the 2002 redistricting.