OLYMPIA -- State Sen. Karen Fraser joined the 2016 lieutenant governor's race Tuesday, a campaign which could be relatively crowded on the Democratic side.

Fraser, who represents part of Olympia in the Senate, joins Sen. Cyrus Habib, D-Seattle, as announced members of the Senate chamber seeking a job which includes presiding over said chamber when the Legislature is in town. The current occupant of the post, Brad Owen, has not said whether he'll seek a sixth term. He has filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission, but hasn't reported any campaign contributions, so he's a definite maybe and plans to announce his plans in the near future.

Word of Fraser's plans debuted on Facebook Monday night with requests from supporters for people to "like" her official campaign account. She followed it up with a press release announcement Tuesday morning, contending her 27 years in the legislature "sets her apart from other who might seek the position." That could be seen as a slight jab at Habib, who has had what some would consider a meteoric rise in the normally slow-moving Legislature: He was elected to the House in 2012, spent two years there then won an open Senate seat, to which he was sworn in this January.

So far Republicans have one candidate in the race, Javier Figueroa, the mayor pro tem of University Place.

 

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