Former State Senator Dino Rossi, who came just over 100 votes from winning the Washington State governor's mansion in 2004, officially filed papers with the Secretary of State yesterday to make a repeat bid, the Yakima Herald-Republic reports this morning. Rossi will face incumbent Governor Christine Gregoire in November.

Republicans have not won the state's top job since 1980, but Rossi, who led Gregoire on election night and through a machine recount before losing a hand recount, promises to give the Democrat a serious race. Through the end of April, Rossi had raised $4.4 million, about three quarters of the $6 million Gregoire has pulled in so far. Rossi made up serious financial ground during this year's legislative session, when Gregoire was not allowed to raise money.

Choosing to file papers from Yakima is important: Rossi will need a big turnout from Eastern Washington, where both Congressional districts are heavily Republican, to overcome Gregoire's expected large margins in more liberal parts of the state in and around Seattle. Gregoire will likely benefit from Democratic enclaves in cities along the I-5 corridor, which runs from Bellingham on the Canadian border to Vancouver, across the Columbia River from Portland.

The key to Rossi's close finish in 2004 was his strength in the Seattle suburbs. In the state Senate, he represented a district that ran from those eastern suburbs to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Rossi ran much better in King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties, the three largest in the state, than other Republicans have in recent years.

Both candidates are in for a tough fight, as public polls have shown a narrow contest (For recent poll results, check out our earlier coverage of the race). Gregoire and Rossi each hover in the low 40s. Both national parties plan to be involved in the race, as Republicans see it as one of their top pickup opportunities while Democrats have made the state, along with North Carolina, their highest defensive priority.

Gregoire will be in that other Washington next week for a series of fundraisers, when she will sit down with Politics Nation to talk about the race and her opportunities this year.