Democrat Tom Foley held the 5th District seat for 30 years and rose to become speaker of the House, no. 3 in line for the presidency.
In 1994, Foley became the first speaker to lose reelection since the Civil War when Spokane lawyer George Nethercutt upset him by 4,000 votes in a landslide year for the GOP. Nethercutt was rewarded with a seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He ran against U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in 2004 and lost.
Nethercutt died Friday at the age of 79 after a long illness.
Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers replaced Nethercutt in the House in 2004 and has held the seat for 20
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