Washington state’s most wide-open race for Congress has one less candidate.

State Sen. Craig Pridemore, the main Democratic rival to Denny Heck for the open seat in the 3rd Congressional District, announced today he is bowing out of the race and endorsed Heck.

The Vancouver legislator had been running to the left of Heck and had picked up a big endorsement in May from the State Labor Council. But he said in a news release the “intense” pace of the special legislative session kept him from competing in fundraising. Heck, the former state legislator and TVW founder, had $532,000 in campaign cash on hand at the end of March, 10 times what Pridemore had.

Democrat Cheryl Crist of Olympia is also running for Rep. Brian Baird‘s seat, along with two Republicans, state Rep. Jaime Herrera and former Homeland Security Department official David Castillo.

Here’s Pridemore’s news release:

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Perhaps it’s because it is an open seat. Perhaps it’s because it is a swing district that both parties have won in recent presidential and congressional races. Perhaps it’s because it has contested primaries on both sides.

Whatever the reason, the National Journal’s Hotline On Call has put the Washington 3rd Congressional District primary as one of six to watch this fall.

On the Democratic side, Denny Heck faces Craig Pridemore. On the GOP side, it is Jamie Herrera vs. David Castillo.

Politico has this item about FreedomWorks PAC backing David Castillo, a financial adviser running for the open 3rd District seat.

Castillo has ties to the group, having worked for a predecessor, Citizens for a Sound Economy. Also declared on the GOP side of the campaign is state Rep. Jamie Hererra from Ridgefield.

Politico reports that the endorsement is important because Hererra was attracting most of the mainstream Republican Party support.

The seat is open because incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Baird has decided not to run again.