Now, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) says university professor Carolyn Long is on “a path” to beat incumbent Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler in Washington's 3rd congressional district, which runs along the Oregon border in Southwest Washington.

Washington's 8th congressional district east of Seattle turned blue for the first time in history when Democrat Kim Schrier beat Dino Rossi in 2018.

As of Tuesday, Long is on a list of just 12 Democrats nationally who will get organizational and fundraising support from the DCCC. Ten of the 12 candidates are women.

Long got within five percentage points of catching incumbent Beutler in 2018. It was a campaign that was sometimes overshadowed by other, high profile races including Washington’s 8th.

But this year, the Long campaign announced that they’ve raised more than a million dollars in the first six months of the campaign. The DCCC announcement, although not an official endorsement, could encourage other donors to also contribute.

Even with campaign cash, it won’t be an easy fight, however.

In 2016 the district voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton by six percentage points. Cook political report calls the 2020 race for the 3rd "competitive,” but also “likely” to stay in Republican hands.