Former Assemblyman Tim Donnelly is taking another try at winning the 8th Congressional District seat. This time, the seat is open.

In September, Rep. Paul Cook, R-Apple Valley, said he will not run for re-election and will instead seek a seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2020. That leaves Cook’s post open to a newcomer.

Donnelly, a Republican who lost to Cook in 2016 and 2018, sees that opening as an opportunity, citing the country’s debt and overspending as motivation for his run.

“It’s time we stop electing the same losers who got us into this mess and expecting them to bail us out,” Donnelly said in his Monday, Oct. 28, campaign announcement.

“At the rate we’re spending, we’re sentencing the next generation to Financial Armageddon,” Donnelly added. “The only solution the politicians come up with is raising our taxes. We’re being taxed to death.”

Donnelly, of Twin Peaks, served in the state Assembly from 2010 until 2014, when he chose to run for governor rather than seek a third term.

Donnelly founded the California chapter of the Minuteman border patrol and has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration.

In his 2018 race, which was the only in the state to feature two Republicans, Donnelly positioned himself as the more conservative choice, but only won 40% of the vote.

The Republican-leaning 8th District includes Inyo and Mono counties along with the High Desert, Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs in San Bernardino County.

Donnelly joins other candidates who have already announced their campaigns: Democrat Chris Bubser, an engineer and former biotech executive; Peter Mathisen, owner of Law’s Oak Glen Coffee Shop who has no party affiliation; Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, R-Big Bear Lake; and Republican Jeremy Staat, an Iraq war veteran and former NFL player.