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All 3 GOP presidential candidates are coming to Washington state

caption: Barbara Hagstrom of Duvall shows off her Trump t-shirt at the 5th Legislative District GOP Caucus last month.
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Barbara Hagstrom of Duvall shows off her Trump t-shirt at the 5th Legislative District GOP Caucus last month.
KUOW Photo/Deborah Wang

The Republican presidential contest is going to be heating up very quickly in Washington state.

All three GOP candidates have announced that they are coming here to campaign before the state's primary.

Ohio Governor John Kasich was the last of the three candidates to confirm. His state campaign co-chair says Kasich will make a swing through Washington state, most likely on his way to or from Oregon.

Ted Cruz will also be campaigning here, probably in the middle of next week, according to his state campaign chair.

And Donald Trump will be making several campaign appearances in the state sometime in May, according to local campaign officials.

The arrival of the entire GOP field is unusual for Washington. The state’s primary on May 24 is one of the last six contests in the nation. Usually the nomination is sewn up by that point.

"We out on the West Coast have not played a significant role in who is nominated to be president of the United States," said former Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed, co-chair of John Kasich’s campaign. "So I think it’s pretty terrific that this year we three states here in the Pacific Coast are going to play a very important role."

Ballots will be mailed out next Wednesday, May 4. So far, no details have been released about the dates, times or venues of the three candidates' appearances.

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