Former Washington Gov. Mike Lowry, Also a Congressman, Dies

OLYMPIA (AP) — Former Washington Gov. Mike Lowry, who also served in Congress for a decade, has died.

A news release from his family says Lowry, a Democrat elected governor in 1992, died

Monday following complications from a stroke. He was 78.

In a statement, Gov. Jay Inslee said Lowry "served with compassion and humility."

He was born in the tiny town of St. John, where his family homesteaded in 1882, before statehood. After serving in Congress until 1989, he twice lost races for the U.S. Senate.

He also served as a legislative aide, King County Council member and a staffer for a nonprofit health care organization.

He decided to run for governor when the retirement of then-Gov. Booth Gardner opened up the post.