SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Former Republican state chairman Kevin Mannix made it official. He's entering the race for the Oregon congressional seat being vacated by Democrat Darlene Hooley.

Mannix will have to fight for his party's nomination against Mike Erickson, a wealthy businessman from Lake Oswego who ran against Hooley in 2006.

AP photo

Kevin Mannix.

On the Democratic side, a primary contest is set between state Sen. Kurt Schrader and political consultant Steve Marks.

Mannix is a well-known figure in the district, which stretches from the Portland suburbs to the mid-Willamette Valley and out to the Oregon Coast.

He represented the city of Salem in the state Legislature, and is known statewide from his runs for attorney general and governor.

He's also known statewide as the sponsor of several tough-on-criminals initiatives, including Measure 11, which imposed mandatory minimum prison sentences.