Retired Army Col. Lou Huddleston said Wednesday that he will seek the GOP nomination in the race against freshman Rep. Larry Kissell (D-N.C.), less than one week after former Rep. Robin Hayes (R) announced he would not try to regain his old 8th district seat.“It is time to stop the silly partisanship, the political blame games, and the outrageous spending and get down to the basics of doing what’s right for the American people,— Huddleston said in his announcement. “Unfortunately, Washington politics has been part of the problem instead of part of the solution.—Kissell rode last year’s Democratic wave to victory over Hayes, after losing narrowly to the Congressman in 2006. But National Republicans see the 8th district as a prime take-back opportunity in the midterm elections.Huddleston, who worked for four years at the Fayetteville-based RLM Communications before leaving to become an independent defense industry consultant, is coming off a failed state House bid in 2008. In that race, he took 38 percent of the vote against Democrat Margaret Dickson.Huddleston, who is black, served tours overseas, at the Pentagon and at Fort Bragg (which is split between the 2nd, 7th and 8th districts) during his time in the Army. The population of the Charlotte-based 8th district is 27 percent black, in addition to having a significant military population.Earlier this month another potential GOP candidate, Tennessee Valley Authority official Linwood Faulk, announced he would skip the 8th district race as well and told local newspapers that he intends to support Huddleston.