SEATTLE– Washington state voters are deciding in Tuesday’s primary between U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, one of the last remaining House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trumpand two conservative rivals endorsed by the Republican Party’s presidential candidate.
Other high-profile races include the battle to become the next governor in a Democratic stronghold that has not had an open race for the state’s highest office in more than a decade.
In other congressional races, Trump-backed Joe Kent is trying to mount another showdown against Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who defeated him two years ago. And Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier’s attempt to return to office was undermined by a campaign launched over the response to the war between Israel and Hamas.
Under Washington’s primary system, the top two vote-getters in each of Tuesday’s elections advance to the November elections, regardless of party. Because Washington is a vote-by-mail state, and ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, it often takes days to know the final results in close races.
Here’s a look at Washington’s top races:
Newhouse’s bid for a sixth term meant facing Trump-endorsed candidates Jerrod Sessler, a Navy veteran, and Tiffany Smiley, a former nurse who entered the race after losing to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, two years ago. Trump’s support for Sessler occurred months ago, while his support for Smiley came three days before the primaries, marking a unique moment, although not unheard ofdouble endorsement from the former president.
Newhouse’s opponents believe his vote to impeach Trump is a huge risk, but political experts warn it’s difficult to say whether the support will sway voters who already sided with Newhouse two years ago.
Newhouse is endorsed by the NRA and National Right to Life, and has largely avoided the subject of Trump. Instead, he is focused on agriculture and border security in a state with millions of acres of pastures, orchards and grain lands where immigrant labor is critically important.
Democrat Bob Ferguson, who has served as attorney general since 2013, and former Republican U.S. Rep. David Reichert They are the two biggest names among the more than two dozen candidates running. Reichert is also a former sheriff known for his work hunting Gary Ridgway, the so-called Green River Killer.
Weeks of intense disputes between leaders have led Ferguson to frame Reichert as a two-faced candidate whose more moderate rhetoric during this campaign does not align with statements he has made in private or actions he has taken in Congress. However, Reichert painted Ferguson as a candidate who would change nothing in the state while providing a continuation of “one-party rule.”
The race is considered competitive, but in a state that hasn’t had a Republican governor in nearly 40 years, any conservative candidate faces an uphill battle.
Two years ago, Gluesenkamp Perez came out of nowhere to win a congressional seat against Kent, who had Trump’s support in a district that hadn’t been in Democratic hands for more than a decade. She took a seat held by a more moderate Republican who lost the primary in part because he voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Now, armed once again with Trump’s endorsement, Kent is back to try to fill the seat in the southwest corner of the state. But he faces stiff competition as former King County Prosecutor Leslie Lewallen gains a wave of support from conservatives seeking to flip the seat back into more moderate Republican hands.
Gluesenkamp Perez, who was ranked by the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy as having one of the most bipartisan voting records in the U.S. House, far outperformed her competitors. She is expected to make it out of the primaries and face one of the closest general elections in the country.
Imraan Siddiqi, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, has made the war in Gaza a centerpiece of his platform and gained some traction by ridiculing Schrier for his approach, which often aligns with that of President Joe Biden.
The district is a mix of wealthy Seattle suburbs populated by tech workers and farmland in central Washington, and until 2019 was controlled by the Republican Party. Siddiqi’s presence could make Schrier appear more moderate, something she has historically sought through Republican support in the red district.
Schrier, a pediatrician, has been silent on the war recently, introducing instead the 14 bills she signed into law by Trump and Biden. Experts predict she will face the Republican in the race in November, Carmen Goers, a commercial banker who is running to curb inflation and reduce crime.
