SEATTLE– One of the last remaining Republicans in the U.S. House who voted to impeach Donald Trump and a candidate endorsed by the former president advanced in Tuesday’s general election primary in Washington state’s 4th Congressional District.
U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse is seeking a sixth term in the conservative Washington district that runs from the Canadian border to the Columbia River. He will face Republican Jerrod Sessler, a Navy veteran and former NASCAR driver, in November.
This was a rematch for the duo starting in 2022, when Sessler won a distant fourth in the primary. This time, Sessler said things went his way. He was endorsed by the Washington State Republican Party and soon won Trump’s support, which he called “a game changer.” He said he communicates regularly with Trump’s team, referring to a text he said he received from the GOP presidential nominee this year saying, “The country is counting on you.”
“In ninety days, this district will vote overwhelmingly for President Trump,” Sessler said in a statement. “I will work hard to ensure that we also elect a member of Congress who will be your greatest ally in our fight to enact a pro-Constitution, pro-MAGA agenda and heal our nation from the disaster of the Biden-Harris administration.”
Newhouse mostly avoided the topic of Trump. The third-generation farmer has focused instead on agriculture and border security in a state with millions of acres of pastures, orchards and grain lands where immigrant labor is critically important.
Before the primaries, Newhouse’s opponents repeatedly praised his vote to impeach Trump as a huge risk. But political experts have warned that it’s difficult to say whether the support will sway voters who already sided with Newhouse two years ago.
Newhouse and USA Deputy David Valadãoof California are the only Republican congressional lawmakers remaining among the 10 who voted to impeach Trump in 2021. Others have retired or been defeated by primary challengers endorsed by Trump.
As of July 17, Newhouse, who has been endorsed by the NRA and National Right to Life, has raised $1.6 million — far more than the $409,000 raised by Sessler.
They prevailed over Tiffany Smiley, a former nurse who entered the race after losing to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray two years ago. She received Trump’s endorsement just three days before the primaries, marking a unique, though not unprecedented, double endorsement from the former president. But support for Smiley likely came too late to impact many voters in the vote-by-mail state.
In the state’s primary system, the top two vote-getters in each race advance to the November elections, regardless of party.
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