• WA-04: Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse got some unwelcome news at Friday's candidate filing deadline when he learned that three Democrats had filed to run against him in the Aug. 6 top-two primary for Washington's conservative 4th District.
In 2022, Newhouse crushed his Democratic opponent 66-31, so he'd have had little to worry about in a similar matchup this November. However, the trio of Democrats running this time could split the left-leaning vote, allowing one of the other two Republican candidates, either Trump-backed former NASCAR driver Jerrod Sessler or 2022 Senate nominee Tiffany Smiley, to advance instead.
That could set up a tough general election for Newhouse, who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol—and that's not even his most immediate problem. First, though, the congressman needs to make sure he has enough support to earn a spot in the second round.
Until two years ago, no incumbent had ever failed to advance out of a top-two primary in Washington, but Newhouse's former colleague, Jamie Herrera Beutler, made history the hard way. Like Newhouse, Herrera Beutler supported impeaching Trump, who responded by endorsing her MAGA-flavored challenger, Army veteran Joe Kent. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez consolidated the Democratic vote while Kent narrowly edged past Herrera Beutler, only to lose to Gluesenkamp Perez in an upset in the fall.
The field also includes one independent and John Malan, a perennial candidate who will be listed on the ballot as a "MAGA Democrat." The reason Malan can run under this contradictory banner is that the state allows candidates to use up to 18 characters to describe the party label they prefer, whether or not such a party exists.
Former state Sen. Dino Rossi tested this rule out in the 2008 race for governor when, in an effort to avoid identifying himself with the Republican Party at a time when the party's brand was especially toxic in this blue state, he ran under the banner of the "GOP Party." A judge allowed the label after a legal challenge, but the "GOP Party" candidate still lost to Democratic incumbent Christine Gregoire 53-47.
• WA-05: The race to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers also came into focus following the close of candidate filing, with six Republicans and five Democrats set to appear on the ballot. Washington's 5th District, which includes Spokane and other communities in the eastern part of the state, favored Donald Trump 54-44 in 2020, so it's likely that a Republican will hold onto the seat
There were no notable late entrances or exits in a contest where only two Republicans appear to be waging serious efforts. The best-funded candidate at the end of March was Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner, who had $363,000 in the bank. The only other GOP contender who had access to a credible sum of money at the close of the first quarter was state Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber, who had $134,000 on hand.
Former Trump administration official Brian Dansel was a distant third with only $11,000 at his disposal, while Spokane City Councilman Jonathan Bingle and radio host Rene' Holaday had less still. Rick Flynn, who unsuccessfully ran for a local school board in 2023, does not appear to have set up an account with the FEC.
The main Democratic contender looks to be former Spokane County party chair Carmela Conroy, whose $64,000 war chest was almost twice as much as what her nearest intra-party foe, physician Bobbi Bennett-Wolcott, had.