SEATTLE — The Washington State congressional primaries are drawing an unusually high profile, with one pitting one of the last remaining Republicans in the House of Representatives, who voted to impeach Donald Trump, against two conservative candidates whose positions align with those of the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.
Another race in the state’s moderate 8th Congressional District — held by centrist Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier — has been shaken up by a rising campaign by the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, who has made the war between Israel and Hamas a centerpiece of his platform.
And in the 3rd District, Trump-backing Joe Kent is trying to unseat Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who defeated him two years ago, in a race expected to be one of the tightest general elections in the country.
Below is a summary of the key congressional elections in Washington next week:
U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, seeking a sixth term, will face Trump-backed candidate Jerrod Sessler, along with Tiffany Smiley, a former nurse who Trump has made a focus of her campaign, in the reddest congressional district in Washington state. But for the second election in a rowNewhouse must fight for re-election with Trump’s presence hanging over his shoulder in Washington’s Central District, which runs from the Canadian border to the Columbia River.
His primary opponents have been quick to speak out about what they see as a major disadvantage, but political experts warn it is hard to say whether Trump’s endorsement will convince voters who voted for Newhouse two years ago.
Newhouse and the US Representative David Valadaofrom California, are the only Republican members of Congress left of the 10 who voted to impeach Trump in 2021. Others retired or were defeated by Trump-backed challengers in the primaries.
“The impeachment vote and Newhouse’s take on Trump were probably more important two years ago. And yet he survived that primary. And he won the general election pretty easily,” said Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University. “I mean, he has support in that community.”
Sessler, a Navy veteran and former NASCAR driver, has embraced Trump’s endorsement, with images of him and Trump prominently displayed on his website. Smiley, who entered the race after losing to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray two years ago, called Newhouse “absolutely delusional” in an AP interview for thinking he could make a difference in the district after publicly breaking with Trump.
Newhouse has largely sidestepped the issue, focusing instead on agriculture and border security in a state with millions of acres of pastures, orchards and cornfields where immigrant workers are critical.
As of July 17, Newhouse, who was backed by the NRA and National Right to Life, had raised $1.6 million — more than twice as much as Smiley and far more than the $409,000 raised by Sessler.
But his path to victory won’t be easy. Under Washington’s primary system, the top two voters in each of Tuesday’s races advance to the November election, regardless of party.
Two years ago, Democrat Gluesenkamp Perez came out of nowhere to win a congressional seat from Trump-backing candidate Kent in a district that had not been Democratic for more than a decade. She took over a seat held by a more moderate Republican who lost the primary in part because she voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Now, armed again with Trump’s support, Kent is back to try to win the seat in the state’s southwestern corner. But he faces stiff competition, as former King County Prosecutor Leslie Lewallen is gaining a wave of support from conservatives who want to return the seat to more moderate Republican hands.
“Joe Kent lost the general election to a Democrat, which was a shock and nobody really expected that,” Clayton said. “And given that he had Trump’s endorsement, raised quite a bit of money, had quite a bit of media attention, there’s a sense that he might be too extreme for that district.”
Lewallen, who has raised $820,000 — not far behind the nearly $1.4 million Kent has raised — is focused on curbing crime and homelessness that she attributes to Gluesenkamp Perez, while disparaging Kent for withdrawing from the race.
Meanwhile, Kent, a former Green Beret who has called for the impeachment of President Joe Biden, says Gluesenkamp Perez is merely posing as a moderate.
Gluesenkamp Perez has outraised her challengers with $6.7 million. She supports abortion access and policies to combat climate change, but has also increased border security to contain the fentanyl crisis and is open about being a gun owner.
Imraan Siddiqi has made the war in Gaza the centerpiece of his platform and has gained support by ridiculing Schrier for her approach, which often parallels Biden’s.
But the district is filled with a mix of wealthy Seattle suburbs populated by tech workers and central Washington farmland, and was held by the GOP until 2019. Siddiqi’s presence could make Schrier appear more moderate, Clayton said, something she has historically sought to do through Republican endorsements.
Schrier, a pediatrician, has been quiet about the war recently and did not respond to an emailed request for comment about Siddiqi’s remarks. Instead, she has touted the 14 bills that Trump and Biden have signed into law, while noting that she is one of two female doctors championing abortion rights in Congress.
As of July 17, Siddiqi had raised $387,000, more than twice as much as the Republican in the race, Carmen Goers, a commercial banker who works to lower prices and reduce crime. But it’s a fraction of the $4.7 million Schrier has raised, and experts still expect a Schrier-Goers matchup in November.