In Central WA, 4th District race heats up in conservative showdown

But as one of the two House Republicans still in Congress who voted to impeach President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, reelection to a sixth term isn’t a given.

Three years later, Trump is the Republican presidential candidate and remains at the center of a party that’s moved further right, even in Washington state.

Voters in Central Washington are deciding this election whether to stick with Newhouse — as they have in the last five elections — or shift to one of the two formidable challengers from his party who argue they’ll better represent the district in an anticipated second Trump presidential term.

The district covers Central Washington, from the Columbia River to the Canadian border. It includes voters in eight counties: Klickitat, Benton, Yakima, Grant, Douglas and Okanogan counties and part of Franklin and Adams counties. 

Jerrod Sessler lost to Newhouse in the primary two years ago. This time he’s gained considerable momentum with numerous endorsements, including from the Washington State Republican Party, several county Republican parties, the House Freedom Caucus, the block of far-right conservative members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Trump himself.

While Tiffany Smiley is a late entrant to the race, she has name recognition from her run for U.S. Senate two years ago when she lost by 14 points to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray. Many thought Smiley waged a good fight in 2022 despite the loss.

Along with Sessler and Smiley, five additional candidates from across the political spectrum are challenging Newhouse.

“He’s definitely vulnerable,” said Todd Schaefer, chair of the political science department at Central Washington University

After all, other Republicans had been negatively impacted by an impeachment vote. In 2022, Jaime Herrera Beutler’s decade-plus run in Congress representing Washington’s Third Congressional District ended when she placed third in the primary behind Republican-backed candidate Joe Kent, who criticized her vote to impeach Trump, and Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez, who won in the general.

Of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021, only Newhouse and U.S. Rep. David Valadao of California remain in Congress.

Other than in his first race, Newhouse hasn’t had much of a challenge. In 2014, he edged out Republican Clint Didier with just over half of the vote. As the incumbent, Newhouse had a bigger winning margin over Didier in 2016, garnering nearly 58% of the vote. In the three general elections since, he’s garnered 60% or more of the vote against Democratic candidates.

While Newhouse hasn’t deviated from conservative views on border security, restricting abortion and reducing business regulation, that hasn’t stopped Smiley and Sessler from working to convince voters that Newhouse’s impeachment vote makes him an ineffective Congressman under a prospective second Trump presidential administration.

Sessler dedicated a section of his website to Newhouse’s voting record, referring to it as “A Record of Betrayal,” to illustrate why he thinks Newhouse’s actions in Congress contradict the conservative values of the 4th Congressional District.

Sessler called Newhouse a poor communicator who is often on the defense and unwilling to “go on the offense” for the district. “I’m the gladiator in this race,” he said.

Smiley uses similar rhetoric, stating a desire to “fight” for the district. On Facebook, she calls Newhouse a “never-Trumper” and a “do-nothing politician.”

She said she’s heard from voters concerned about Newhouse’s ability to work with Trump, given his impeachment vote.

“Newhouse’s decision to impeach [Trump] leaves him without a voice with the next administration,” she said. “Our district deserves a representative who can advocate for critical priorities.”

Dan Newhouse

Newhouse continues to defend his impeachment vote and emphasizes the value to the district of his years in Congress. He says the impeachment vote was necessary to “stand up for the Constitution,” but is quick to add that he and Trump hold similar positions on most issues, such as securing the southern border.

“I think [the impeachment vote] will not get in the way of us working together for the betterment of the country and the betterment of the district,” Newhouse said.

Newhouse believes his constituents benefit from his congressional experience and active involvement in committees and caucuses, including chairing the Congressional Western Caucus, a coalition of Republican Congress members advocating for policies that benefit rural communities. 

“People know who I am; people know who I stand for,” he said. “I want to remind [voters] of the good work I’ve done.”

He points to his continued work on behalf of the agricultural industry, which he is part of as owner of an 850-acre farm in the Lower Yakima Valley. In Congress, he has worked on everything from water access to promoting agricultural commodities. “That’s a huge part of my priorities and will continue to be,” he said.

Newhouse has also worked to prevent the removal of the Snake River dams. Environmentalists and several Native American tribes have advocated for breaching the dams to preserve salmon. Newhouse has maintained that there are ways to preserve salmon runs without removing the dams, which he argues play an important role in agriculture, power generation and recreation.

Addressing the ongoing fentanyl crisis is another a top priority. Newhouse points to his involvement in various related committees, including looking at Chinese exports of raw materials used to make the drug.

Like his Republican opponents, he prioritizes increasing border security. But he believes this goes hand-in-hand with developing legal immigration policies. One policy he’s proposed, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, would reform the H-2A guest worker program and provides a pathway to legal status for agricultural workers. The bill managed to get a bipartisan vote out of the House in 2019 and 2021, but both times stalled in the Senate.

Both Smiley and Sessler have called what Newhouse considers assistance for farmers and a merit-based program for workers an amnesty program for undocumented immigrants.

Newhouse maintains that immigrants play a crucial role in the economy generally and Central Washington agriculture in particular. He believes developing additional legal means to enter the country reduces the pressure from those who may enter illegally.

One unique issue championed by Newhouse is limiting China’s purchase of agricultural farmland. While the amount of land China has purchased in the U.S. remains small, Newhouse said his work is preventive as he watches China increase its farmland purchases worldwide. “We just need to have our eyes wide open … and have policies in place to prevent being taken advantage of by other countries,” he said.

According to figures from the Federal Election Commission, Newhouse had far more campaign contributions — $1.5 million as of June 30, the latest figure available — than any other candidate. That amount includes nearly $70,000 transferred from his previous campaign.

Jerrod Sessler

Prior to running for Congress in 2022, Sessler had not been involved in politics but focused on other pursuits, including his NASCAR career, his Navy service, his family and, at age 29, fighting cancer.

Sessler believes voters want to be represented in Congress by someone with various life and work experiences rather than a career politician. “I’ve got some hard-fought wins in my life,” he said. “I think the well-rounded nature of my history, both good and bad, puts me in a spot to show I’m a really good candidate.”

He received 12.3% of the 2022 primary vote, placing fourth overall and third among Republican candidates, behind Newhouse and 2020 Washington gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp.

While he wants to maintain his political outsider status, his last run made him recognize the need for a strong campaign. “Campaigning has a lot more to do with marketing than almost anything else,” he said. “It does feel like a popularity contest, which annoys the heck out of me.”

Sessler said he never stopped campaigning after the 2022 primary and thinks that makes him a much stronger challenger for Newhouse. This time he received Trump’s endorsement — which Culp received in 2022. The statewide and many county Republican parties also backed Sessler early this election cycle.

He is confident, saying he expects to advance to the general election and win in November. He said he’s more focused on building relationships with those already in office in Washington, D.C. His endorsers include several current Congress members, such as Lauren Boebert, Scott Perry and Bob Good.

He wants to take a path similar to U.S. Rep Mike Johnson’s, R-Louisiana, the current House Speaker. “How did a fairly young Congressman … become [House] Speaker,” he said. “He’s a super-nice guy, and people like him. He’s smart and loves the Lord. He’s been able to build relationships. That’s what is important.”

While Sessler and Newhouse share many priorities — securing the southern border, responding to the country’s fentanyl crisis and preventing the removal of the Snake River Dams — Sessler said he would look to approach those issues differently.

For example, he would write a critical infrastructure bill to prioritize dam protection. He argues that dams don’t have sufficient security to prevent them from being damaged in a terrorist attack or natural disaster.

Regarding the border with Mexico, he believes the issue is presidential overreach that circumvented congressional power. He plans to support efforts to roll back presidential power.

According to the FEC, Sessler has raised more than $401,000 in contributions, including nearly $9,000 transferred from his previous campaign.

Tiffany Smiley

Smiley was a bit of a surprise when she filed to run for the House during the candidate filing period in May. Many expected her to make another run for the Senate, as Maria Cantwell’s seat is up this year.

But for Smiley, this campaign is personal. She was raised in the district and lives in Pasco in Franklin County. “These are our people, these are our neighbors,” she said.

She has many of the same priorities as her Republican opponents, including reducing activity at the southern border and addressing the fentanyl crisis. She noted that fentanyl is an issue that hits close to home, noting she’s heard from law enforcement, including the Yakima County Sheriff, that the region is a top corridor for receiving fentanyl.

She also listed maintaining Hanford Nuclear Reservation cleanup funding as a top priority.

Smiley said she will continue her veteran advocacy work in Congress. A trained nurse, Smiley left the profession after her veteran husband was injured while serving in Iraq. She said she plans to focus on ending veteran homelessness and ensuring veterans have access to mental and physical health care as well as sufficient post-service job placement assistance.

According to the FEC, Smiley had not raised funds as of March 31, but according to the report ending June 30, her contributions shot up to nearly $578,000, placing her second among all candidates in the 4th District. It’s likely that an established support base helped with this quick progress: She raised more than $20 million for her 2022 Senate campaign.