Republican Michael Baumgartner and Democrat Carmela Conroy projected to advance in 5th Congressional District primary

Either Republican Michael Baumgartner or Democrat Carmela Conroy will be Eastern Washington’s new face in Congress early next year.

The two topped a long list of challengers to replace 10-term U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who announced her retirement earlier this year. Though votes continue to be counted, the pair had insurmountable leads after Tuesday’s count.

Baumgartner led the pack Tuesday night with 28.6% of the vote, followed by Conroy with 22.7%. The only other candidate with double-digits in the crowded field was Democrat Bernadine Bank with 12.7% of the vote.

At his Tuesday night election party, supporters of Baumgartner chatted loudly and hopefully with smiles in a mix of Republican red and Washington State University merchandise. Baumgartner declared victory as soon as results were announced.

“It’s a great night for Eastern Washington and a great night for the Michael Baumgartner for Congress campaign. We feel confident to declare victory in the primary,” he said.

Baumgartner gave a nod to Conroy but said she’s ultimately not the right person for the job.

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“While Carmela Conroy is a good and decent person who served her country with honor in the State Department, her ideas aren’t a great fit in Eastern Washington,” he said.

Speaking to a jubilant crowd of about 60, Conroy said early returns gave her clear second place result.

“People are ready to make the government work for them. I don’t want to be presumptive, but it looks like we’re gonna be in the top two,” she said.

Bank called to congratulate both Baumgartner and Conroy on their victories.

“We did all these amazing things and built an amazing team and did things nobody thought possible. We still fell short of the votes we needed to move forward,” the Democrat and OB-GYN said at her election night party.

Voters favored the well-versed Republican politician and the Democratic former diplomat among a busy field of 11 candidates, including five Republicans and six Democrats. One Democrat, clinical assistant professor Bobbi Bennett-Wolcott, dropped out in July and endorsed OB-GYN Bank, though her name still appeared on the ballot.

Baumgartner, who is serving his second term as Spokane County treasurer, first gained prominence in 2010 when he defeated incumbent Democratic state Sen. Chris Marr in what was then the most expensive legislative race in Washington state history.

He served in Iraq and Afghanistan while an officer in the State Department, coordinating economic and political counterinsurgency operations at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad during the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. A conservative, Baumgartner headed into the August primary with a dominant fundraising position, and he’s received the endorsements of some prominent former elected Republicans, such as former state Sen. Dino Rossi, Spokane-area conservatives such as former Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward, and other influential voices on the right such as hedge fund manager Brian Heywood.

Conroy, a retired diplomat and former deputy prosecutor, served a stint as chair of the Spokane County Democrats in 2023 and has far and away the strongest backing of elected Democrats, including that of outgoing state Sen. Andy Billig, D-Spokane, and Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown.

Conroy has positioned herself as a moderate in the race, stopping short of calling for withholding aid for Israel as some other Democrats in the race have. Less moderate on the topic of abortion, Conroy says there should be no federal limit on when a person can access the procedure.

Conroy will have an uphill climb in the coming months to overcome the historic advantage Republicans have in the district. Brown in 2018 came the closest of any Democrat to taking the seat and still fell short by nearly 10 points.

All other candidates are far back in the tally. State Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber, who serves as the Republican House Floor Leader, received only 9.1% in the first reported votes. She is closely followed by Republican and former Trump administration official Brian Dansel, who received only 8.4% of the vote despite being endorsed by the state Republican Party.

Dansel said he took the result “as a positive” despite not finishing in the top two.

“I wish I could have won, but I don’t think anyone runs for office and wishes for a night like tonight, but I also think in this country it’s important that we know how to lose, too,” he said.

Republican Rick Valentine Flynn, an author, disabled veteran and political unknown, earned 2.5% of the vote Tuesday night. Republican Spokane City Councilman Jonathan Bingle earned 3.9% of the vote on election night. Democrat Ann Marie Danimus, a small business consultant who ran against Rodgers in 2022 and lost in the primary, received 6.1% of the vote on election night. Republican talk show host Rene Holaday received 2.8% in the initial tally. Democrat Matthew Welde, a deputy prosecutor for Kootenai County, won 2.3% of the vote.

Reached Tuesday night, Bingle said “it is what it is” regarding his disappointing election result but promised to “keep working” on behalf of Spokane in city council.

Danimus said she “felt great” about her mid single digit result.

”All things said and done, a few months ago the party put a sandbag around me, its my responsibility to overcome that and I couldn’t pull it out. I wish Carmela the best, but I think Baumgartner is going to be our next congressman.”

The sprawling 5th Congressional District includes Spokane, Whitman, Stevens, Walla Walla, Ferry, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, as well as parts of Adam and Franklin counties. Whoever wins the election in November will replace McMorris Rodgers, whose surprise announcement in February that she would not run for reelection shocked regional political players and made the race one of the most widely contested in the state this year.

Virginia Carr, Caroline Saint James and Laura Sheikh contributed to this report.