Facing his biggest challenge yet from Jerrod Sessler, Dan Newhouse needs help from Democrats and independents

When Rep. Dan Newhouse was first elected in 2014 to represent central Washington in Congress, he did it by beating fellow Republican Clint Didier by a single percentage point in the general election after a primary in which Didier won about 30% of votes and Newhouse won roughly a quarter.

A decade later, Newhouse finds himself in a remarkably similar position. With just under 30% of ballots returned Wednesday night, the incumbent congressman was poised to survive the top-two primary with 24.5% of votes, trailing GOP challenger Jerrod Sessler, who led with 31.2%.

Like in 2014, when moderate Republicans, pragmatic Democrats and independent voters helped Newhouse eke out a narrow victory over Didier, a relative hardliner, the congressman’s hopes rest on that same coalition. This year, there’s one big difference: Donald Trump, the former president and current GOP nominee who endorsed Sessler after Newhouse was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

In addition to Trump’s endorsement, Sessler reported raising a relatively modest $409,000 as of July 17, including $300,000 of his own money, compared to Newhouse’s nearly $1.6 million. But Sessler, a Navy veteran and entrepreneur who lives in Prosser, mobilized a team of dedicated volunteers in a more organized operation than in 2022, when he won 12.3% of votes and failed to advance to the general election.

Matt Barker, a volunteer from Yakima, said at a campaign event in Moses Lake on Aug. 1 that he waved signs for Sessler at the end of the 2022 primary race. After taking just a few months to regroup, he said, the campaign kicked into high gear.

“I feel that there’s an anointing by God and that he’s filling a role and a purpose there,” Barker said of Sessler. “That doesn’t mean, as volunteers, we get to just sit back and say, ‘God’s got this and He’s going to do all the work.’ We still have to step up and do the work.”

Sessler’s Christian faith is a prominent part of his platform and campaign messaging. In Congress, he says, he would join the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, whose campaign endorsed Sessler.

At a campaign event at a Tri-Cities pizza parlor on Aug. 2, Terry Holcomb of Pasco said he supports Sessler partly because he “doesn’t seem to be like a politician.”

“He’s honest,” Holcomb said. “He doesn’t pretend to be anyone but himself. He’s been a farmer, a businessman. He’s been in the Navy, so integrity means a lot to him.”

At the same event, Chris Merkling of Richland said she decided to become a precinct captain for Sessler, mobilizing her neighbors to vote for him, because “he’s approachable” and she likes how candid he is about what he would do in Congress. Sessler says he wants to replace all federal taxes with a single tax on retail sales, crack down on what he says is an FBI that has become a tool of the political left and free the Trump supporters who have been convicted of crimes related to the Capitol riot.

Newhouse is also a staunch conservative with endorsements from the National Rifle Association and prominent anti-abortion groups, but he has earned a reputation for working across the aisle to pass legislation and bring federal funding to his heavily agricultural district through his role on the House Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Derek Kilmer, a Democrat from Gig Harbor who worked with Newhouse in the state legislature and serves with him on the Appropriations Committee, said the Republican from Sunnyside is one of the few House members who works effectively with lawmakers across the political spectrum.

“Dan’s a guy who has relationships with the most conservative Republicans in Congress – runs the Western Caucus – and with Democrats from Western Washington,” Kilmer said. “That is actually pretty rare in Congress, in a place where relationships really matter if you want to get stuff done.”

Gene Gamache, a hop farmer from Moxee who said he has known Newhouse for decades, said on Saturday that having a new representative for the district would mean losing the seniority and key committee positions Newhouse has used to secure federal funding for farmers and his other constituents.

“A lot of my friends think it’s terrible, but he did what he thought was right at the time,” Gamache said of the vote to impeach Trump. “I respect that.”

Andrew Koeppen, chairman of the Grant County GOP, said on Aug. 1 that he would support either Newhouse or Tiffany Smiley – another Republican who stood in third place with 19% of votes – but not Sessler, because Sessler has supported the county party’s former chairman, David Hunt. On Friday, a Grant County judge settled a long-running dispute between rival factions of the party, ruling that Koeppen is the legitimate chairman.

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation endorsed Newhouse in May, after staying neutral in previous primaries. Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Colville Business Council, said in an interview Aug. 1 that Newhouse has been a good partner to the tribes and has frequently visited their reservation, half of which lies in his district.

To beat Sessler, Newhouse would likely need the help of the deep-red district’s Democratic minority. As of Wednesday night, two candidates backed by the Washington State Democratic Party and two more self-identified Democrats had split about 24% of the vote.

The two party-backed Democrats, Mary Baechler and Misty Jane “Birdie” Muchlinski, both said Wednesday they would not endorse either Newhouse or Sessler. John Malan, who identifies as a “MAGA Democrat” aligned with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” ethos, didn’t respond when asked whether he would endorse another candidate. Self-described Democrat Barry Knowles, who lives outside the district in King County and had received 2.4% of votes, said he would endorse Sessler.

In an interview Wednesday, Baechler, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2012 and returned part-time to the district from her home in Seattle when she entered the race in May, said she couldn’t support Newhouse and may write in a different candidate when she votes in November because of his anti-abortion views and other right-wing positions.

“I really wish Congressman Newhouse was using his position to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for people that have been helping support our economy for a long time,” Baechler said, referring to the migrant farm workers who form the backbone of the district’s agricultural economy.

In fact, Newhouse is the lead GOP sponsor of a bill that would give unauthorized farmworkers legal status and a path to citizenship, which twice passed the House before being blocked in the Senate. Newhouse was also one of just nine House Republicans who voted for the Dream and Promise Act in 2021, which would do the same for immigrants who entered the United States illegally as children and those living in the country under Temporary Protected Status.

Some Democrats say they will vote for Newhouse. Doug White, who ran against Newhouse in 2022, said in a text message Wednesday that he planned to vote for his former opponent and write an op-ed arguing that his fellow Democrats should do the same.

Steve Starr, chair of the Grant County Democrats, said on Aug. 2 that while his party wouldn’t formally endorse Newhouse, he would recommend the incumbent over either Sessler or Smiley.

“Success looks like electing a mainstream Republican,” Starr said. “And unfortunately, Newhouse is probably as close as we’re going to get to that.”

Justin Raffa, chair of the elections committee for the Benton County Democrats, said Wednesday that he would vote for Newhouse. He said he planned to have a conversation with the county party’s other leaders – including Muchlinski, the chairwoman – about endorsing the incumbent congressman.

Newhouse may also be helped by his party’s establishment. A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, Ben Peterson, said the House GOP campaign arm’s policy is to support incumbents in races where both candidates are Republicans.