Michael Baumgartner will be Eastern Washington’s next congressman

Republican Michael Baumgartner will be the next congressman for Eastern Washington, having earned a commanding lead in early election results Tuesday night and dispelling the wishful thinking of Democrats who hoped to flip the reliably Republican seat for the first time in 30 years.

Baumgartner took the stage at the Historic Davenport Hotel Tuesday night to a crowd of supporters, starting his acceptance speech by praising his Democratic opponent.

“I salute her for stepping forward to run for office,” Baumgartner said. “She did wonderful service to our country, and I thought she ran a great campaign. So hats off to Carmela – be very proud of the race you ran.”

Baumgartner, who serves as Spokane County treasurer, had earned 59.7% of the vote as of Tuesday night, compared to former diplomat and Democrat Carmela Conroy’s 40.2%.

Baumgartner appears to be sweeping every county in the 5th Congressional District, which touches the Canadian, Oregon and Idaho borders. Conroy came closest in Whitman County, home of Washington State University, with 46% of the vote.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers has held the seat for 20 years and won both her first race in 2004 and her last race in 2022 with more than 59.5% of the vote.

McMorris Rogers spoke at the Republican gathering, saying she’s excited to pass the baton, holding up an actual red baton-looking object and passing it to Baumgartner as he took the podium.

Baumgartner joked that the big red shoe at the downtown Spokane mall is like the size of the shoes he has to fill following McMorris Rogers.

Democrats had hoped that issues like abortion and McMorris Rodgers’ surprise February announcement that she would not be running for re-election would allow them to make gains in a district that has remained stubbornly out of reach for decades.

Amid heightened partisan tensions across the country, Baumgartner called for unity and voiced a message of hope for the nation.

“I’m a proud Republican conservative, but you know the Democrats on the other side? They’re our opponents, but they’re not our enemies,” he said. “You think about the challenges and obstacles that folks have gone through to build this republic, to keep this republic, and then our challenges right now are nothing like what America has had to face and overcome before.”

Conroy appeared to be taking a less conciliatory note on election night, saying she hoped the “new and improved” Baumgartner from the campaign trail would keep his promises to his new constituents, including to farmers.

Conroy also announced that she plans to run for the seat again in the 2026 election.

Laura Sheikh, Marton Mezei and Caroline Saint James contributed to this story.