A longtime GOP member of the House Appropriations Committee who represents the largest Department of Energy cleanup site is second in an open primary in Washington state, while a Democrat active in nuclear issues in Missouri lost her party’s primary.
Incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), trails a fellow Republican backed by former President Donald Trump, Navy veteran Jerrod Sessler, by more than 6,000 votes in a multi-candidate open primary for Washington’s 4th Congressional District. That’s according to figures posted Thursday by the Washington Secretary of State website.
The district includes DOE’s Hanford Site. Under Washington rules for its open or jungle primaries, the top two finishers advance to the November election, so Newhouse could still win in the general election. Newhouse finished ahead of another GOP rival, former nurse TIffany Smiley who lost to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash). two years ago. Newhouse is one of only a couple of GOP House members still in office out of 10 who voted to impeach Trump following the Capitol Hill riot of Jan. 6, 2021.
In Missouri, Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) has lost In the District 1 Democratic Party primary to St. Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell. Bell defeated Bush by about 7,000 votes, 51% to 46%, according to unofficial figures from the Missouri secretary of state office.
Bush has been active in pushing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal government to clean up Manhattan Project-era radioactive contamination along Coldwater Creek. Bush has also part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers advocating extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act for nuclear weapons workers.
But Bush was highly critical of the Israeli government’s handling of the war in Gaza and called for a cease fire, days after the Oct. 7 attacks, USA Today reported. Bell’s campaign reportedly received significant funding from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
