Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection, holds the No. 1 spot in a primary for his 4th Congressional district, while a similarly-situated Washington incumbent has lost her lead for the crucial runner-up slot in her primary.
The Associated Press called the 4th district race Friday night for Newhouse, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, whose district takes in the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, Roll Call reported Saturday.
But the path to the November general election is less assured for another local member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.). Herrera Beutler was trailing by 960 votes toTrump-backed GOP challenger Joe Kent for the second and final spot in the fall general election, as of Monday evening.
Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is leading the nine-person primary with 31% of the vote, according to Saturday evening figures from the Washington Secretary of State office. Herrera Beutler was in second place with 22.6% of the vote — only 257 votes ahead of the third-place Kent. The top two finishers in the primary face each other in November. Gluesenkamp Perez and her husband own an auto repair shop, according to her website.
Newhouse had about 25.4% of the vote as of Saturday night, just 140 ahead of the No. 2 vote-getter, Democrat Doug White. Newhouse was also more than 6,000 votes ahead of the No. 3 candidate, the Trump-backed Loren Culp, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office. The top two from the eight-person field advance to the general election.
