Jerrod Sessler, left, is running for a seat that U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, right, has held since 2015. (Photos courtesy of campaigns)
Democrats in central Washington never had as much love from Republicans as they are getting in a congressional contest where there’s no Democrat on the ballot.
It’s happening in the 4th Congressional District where two Republicans, Rep. Dan Newhouse and Jerrod Sessler, are competing fiercely, and Democratic voters could decide the winner.
Two different rounds of mailers sent in recent days flag the campaign of a Democratic write-in candidate and assert Newhouse is too chummy with those on the other side of the aisle.
One of the mailers pairs the incumbent congressman and Bob Ferguson, the Democratic candidate for governor, in the same image. It also points out Newhouse’s vote to impeach former president Donald Trump who is the GOP presidential nominee this year.
Sessler’s campaign designed both and the Washington State Republican Party paid the postage to send them. Sessler is the party’s endorsed candidate.
“Dan Newhouse needs help from the Democrats so obviously we want to target them with information,” Sessler said.
Newhouse enjoys the backing of his caucus. This week, both Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise campaigned with the five-term congressman in the district.
A statement from the Newhouse campaign questioned the state GOP’s investment decision.
“That the Washington State Republican Party would spend its scarce resources bringing awareness to a write-in Democrat instead of aiding the many Republicans around the state locked in tight races against the other party is disappointing, to say the least,” reads the statement.
Will Democrats make the difference?
The Republican-versus-Republican fight is unfolding in the J-shaped congressional district in central Washington stretching from the Canadian border to the Oregon state line. It includes the Yakima Valley, the Yakama Indian Reservation, and Tri-Cities, along with Moses Lake, East Wenatchee, and part of the Colville Reservation.
Newhouse was elected to the seat in 2014 and has been reelected four times. He’s drawn the ire of fellow Republicans since he joined nine other GOP lawmakers in voting for Trump’s impeachment after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Newhouse is one of only two of those lawmakers still serving in the House.
He survived reelection, barely, in 2022, fending off a raft of Republican challengers in the primary, including Sessler, then whipping a Democrat in that year’s general election.
This time keeping the seat in the deep red district is much tougher. In the August primary, 75% of votes cast went to three Republicans – Sessler (33%), Newhouse (23.4%) and Tiffany Smiley (19.3%) who, like Sessler, had Trump’s endorsement.
With Sessler running to his political right, Newhouse will need votes of Democratic and independent voters to return to Congress. That dynamic underlies the mailers.
One seems directed at Democrats and less engaged Republicans. It’s got the photo of Newhouse and Ferguson, and instances when Sessler and the party assert Newhouse sided against the Republican majority, such as votes for Trump’s impeachment and creation of a commission to investigate the events of Jan. 6.
The other, worded as though it’s aimed at Republican voters, is headlined “The Democrat plan to steal our congressional seat.” It features a picture of Cherissa Boyd, the Democratic write-in candidate, cautions against leaving ballots blank, and warns “Democrats are planning to write-in” Boyd for the seat.
Then, next to a message to “make a plan to vote Republican” is an image of a ballot with a box filled in for Boyd.
Jim Walsh, chair of the state Republican Party, said the mailer should be taken at face value but acknowledged it might encourage some who see it to vote for Boyd.
Sessler is counting on it. “We’re blessed that Cherissa Boyd stepped up and decided to run,” he said Wednesday. “It helps up by hurting Dan.”
Richard Reuther, Boyd’s campaign manager, said it’s no secret the outcome could hinge on Democratic voters.
“The theory has always been that Democrats must vote for Newhouse to block Sessler. Our closing argument is to vote your values and let the chips fall where they may,” he said.
A spokesperson for the state Democratic Party declined comment on Boyd’s campaign but said in a statement that the party condemns “anything that would discourage civic engagement or voter turnout.”
Boyd told The Spokesman-Review she believes she can win if Sessler and Newhouse split the Republican vote. But, she said, some Democrats think she’s more likely to play the role of spoiler and help Sessler.
“I have had a lot of negative feedback from Democrats,” Boyd said. “They’re angry because they’re saying that I’m messing the numbers up. But if they look at it, if I didn’t have this write-in campaign, Sessler is going to win anyway.”
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