Republican candidate Tiffany Smiley, who raised more than $20 million in her 2022 challenge to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, announced Monday her candidacy to unseat U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Central Washington.
in Monday’s announcement videoSmiley did not mention Newhouse directly, but spoke of the “swamp” in Washington, D.C., and “great accomplishments from a career politician” as the United States faces challenges such as the border crisis and homelessness.
Her announcement was the first surprise as Washington’s official nomination filing period opens this week.
Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, voted in favor of impeaching Donald Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol two years ago and won reelection by a narrow margin. He will face off against one Republican challenger, Trump-supporting businessman Jerrod Sessler. 6 primary.
In endorsing Sessler last month, President Trump called Newhouse “weak and pathetic” and said she “must resign.”
Mr. Sessler also won the sole endorsement of the Washington State Republican Party at the party’s recent convention in Spokane, handily defeating Mr. Newhouse, who did not attend the event.
Newhouse, a former state representative and third-generation Yakima Valley farmer, formally filed for re-election to a sixth term in the state’s 4th Congressional District on Monday.
Smiley, a retired nurse from Pasco, used her own experience fighting government bureaucracy to help her husband, Scotty, who was permanently blinded in a 2005 suicide car bombing while on the job, as well as when she ran for Senate. I emphasized this in my presentation. Iraqi army.
Smiley said he has been working on government change as an outsider for 20 years. “It is now clear to me that the best way to continue my work and make a difference for Washington families is within Congress,” she said.
Mr. Smiley criticized Mr. Newhouse’s impeachment resolution in an interview Monday, arguing that it goes against the wishes of his district and would prevent him from working effectively with a potential second Trump administration.
“President Trump is going to be our Republican nominee. We need to get behind him,” Smiley said.
He also raised the possibility that Newhouse could invoke the 25th Amendment after the Jan. 6 attack, which would allow a majority of the Trump administration’s Cabinet to vote to remove him from office. he pointed out.
Mr. Newhouse defended his background as a fiscal conservative and went after Mr. Smiley in a statement released by his campaign on Monday.
“At a time when dams are under attack, the border is in crisis, and workers can’t afford gas and groceries, it’s hard for Central Washington to relinquish its influence in Congress or hand over the keys to the federal budget to anyone in power. “This is not the time to cede control to someone who has no control over their own campaign finances,” he said.
This is a reference to Mr. Smiley’s 2022 Senate campaign, which ended with him leaving $1 million in unpaid debts to political consultants.
Despite huge spending on her behalf in that race and promotion by national Republicans and conservative pundits, Smiley ultimately lost to Murray by nearly 15 points.
Newhouse was among 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol with false claims about the election. Ta.
As Congress moves to certify election results confirming Joe Biden’s victory, President Trump defends his vote, saying he violated his oath of office by failing to stop a mob of his supporters from storming the Capitol. . “A domestic enemy was right in front of him and he didn’t react as he should,” he said at the time.
Mr. Newhouse and then-Congressman joined in this position. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Battle Ground) lost her seat in the 2022 primary amid anger from her Republican Party against her. Herrera Beutler is aiming to make her return to politics this year, and she formally filed to run for state public lands commissioner on Monday.
Mr. Newhouse survived two years ago because a group of pro-Trump Republicans split the primary vote, easily passing through the top two primary divisions with 25% support. In November of the same year, he easily defeated Democrat Doug White.
As he ran for Senate, Smiley repeatedly declined to say in a high-profile CNN interview that Biden was “legally” elected in 2020.
Ms. Smiley said she met privately with Mr. Newhouse in Washington, D.C., last week to discuss the plan.
“I said, ‘This isn’t about you, Dan, it’s not even about me.’ It’s about our country and our future,” she said.
He said Newhouse’s impeachment resolution has caused “tremendous division and anxiety” in the 4th District, and the region needs a representative without such burdens.
Asked if he disagreed with Trump on any issues, Smiley said he supported Trump’s policies, including closing the southern border to stop an “invasion” that would flood the United States with fentanyl. .
To appear on the Aug. 6 primary ballot, candidates must submit their nominations to the Secretary of State’s Office by the end of the week. The submission period begins Monday morning and runs until Friday at 5 p.m.
As of Monday, more than 500 people had already filed for election to offices across the state, from governor and other statewide offices to seats in Congress and Congress, as well as local offices such as county commissioners, judges, and sheriffs. Was.
A continuously updated list of submitted candidates is available on the Secretary of State’s website.
For more election coverage, visit st.news/Election2024..
