Central WA congressional candidates haul in $1.5M this quarter. Who leads the cash race?

Congressional candidates running in Central Washington raked in more than $1.5 million in campaign donations between April and the end of June, according to most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission .

Three Republicans lead in fundraising, with incumbent Dan Newhouse at the top of the cash pile.

The Sunnyside conservative raised nearly $594,000 during that period. That nearly doubled his war chest. Newhouse reported nearly $930,000 in cash on hand this week.

But one candidate nearly out-fundraised him — Pasco Republican Tiffany Smiley , who brought in nearly $578,000 during the period and now has roughly $290,000 in available cash.

A separate political action committee for joint fundraising, the Smiley Victory Fund, raised an additional $69,000 on top of that.

“I am amazed by the support and enthusiasm for our campaign from Washingtonians across our incredible district,” Smiley said in a statement earlier in July. “Momentum is on our side and we are just getting started as we prepare to defeat Dan Newhouse, send Donald Trump to the White House, and get to work to turn our country around.”

Jerrod Sessler, the retired race car driver who earned the endorsement of former President Donald Trump earlier this year , brought in more than $318,000 and had nearly $290,000 in cash on hand by the end of the quarter.

Sessler’s joint fundraising PAC, the Sessler Victory Fund, raised an additional $4,050.

Newhouse is seeking his sixth term in Congress and is facing seven challengers — two Republicans, three Democrats, one Independent and one self-described MAGA Democrat — who are looking to unseat him during the Aug. 6 primary election.

Washington’s 4th Congressional District stretches from the U.S.-Canada border down to the Columbia River, including the Tri-Cities, Omak, East Wenatchee, Moses Lake, Yakima and the Yakama Indian Reservation.

Local election officials mailed out ballots this week, according to the Washington Secretary of State .

WA’s 4th District spending

Smiley outspent Newhouse more than 2-to-1 during the second quarter.

The veterans advocate listed nearly $288,000 in expenditures during her first couple months on the campaign trail. More than one-third of that — about $105,000 — went to TV media buys and online ads.

Newhouse meanwhile reported nearly $125,000 in expenditures, most of which appear to have gone toward political consulting and payroll.

Since the start of the month, Smiley and Newhouse have traded jabs in an ongoing TV ad blitz that’s likely to weigh heavy on future Federal Election Commission reports.

Sessler spent about $39,000 during the last quarter, mostly on items such as yard signs, banners, mailbox fliers and door hangers. His campaign also made one $20,000 donation to the Washington State Republican Party in June.

Birdie Jane Muchlinski , a Democrat from Richland, spent just under $200 and reported $6,150 in debts related to website design and treasury fees.

Smiley’s debt, Sessler’s loans

There hasn’t been much change this past quarter regarding large personal payouts to Sessler’s campaign or a six-figure debt that still lingers over Smiley’s previous statewide campaign.

Latest FEC filings show Smiley is slowly paying down the debt she accumulated as part of her failed attempt to oust U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in 2022.

Smiley lost that challenge in the general election by about 14 percentage points. She raised and spent more than $20 million during that race and ended the year owing more than $1 million, according to previous Seattle Times r eporting.

That debt to a prominent Republican consulting firm in Arlington, Va., has been paid down to about $447,000, according to July filings . Earlier this year, in April, it stood at about $460,000 .

Smiley’s Senate campaign is paying that debt off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions received through existing committees, as well as a new political action committee, Endeavor PAC , that she founded last year to fund outsider candidates.

Newhouse’s campaign previously voiced criticism that Smiley “deceived” contributors of Endeavor PAC by not disclosing that their cash would first be used toward her debt. That PAC so far has contributed about $28,000 to candidates.

Meanwhile, Sessler has bankrolled his campaign to the tune of more than $474,000, according to FEC filings .

Democrats fundraising struggle

Democrats in Washington’s most conservative congressional district have raised a fraction of the what the Republicans candidates reported.

Muchlinski raised just $3,500 in contributions during the three-month period.

Fellow party members Mary Baechler of Zillah and Barry Knowles of Yakima did not file a quarterly report with the FEC by the July 15 deadline.

“They are working together to see what is the best strategy for Democrats going forward,” said Doug White, a Yakima Democrat, of Muchlinski and Baechler. “The numbers are not strong enough to support a viable candidate.”

White challenged Newhouse in 2022. Despite making it to the general election, and raising more than $700,000 in contributions, White lost to Newhouse in a 35-point landslide.

Still, White says, there could be a path forward for Democrats.

“Democrats represent a very confident 32% of the voting population,” he said. “Quite honestly, (Republicans) could split the balance and a Democrat could easily go through — and then it’s a whole different race.”

Baechler previously ran for the congressional seat in 2012, challenging former Rep. Doc Hastings. This time around, she’s raised less than $5,000 and plans to file her July report soon.

Baechler is centering her campaign around two core issues: The right to reproductive health care and addressing climate change.

“A Democrat is a long shot in this district, but I think those two issues matter a lot to voters,” said Baechler, former CEO of the Baby Jogger Company and former economic development planner for the Yakama Nation.

She disagrees with White’s assessment. Baechler points to the 2012 primary, where she beat out a Republican and fellow Democrat to advance to the general election with Hastings.

Muchlinski told the Tri-City Herald she is banking on grassroots support from the Democrats and weariness over Trump to lift either herself or Baechler into the general election.

In Washington, only the top two candidates with the most votes in the primary move on to the general election. From there, a Democratic candidate could get enough financial support to oust Newhouse, she argues.

“I think we’re going to see an uptick in voter turnout from Democrats and independents,” Muchlinski said, believing their stances on issues such as housing and reproductive health care could buoy their chances.

But with fewer than three weeks to the Aug. 6 primary, it’s become clear that Newhouse and Smiley see one another as their largest threats.

If the two Republicans advance to the general election, then the gloves come off, White argues, and they could see the “largest spending in district history.”

In that scenario, Democratic voters in the general election would play a crucial role in saving Newhouse from Trump-aligned Republicans eager to vote against him.

“They will at some point need to do some strategic voting, whether that’s voting for a Democrat or the ‘least bad’ Republican,” said White, who has been rallying Democratic support through his PAC, Rural Americans United .

“Their perceptions of Smiley, whether that’s closer to Newhouse or Sessler, will skew a lot of votes,” he said.