Newhouse defeats Trump-backed challenger in Washington’s 4th District

Dan Newhouse turned back Jerrod Sessler in Washington’s 4th Congressional District, winning the Nov. 5 general election 153,477 votes to 136,175, or 52.99% to 47.01%. The result came after Sessler led the Aug. 6 Republican primary with 51,020 votes, while Newhouse finished second with 36,073, a split that showed how far Trump-aligned politics had pushed the district and how much resistance it still faced inside the GOP.

The race became a test of whether ideological purity could beat experience in central Washington’s most conservative congressional district. Seven challengers crowded the 2024 Republican primary against Newhouse, a sign of a fractured party still sorting through the political fallout from Donald Trump’s influence and Newhouse’s 2021 vote to impeach him. Sessler, 56, of Prosser, capitalized on that anger in the primary. Newhouse, 71, of Sunnyside, survived it in November.

Newhouse’s biography remains tied to the region he represents. He is a third-generation farmer and a Sunnyside High School graduate, class of 1973, details that have long anchored his appeal in a district where local roots can matter as much as national loyalty. But his impeachment vote made him a persistent target as Trump’s hold on the Washington Republican Party deepened, especially in the months leading into 2024 and into the opening of a new Trump era.

The district’s numbers underscored the internal divide. Sessler’s 33.08% in the primary outpaced Newhouse’s 23.39%, even as the field splintered among seven Republican challengers. By November, Newhouse had consolidated enough support to hold the seat, a result that suggested Washington Republicans in a deep-red district were still willing to tolerate a lawmaker who crossed Trump, but only after a bruising intraparty fight.

The contest carried significance beyond one congressional seat. Washington Republicans have been under pressure from the national MAGA movement for years, and the 4th District has repeatedly served as a proving ground for whether voters would punish or forgive lawmakers caught in Trump-related disputes. Newhouse’s win did not erase that divide. It showed that in central Washington, Trump’s influence remains potent, but not absolute, when local voters are asked to choose between grievance politics and a familiar incumbent.