Both have drawn cross-party challenges over their votes to impeach Trump after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Newhouse, the four-term incumbent of the 4th Congressional District in central Washington, and Democrat Doug White were essentially tied, each garnering about 25 percent of the vote on a packed ballot. White also advanced to the fall ballot. Lauren Culp, a former small-town police chief endorsed by Trump who lost the 2020 governor’s race to Democrat Jay Inslee, was at about 21 percent. In the 3rd Congressional District in southwest Washington, Democrat Marie Perez was the top vote-getter, with 31% of the vote. Herrera Beutler, who had about 24 percent Tuesday night, dropped to 22.6 percent Thursday night, 257 votes ahead of Joe Kent — a former Green Beret endorsed by Trump — who was at 22 .5%. A mandatory recount would occur if the margin of votes between candidates No. 2 and No. 3 is less than half of 1% and closer than 2,000 votes. Because Washington is a vote-by-mail state and polls just have to be in until Election Day, it often takes days to know final results in close races as ballots arrive at county election offices throughout the week. An estimated 35,000 votes remain to be counted, and the three counties with votes remaining to be counted — the majority of them in the 3rd District’s largest county, Clark — will not update their tallies again until late Monday afternoon. Counties have until August 16 to complete their count and the assessment boards to certify the results, followed by certification by the Secretary of State by August 19. Under Washington’s primary system, all candidates run on the same ballot, and the top two vote-getters in each Tuesday’s race advance to the November election, regardless of party. Of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, four chose not to run for re-election. Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer was defeated in a primary election Tuesday by Trump-endorsed John Gibbs, and Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina lost to a Trump-endorsed challenger in June. Rep. David Valladao of California — which has an open primary like Washington — survived a primary challenge. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming is bracing herself for a loss in her Aug. 16 primary against a Trump-backed challenger. In another key race in the 8th Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier advanced to the November ballot with more than 47 percent of the vote and will face former state attorney general candidate Matt Larkin in November. With about 17 percent of the vote, Larkin edged King County Councilman Reagan Dunn, a former federal prosecutor whose mother once held the seat. Dunn conceded the fight on Thursday. The district is a key target of GOP efforts to regain control of the House.
