Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump endorsed a second GOP candidate in a Washington state congressional district, an attempt to guarantee the ouster of Rep. Dan Newhouse.
Trump endorsed Tiffany Smiley on Truth Social late Saturday, calling her a “tremendous America First Candidate.” He said he continued to endorse Jerrod Sessler in the same 4th District race, adding that both had his “complete and total endorsement.”
“They are both running against a weak and pathetic RINO, Dan Newhouse, who stupidly voted to impeach me for absolutely no reason, and he now strongly wishes he didn’t make that Decision,” Trump said.
Newhouse was one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, and he is one of only two remaining in the House after the 2022 midterms, along with Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif). The others either retired or were defeated in their primaries, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Jaime Herrera Beutler, another Republican from Washington state.
Sessler is a former NASCAR driver and veteran of the Navy who was endorsed by Trump in April; Smiley is a nurse who challenged Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in a Senate race in 2022.
Washington state’s primaries are all-party, meaning the top two candidates in any district advance regardless of party affiliation. The district is one of two solidly Republican ones in the state.
Newhouse, who was first elected in 2014, edged Democrat Doug White and Republican Loren Culp in the 2022 primary (Sessler was fourth) and then easily beat White in the general election.
The state’s primary is Tuesday.
