Opinion: Making sense of filing week

The week of May 6 to 10 was filing week in Washington state.

Now that filing week has ended, voters will have some clarity about the candidates they will see on their August ballots

Nancy Churchill
Dangerous Rhetoric

The week of May 6 to 10 was filing week in Washington state. Every person who wants to run for public office must file with the Secretary of State during that week. Now that filing week has ended, voters will have some clarity about the candidates they will see on their August ballots. There’s always some drama as the clock ticks down to the last minutes of filing week, as there are usually some last minute surprises. This year was no exception. Let’s take a look at a few of the races.

Three-Bob Race for Governor

The biggest story of the week was the state governor’s race. While Attorney General Bob Ferguson knew he was going to face some strong challengers, he didn’t anticipate he’d be facing two other candidates with his name! According to a story in the Seattle Times, conservative activist Glen Morgan recruited the other two Bob Fergusons to enter the race for governor. One of them is a retired state employee in Yakima, and the other is a military veteran in Graham. All three Bobs are running as Democrats. It will be interesting to watch this race and see if these unexpected Bob Fergusons impact the race significantly.

In total, 30 people filed for the governor’s race, with AG Bob Ferguson leading the fundraising race with $6 million raised. The closest Democratic challenger is State Senator Mark Mullet with more than $1 million in donations. Dave Reichert tops all Republican hopefuls in fundraising with more than $3 million in donations. Reichert has strong name recognition in the Puget Sound region due to his time as King County Sheriff and U.S. Congressman. Former school board trustee Semi Bird lags in fundraising and name recognition, but managed to win the endorsement of the Washington State Republican Party at its April convention.

The Senate Race

Incumbent U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell is facing nine challengers in her race. According to the Federal Election Commission financial data the best funded of the challengers is Republican Dr. Raul Garcia. Unfortunately for conservatives, Sen. Cantwell is sitting on a massive campaign war chest of over $6.5 million, so it will be extremely difficult for any other candidate to compete against that level of funding.

Open seat in the Fifth Congressional District

With the retirement this year of Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, Washington’s 5th CD is wide open. This race has attracted eleven candidates, with five Democrats and six Republicans registered for the August top-two primary. The top Democratic candidates based on fundraising totals are former diplomat Carmela Conroy, marketing executive Ann Marie Danimus and OB-GYN Bernadine Bank.

Six Republicans filed to run to replace Rep. McMorris Rogers during filing week: Rick Valentine Flynn, Rene’ Holaday, Jacquelin Maycumber, Jonathan Bingle, Michael Baumgartner and Brian Dansel. Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner and popular State Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber currently lead the field in fundraising. Ferry County Commissioner and former State Senator Brian Dansel was endorsed by the Washington State Republican Party at its convention in April.

Two Republicans running against Newhouse

In a surprise last-minute move, Republican candidate Tiffany Smiley announced she was running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse in Washington’s 4th CD. Smiley is a former nurse and veterans advocate, who ran unsuccessfully against Sen. Patty Murray in 2022. She joins former race car driver Jerrod Sessler, another well known Republican candidate, in the tough competition against the popular incumbent, Rep. Newhouse.

There are a total of eight candidates in the race for CD04, including three Democrats, a “MAGA DEMOCRAT,” an independent as well as the three Republicans. Newhouse’s popularity with the district’s voters and significant cash on hand of over four hundred thousand dollars will make him tough to beat.

In our next column, we’ll take a look at some of the other races impacting eastern Washington, including some of the other statewide races and the two open seats for state representative in Legislative District 07. If you are eager to look ahead, you can find all of the candidates running for office in this year’s August primary at Voter.votewa.gov/Candidates

Nancy Churchill is a writer and educator in rural eastern Washington State, and the state committeewoman for the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on thinkspot, Rumble and Substack.