Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), one of two House Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump in 2021 and remains in office, announced his retirement, setting up an August 4, 2026 primary in Washington's 4th Congressional District that has drawn eleven candidates and exposed fissures within the state Republican Party. NPR

Washington's 4th District covers the rural, agriculture- and energy-dependent central part of the state. It is the most conservative district in Washington, with a population that is more than 40% Latino. Donald Trump carried it in 2024, and the Cook Political Report rates it solidly Republican. NPR

Newhouse survived Trump-endorsed primary challengers in both 2022 and 2024. In the 2024 general election, held November 5, Newhouse defeated Jerrod Sessler, a Republican who ran to his right. Ballotpedia Newhouse is one of only two Republicans from the 2021 impeachment vote still serving in the House.

Washington uses a top-two primary system: the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the November general election, regardless of party. NPR The 2026 general election is scheduled for November 3, according to FEC reporting dates. FEC

Eleven candidates filed to replace Newhouse, according to a Spokesman-Review report published June 7. Spokesman-Review Washington's candidate filing window ran May 4 through May 6. Washington Secretary of State

The Republican field's most prominent contender is Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney, who holds endorsements from Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson. McKinney's relationship with Newhouse is layered: she endorsed him in 2024 and stood by him after his impeachment vote, despite disagreeing with the decision. At an AmericaFest convention hosted by Turning Point USA, however, McKinney said Newhouse's impeachment vote was the reason she was running for Congress and that she created a strategy to retire him. NPR

Jerrod Sessler, the businessman and former candidate who lost to Newhouse in the 2024 general, is running again, positioning himself as an anti-establishment outsider. State Sen. Matt Boehnke is running as a more moderate candidate in the style of Newhouse. NPR

John Duresky, an Air Force veteran and former government employee, is the sole Democrat in the race. Duresky retired from federal service after being notified by DOGE that his position would be eliminated. NPR

Under FEC rules, candidates must register using a Statement of Candidacy (Form 2) within 15 days of becoming a candidate. FEC In the 2025-2026 election cycle, the 951 candidates running for the House reported combined total receipts of $455.9 million and disbursements of $265.3 million in the six-month reporting period. FEC

The Washington Secretary of State has published a 2026 primary voters' guide, customized to the measures and races on a voter's precinct ballot. Washington Secretary of State

The broader context here is a district that has repeatedly tested the boundaries of Republican loyalty to Trump. Newhouse kept his seat twice against Trump-backed challengers, but chose not to seek a third contest under those conditions. The primary now turns on whether McKinney, who simultaneously backed Newhouse and built a strategy to push him out, can consolidate the Trump-aligned and establishment wings of the party under a single banner, or whether Sessler's outsider pitch or Boehnke's moderate lane fractures the vote enough to produce an unexpected top-two pairing.

NPR characterized the race to replace Newhouse as significant for Republicans planning their post-Trump future. NPR The 4th District's solidly Republican rating means the primary outcome will likely determine who holds the seat in the next Congress. With eleven candidates on the ballot under a top-two system, vote fragmentation is a practical concern: a candidate can advance to November with a relatively small share of the total vote, and the ordering of the top two will signal which faction within the GOP carried the district.