Republicans are at war over the future of their party and the latest battleground for GOP infighting is right here in Washington’s 4th Congressional District. While a divided opposition is good news for Democrats, it underscores the urgency of my campaign for Congress.
Since 2016, Republicans have become increasingly divided between the old-guard “establishment” members of the party and the new, more extremist Trump faction. A number of significant endorsements this week show Washington Republicans intend to support perhaps my most dangerous opponent, Loren Culp.
The failed 2020 gubernatorial nominee earned Donald Trump’s endorsement this week. Culp is a vocal supporter of the former president and even reads from the same political playbook as Trump. Despite losing by over half-a-million votes, Culp refused to concede the 2020 race, just as Trump did.
On the other side of the Republican tug-of-war is Dan Newhouse, seeking to represent Washington’s 4th District for a fifth term. While he maintains benefitting from generous corporate donors, Newhouse’s support from Republican voters has been drying up after he voted to impeach president Trump.
Benton County Republicans endorsed neither, opting to back Rep. Brad Klippert instead. Local GOP leaders voting against the national party line is rare, speaking to the depth of the party’s ideological disunity.
Finally, former NASCAR driver Jerrod Sessler earned the endorsement of former Trump advisor and famed Q-anon acolyte Michael Flynn. Sessler has likely curried favor with Flynn due to his wildly conspiratorial claims about the COVID vaccine and publicly calling for CDC Immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci to be hanged.
Let me be clear: there are no “reasonable Republican” candidates. They do not represent the traditionally conservative views of their constituents any longer. Witnessing this dangerous hodgepodge of conservative candidates vying to take control over C.D. 4 has reinforced the grave importance of electing me, Doug White, to Congress. Central Washington needs a grassroots movement and a Representative who voraciously fights for our community in the US House of Representatives. Our district does not need a Congressperson who gains power through sucking-up to corporate donors and disgraced former Presidents.
While my Republican opponents are busy back-biting and attempting to out-radical one another, my campaign is focused on what matters to voters. While I remain committed to attending Town Halls, meeting voters and solving issues like the COVID-19 epidemic, the GOP candidates are laser-focused on appeasing political elites.
Yesterday, for example, District 4’s current Representative Dan Newhouse was busy releasing a long-winded presser about the “dangers” posed to Washingtonians by Mexican immigrants and blaming them for drug overdose deaths. All this — mind you — is happening while more than 2,000 of our fellow Americans continue to die from COVID each week. Instead of using the power voters entrusted in Dan Newhouse to protect our communities, he uses his power to engage in political theater and further demonize the marginalized.
Photo credit: Jay D.
Democrats like myself are the only smart path out of this mess. With your help, we can elect a Congressman who will make progress on the issues Central Washington cares about: the pandemic, economic security, climate change, trade policy, public safety. We must capitalize on the Republican party’s divisions. We cannot — however — underestimate the threat presented by any of my opponents were they to be elected.
My vision for Congress eschews political stunts and conspiratorial rhetoric. Instead, I will devote my time to protecting Central Washington from the effects of climate change, negotiating fair trade deals that benefit farmers and consumers, and reforming America's broken campaign finance laws, to name a few priorities. My Republican opponents lack a clear platform and rely instead on sloganeering or endorsements from political elites to hide their absence of a policy vision. With your help, we can leave GOP infighting and inaction in the past and put a Democrat in Congress who will focus on the kitchen-table issues that matter to the 4th District.
To learn more about Doug White’s campaign for Washington’s 4th District, visit our website and support us by donating.
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