Eleven candidates hope to survive a crowded primary and challenge incumbent Congressman Michael Baumgartner in the race to represent the roughly 800,000 people living in Washington’s 5th Congressional District.
The district stretches across the eastern edge of the state, spanning 16,053 square miles and encompassing 10 of the most rural counties in the state. Major cities include Spokane, Pullman and Walla Walla, but a large part of this district is agricultural land.
It’s been a safely conservative seat for at least the past two decades, held by Republican former Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers from 2005 to 2025. In 2024, McMorris Rodgers retired and endorsed Baumgartner as her heir, who won the seat by a hefty margin.
In the past two years, the region has felt the impacts of Donald Trump’s presidential administration. Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency claimed tens of millions dollars in savings for cancelling federal grants to universities and state and local governments. The value of federal contracts in the region shrank by 37% since 2024, according to statistics from the government website USASpending.gov. Washington farmers are struggling, too, due to tariffs harming export markets and rising fuel costs tied to Trump’s war on Iran.
In Spokane, federal workers researching safety for hard-rock miners and other high-risk occupations were abruptly fired, then re-hired nine months later. A dozen workers at the local Veterans Affair hospital were fired by DOGE, then paid not to work. One hundred thirty-seven vacant positions at the same hospital were cut, accounting for roughly 8% of the hospital’s jobs.
These material conditions, and a nationwide focus on the political message of affordability, have drawn a full slate of Democrat and Independent political challengers, each of whom seek to claw their way to the top of crowded primary field to challenge incumbent Baumgartner in the November general election.
In 2024, the field was completely open, with six Republicans and five Democrats vying for the seat. In the general, Baumgartner won with 60.57% of the vote, and Democrat challenger Carmela Conroy took 39.29%.
It wasn’t just that the region voted red across the board — Baumgartner enjoyed a nearly 7-point advantage over Trump, who beat Kamala Harris by a margin of 53.9% to her 43.2% in the district.
Even banking on a “blue wave” spurred by dissatisfaction with the president — and therefore, Baumgartner, who largely voted in alignment with Trump’s priorities — to make up some of the ground from 2024, the race is an uphill one for candidates left of center.
The challengers
At candidate forums, on billboards and t-shirts, and in interviews, 11 candidates have sought to make the case that not only are they the person who can best represent the district, but also that if they clear the primary, they’ll be able to defeat Baumgartner in November.
Andrew Bartleson
Independent Andrew Bartleson is just a “regular person.” An auditor for the state Department of Labor & Industries, Bartleson said he is running for office to create a better world for his 19-year-old daughter, who has been hitting the campaign trail with him as his unofficial manager.
Though he’s registered as an Independent, Bartleson has articulated some of the most progressive policy stances at campaign events: federal support for trans rights, taxing billionaires out of existence, redirecting corporate welfare to funding for schools and college tuition, using farm subsidies for small independent farms and abolishing ICE. He also wants to prioritize AI regulation and keeping data centers off the power grid.
You won’t see a yard sign or a billboard for Bartleson, who has yet to report any donations to the FEC. But you might see folks wearing the striking “Bartleson for Congress” merch: black t-shirts he gives out for free, printed with images ranging from family photos to a cute pic of his dog to a picture of a shirtless Bartleson rocking a pandemic-era mullet.
Carmela Conroy
Topping the list in fundraising with over $387,000 is Conroy, who lost to Baumgartner in 2024. Despite fairing worse than McMorris Rodger’s 2022 opponent Natasha Hill, who received 40.3% of the vote, and Lisa Brown, who lost to McMorris Rodgers in 2018 with 45.24% of the vote, Conroy declared her candidacy for 2026 about as quickly as her 2024 loss was announced.
Conroy’s background in foreign service as a diplomat and her two years as chair of the local party Democrats has led to fuller coffers and a headstart on the campaign trail. She has emphasized affordability, healthcare access and her foreign policy experience. This year, much of her platform centers on addressing Trump’s impacts on the region: restoring Medicare and Medicaid funding, defunding detention center construction and operation, ending tariffs and directing the U.S. Department of Justice to take action against Epstein collaborators.
She received endorsements from the Walla Walla Democrats and the Washington State Stonewall Democrats and was one of five candidates to receive the endorsement of the Spokane County Democrats.
Ann Marie Danimus
Though she previously ran for this same seat in 2024 and 2022 as a Democrat, this year, small business owner Ann Marie Danimus is campaigning as an Independent. Though Danimus has not performed particularly well in either of her past elections, receiving 10.25% of the primary ballots in 2022 and 5.56% in 2024, she still has faith she’s the best candidate for the job.
She’s a fairly progressive Independent. Her platform highlights codifying abortion access, creating universal healthcare and protecting the environment as key issues. Danimus has also voiced strong support for federal support of trans rights at candidate forums, though she faced criticism for saying that if Congress lacks the power to stop ICE detention centers from being built entirely, they should locate them closer to home for oversight purposes.
Danimus’ notable endorsements include the 9th Legislative District Democrats, the 4th Legislative District Democrats and Spokane Valley City Council Member Tim Hattenburg. She’s raised $16,223 during this campaign, and has campaign debt of somewhere between $8,000 and $14,000, according to reporting from The Spokesman.
Kevin Fagan
Kevin Fagan, a young progressive who graduated from Gonzaga University in 2021, lives in downtown Spokane and serves on the City of Spokane's Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board. The youngest candidate in a race where just two other people are younger than 50, Fagan is running a grassroots campaign relying on volunteers, doorknocking and social media to connect with voters.
Though it’s a conservative district, Fagan has been unafraid to take not just leftist economic positions, but leftist social positions as well, advocating for a free Palestine, federal protections for trans people, abolishing ICE and, most recently, an independent Puerto Rico. Fagan’s platform also includes universal healthcare, banning stock trading for members of Congress and ensuring farmers have the right to repair their own equipment.
Fagan has been endorsed by the Spokane County Democrats, the Spokane Young Democrats and local politicians Zack Zappone and Sarah Dixit. He has raised just $26,912 for his campaign.
Richard Freudenberg
Air Force veteran and military lawyer Richard Freudenberg joined the race right after he retired, hoping to stand up for working families in rural Washington. Though he entered late — unable to register until after his retirement, due to Trump-era regulations — Freudenberg has raised $32,637 in just a few months.
Freudenberg supports Medicare for All, removing most tariffs and using Congressional powers to reign in presidential misconduct. His platform also includes a work requirement under a public works program to receive unemployment, immigration reform and a living wage.
His notable endorsements include the Spokane County Democrats and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers.
Mathew Hayes
An Air Force veteran, retired physician and recent Gonzaga Law School graduate, Matthew Hayes is running as an Independent free of party influence and corporate donors. His grassroots campaign is nontraditional — the only campaign merch available is a white t-shirt without his name or logo, just the slogan “We the People Must Vote.”
His platform highlights the importance of increasing voter turnout, prioritizing patients over profit in the healthcare system, curbing disinformation and preventing war, using it only as an absolute last resort.
Hayes has logged $4,770 in donations so far.
Nate Powell
Nate Powell — a firefighter and Marine veteran recruited and endorsed by the Working Class Heroes Fund — exploded into the race as an Independent laser-focused on class issues. Though he doesn’t have party backing like Baumgartner or Conroy, he quickly raised more than $322,000, putting him third on the leaderboard.
Powell’s platform includes supporting Medicare for all, banning stock trading for members of Congress, breaking up corporate monopolies to protect family farms and stopping AI data centers from harming neighborhoods and the environment. He’s a strong economic progressive, but his stances on social issues are more moderate, courting rural voters that make up the majority of the district.
He received Fuse Washington’s endorsement in their Progressive Voter’s Guide. This proved to be a controversial choice, with Powell’s opponents pointing to his comments at a candidate forum where said trans rights should be a states’ rights issue, and he didn’t see it as the federal government’s role to protect trans people.
Bajun Mavalwalla
The father of Bajun Mavalwalla II — who was recently convicted of federal conspiracy charges after protesting ICE in Spokane — Mavalwalla the senior is an Army veteran who hopes to court rural voters who feel betrayed by the Trump administration.
Mavalwalla, a passionate man who was in court nearly every day supporting his son during the two-week trial, is not as traditional a Democrat as others in the race. His platform includes support for the 2nd Amendment (moderated by some gun reforms), completely dismantling Immigrations and Customs Enforcement as an agency, taxing billionaires and support for veterans, LGBTQ+ people and workers.
Mavalwalla, who worked on Dr. Bernadine Bank’s campaign for this same office in 2024, was also endorsed by the Spokane County Democrats and the Walla Walla Democrats. He has raised just under $100,000 so far.
Michael McGarr
Former Spokesman Review copy editor Michael McGarr, who had a failed run as a Republican for a California State Assembly seat in the 1990s, is running as a Democrat this time. McGarr has railed against the political pendulum, and describes himself as a candidate who can find the middle lane and work across the aisle. He told the Spokesman he doesn’t watch Star Trek anymore because of gay Klingons.
Still, McGarr thinks the Trump administration and the modern Republican Party have gone too far, abandoning their responsibility to the people. His platform includes simplifying worker visas, putting term limits on U.S. Supreme Court justices, supporting Medicare for All and weaning off of fossil fuels.
McGarr has also yet to report fundraising to the Federal Election Commission, and his website states he won’t be looking for funding unless he makes it to the general election. He was also endorsed by the Spokane County Democrats.
Kyle Usrey
Attorney and self-described “cowboy poet” Kyle Usrey is running as an Independent. He sees himself as a moderate who has been alienated from the Republican Party by Trump-era extremism, but he doesn’t align with what he sees as the socialist wing of the Democratic Party.
Usrey’s campaign platform includes fighting for Palouse farmers to get tariff refunds, reforming ICE and banning its agents from reservation land without explicit tribal permission, eliminating the Electoral College in favor of direct popular vote for President and adopting a two-tiered healthcare system like Australia.
Usrey has raised $30,125.17, though $25,000 of that was a donation to his own campaign, according to FEC reports.
David Womack
Walla Walla-based Air Force veteran and retired healthcare worker David Womack, who led a rural hospital in Colfax, is a longtime party Democrat. Womack has raised $125,796 so far, roughly a third of Conroy’s total.
Womack highlights his experience in the military and protecting healthcare access for rural areas, which could allow him to connect with conservative voters in the region who have seen the impacts of the Trump administration on healthcare access. His priorities include making childcare and eldercare more affordable, “Medicare for all who want it” and supporting the agricultural industry in the region.
He has also been endorsed by the Spokane County Democrats and Walla Walla Democrats.
The incumbent
As the incumbent and lone Republican in the race, Congressman Michael Baumgartner has a different race to run. He has entirely avoided candidate forums and debates during the primary, and with no challengers from the right to split the vote, he’s all but assured to take one of the two slots in the general. He has raised just over $1.7 million for his reelection campaign and spent about half of that. His largest single donor is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, also known as AIPAC.
As a solidly red district, some might say it’s his race to lose. But he’s not without vulnerabilities, as his opponents have laid the effects of Trump’s policies at Baumgartner’s feat.
Though Baumgartner expressed support for farmers in his 2024 campaign, warning volatile trade markets or tensions in oil-producing regions could negatively impact the agricultural sector crucial to his district, he has largely backed the Trump administration. He has supported Trump’s war in Iran, and voiced opposition to Trump’s tariffs, while voting against the House resolution to overturn them. Baumgartner has voted with the Republican Party 99% of the time, according to vote tracker LegisLetter.
He voted in favor of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” calling it “a bold, serious step toward getting our economy back on track,” backed Trump’s $1.5 trillion military spending bill regardless of national debt concerns and publicly supported the SAVE Act to overhaul the election identification process.
Baumgartner sits on three House committees: Education and Workforce, Judiciary and Foreign Affairs. He is also the chair of Congressional College Sports Caucus, where he has sponsored five bills related to college sports — more than a third of all bills he’s sponsored.
His election website lists his wins for the region: securing $4 Million to rebuild the Sullivan & Trent interchange, delivering $1.5 million to Airway Heights to consolidate police, fire and municipal court operations and securing $1.7 million in Adams County for local jail renovations.
“During my first term in Congress, I have worked hard to represent the people of Eastern Washington and reduce taxes, secure the border and protect election integrity,” his website states. “It stands in stark contrast to the actions of some Far Left politicians in Olympia who continue to raise taxes, mandate ‘sanctuary’ cities, and reject election safeguards.”
While in office, he has also called for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to resign, after Trump described Zelenskyy as “ungrateful,” honored a cisgender runner who got second place to a trans girl in a high school track race as the ‘rightful winner,” and argued for a peaceful annexation of Greenland.
According to his campaign website, his platform is border security, protecting dams on the Palouse from being removed, supporting service members, curbing violent crime, keeping America strong and the economy.
