The competitive race to succeed Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is narrowing as votes from Tuesday's primary are tallied.
The day began with a field of 10 candidates. The first wave of unofficial results indicate Republican Michael Baumgartner and Democrat Carmela Conroy will be the likely finalists for the general election.
Baumgartner, Spokane County's treasurer, claimed 28 percent of votes so far, according to the Washington Secretary of State's office. Conroy, a former U.S. foreign service officer, had 20 percent.
Republican state lawmaker Jacquelin Maycumber had 12 percent of votes reported Tuesday night. Former Ferry County Commissioner and Trump administration official Brian Dansel clocked in at 10 percent. Spokane city councilman Jonathan Bingle got three percent.
McMorris Rodgers announced in February she would not run for a eleventh term. She did not publicly endorse a successor.
In central Washington, the primary contest for the Fourth Congressional District was a tough one for incumbent Republican Dan Newhouse.
Newhouse was among a handful of House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump in 2021, incurring the former president's ire. Trump rebuked Newhouse two years ago and endorsed two of the congressman's challengers this year.
It appears one of those two challengers, Tiffany Smiley, was eliminated in Tuesday's primary. But the other, former NASCAR driver Jerrod Sessler, was leading Newhouse, 28 to 25 percent.
Washington's incumbent junior senator, Maria Cantwell, is up for reelection this year, and though her primary field included 10 other candidates, she claimed 57 percent of the vote. She will likely face Republican Raul Garcia, an emergency room physician who received 21 percent, according to the first-wave results.
Further results will be released around 5:00 p.m. each afternoon until all votes are counted. The election will be certified August 20.