Two candidates are vying to replace long-time incumbent Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers as the representative for Washington's fifth congressional district.
Both recently sat down with SPR journalists to talk about why they're running, their policy platforms and how they'd work for Eastern Washington in the House of Representatives.
Democrat Carmela Conroy touts her legal and diplomatic experience. She served as a deputy prosecutor in Spokane County, then as a foreign service officer in Pakistan and other Asian nations.
She also has political experience as the former chair of the Spokane County Democratic party. She spoke with SPR's Doug Nadvornick on Friday, Nov. 1, at a Democratic Party pre-election function.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
CARMELA CONROY: After almost 30 years of apolitical public service, being involved in partisan politics at all has been a real learning curve for me.
I served whoever was elected and just was doing my best to keep bad guys off the streets or to make sure that our Navy could do what it needed to do in Japan or that refugees from Afghanistan could find a way to make things work in Afghanistan or wherever their first landing was and protecting the border regardless of who was making the policy direction.
My two years of involvement in the Democratic Party here in Spokane County was a real learning experience and a steep curve, but it was very comfortable to be supporting candidates, sort of playing the behind-the-scenes expert role in making the public figures look good and helping them succeed. That's very much what we do as diplomats.
So I thought before I undertook this project that I had some idea about what it was like to be a candidate, but it's a completely new experience. For the most part, it's been incredibly gratifying.
We've had so much grassroots support and people expressing their hopes for what they want for themselves — and especially after the Dobbs decision — what they want for themselves, their daughters, their granddaughters, their nieces, and that that decision really created a sense that women have gone so far backwards in a very short amount of time — that we are, in a sense, second-class citizens in the United States in a very systemic way. And so that also fires me up.
It's certainly not the only reason that I'm running for office. I think that our district needs better representation.
I feel really proud that the majority of my money is small-dollar donors here in the district, you know, doctors and nurses and teachers and other national security professionals — or former national security professionals.
And that shows up in my endorsements as well. I've been endorsed by the Educators Association, by National Security Leaders for America, by the Washington State Labor Council, and I'm very proud of those — and more — labor endorsements.
And my opponent, his contributions show another story. They're big-money donors, and the PACs that are behind it undercutting American democracy, like from the Koch brothers and Jim Jones and Mike Johnson.
And they — like my opponent — they wear suits, they speak well, they seem very mild-mannered and civil, and in fact are civil.
But they want to take away individual freedoms under the guise of states' rights and want to take away our freedom to vote from wherever we are, from the comfort of our own homes or from our winter vacation place or from wherever we're enrolled in school.
And I hope I haven't let down my team by being more pointed about that. We value civility. That's one of our local values.
We want people to get along with one another. That's super important.
It's also really important to understand that being an extremist doesn't necessarily mean that you misbehave. There are people who behave just fine, but who are also fine with women and girls having to leave their own state for life-saving health care.
And that's terrifying, especially because we've got — even though Spokane itself is the largest health care hub between Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul — there are people right here in our congressional district who have to drive three or four hours to get to an appointment. And if they're working people, if they've got to find child care, if they've got to get the day off, maybe even unpaid leave to be able to go at a medical appointment, they're really going to have a tough time with that.
So [I'm focusing on] securing our freedoms and working to make things more affordable for regular working people and getting Congress back to work. This has been the least productive Congress in over 100 years.
The Republicans have a majority, and they've got a few extremists. Even a handful of extremists can keep important legislation like the farm bill from passing, can keep the federal government budget held hostage.
And so I really want to get in there, follow Tom Foley's excellent lead, and get in there and do the work, talk with anybody, regardless of party affiliation, to get the job done. I just really hope that I've been able to make my case to the people of our district.
I've traveled all over it, which has been a tremendous privilege to be able to do that.
We think if we can get Democrats and independents and traditional Republicans who want to have a representative democracy and strong national defense, that they'll look at my record as a national security professional and somebody who served in criminal justice to make sure that we stayed safe, that they'll go, 'Yeah, this is a pair of safe hands. This is somebody that can take us forward and help get the government back to work for us.'
DOUG NADVORNICK: So to win this race, you're going to have to do well in Spokane, you're going to have to do well in Pullman — which is blue to purple — but you're also going to have to do well in places like Republic and Colville and Walla Walla — [all] ruby red. So how have your views been accepted there?
CC: What I find resonates with people is that I've been there. It mattered to the farmers that I'd spent summer vacations working on a wheat farm.
And it also matters to them that I worked for Tom Foley, and I took him as a mentor and as an example.
And I think that's as much the man himself as a more civil time when people could disagree without being disagreeable and we came together to get the work done.
And I think the Farm Bill, which sort of unites urban and rural Americans behind the idea that we should support the people who grow our food and we should also make sure that no American goes to bed hungry.
Every American family ought to be able to break bread at their own table. And that's the promise of the Farm Bill. And so that's what makes it so shocking that this Congress hasn't been able to pass that.
And that would be my top priority. If I'm elected and this Congress still hasn't passed a Farm Bill, we've got to make that happen — make sure there's money in there for food welfare, for crop insurance, for climate adaptation so that our farmers have the assistance of researchers and can come together and share their knowledge to find a way to make sure that we continue to be one of the great bread baskets of the world.
So much of our Eastern Washington produce is going across the ocean to Asia. We've got to make sure that we maintain our access and develop our export markets, and that's what's really going to help make us thrive together.
Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner also hopes to be eastern Washington’s next congressional representative.
The veteran Republican has served in the Washington legislature and worked for the State Department in the Middle East.
Now he wants to try his diplomatic hand in the nation’s capital. Baumgartner spoke recently with SPR’s Brandon Hollingsworth.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
BRANDON HOLLINGSWORTH: Coming in as a freshman lawmaker, if you're elected in November, you start from the bottom in the House. It would be the same thing in the Senate.
And in both chambers, seniority is currency. It's the way you can get things done. How would you define success as a freshman lawmaker, knowing those limitations?
MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER: The first thing you want to do if I am privileged enough to be elected to Congress is just be a great representative for the entire 5th Congressional District of Eastern Washington. So that really means constituent services.
You know, even if folks haven't voted for me, I will be their representative as well, too. We want to make sure that when they have needs from the federal government, that they can come down to our office.
So it'll really be customer satisfaction from the voters here in Eastern Washington, including those that haven't voted for me.
BH: And that was my next question. I looked back over the last two election cycles to 2020 and 2022, the previous congressional elections here. And it's pretty consistent that the Republican would garner about 60% of the vote, the Democratic candidate about 40% of the vote.
So not a squeaker, but also 4 in 10 voters in the district say, I prefer the other candidate. How would you meaningfully listen and represent the folks who didn't vote for you?
MB: Well, fortunately, I have some good experience with that through my time in the state senate. You know, I did beat an incumbent Democrat when I won my state senate race, but then in a much narrower margin, district was able to work with both folks and across the aisle.
There's certainly a professional wrestling element sometimes in our state legislature, but the overwhelming majority of the things we do is pragmatic bipartisanship. And I would expect to have the same spirit if I do make it to Washington, D.C.
BH: There are some things that you and Carmela Conroy, the Democrat in this race, agree on. So there's actually some unity in some of these policy areas that you've been asked about so far in this election cycle.
But there are also some differences. And one of them is a fundamental fault line between liberals and conservatives that's been around for decades. And that's kind of the scope of federal government and federal regulation.
You tend to be the kind of person who, like many Republicans, favors more of a local approach, a state approach. Let's have different policies and not too many federal policies.
So I wanted to kind of dig into that philosophy a little bit and find out why, for instance, on something like abortion or any kind of regulation, why 50 policies are better than one that I would think may be more uniform across the country.
MB: Well, you know, we are about 350 million people in America and we're a big, diverse country and people have a lot of different ideas.
And the genius of our founding fathers in the American system is the way you create unity is to have a federal system to allow decision-making at the local level.
So those differences, in a reasonable sense, can exist and people can, through their differences, can have harmony.
Because again, when you force everybody to live one particular way, that's where you get distrust. That's where you get friction among folks and eventually upheaval.
So I really believe that our federal system and local decision-making is the way that you make diversity a strength in America.
BH: Something that we see in the current congressional makeup and for the last several cycles is with some lawmakers, there's an emphasis on national profile.
Like, 'My job is to go on cable news and criticize the people I don't like,' and then they're not really doing a whole lot for their district. I want to ask where you put yourself on that spectrum.
MB: You know, I'm applying for the job to work for my bosses. My bosses are the voters of Eastern Washington if I am elected. So the national profile issue, I'm not worried about at all.
What I'm focused on is whether folks voted for me or not, is providing those good constituent services and making sure our district is taken care of. You know, that's things like protecting Fairchild Air Force Base, protecting those dams, making sure our wheat can get to market, making sure we have great universities here across the district, quality infrastructure.
I believe very much in transparency and being publicly accessible. We will try to do a town hall every month. There's 12 counties in the 5th Congressional District would like to do 12 town halls in the first year and just be very, very accessible.
And again, that doesn't mean everybody has to agree with me, but they certainly should have the ability to express their concerns and get the help they deserve from their member of Congress.
BH: You obviously have ideas and principles that are inherent to you or you wouldn't be running for office. If somebody else who does disagree with you comes to one of these town halls and says, you know, this is why I feel this way, how open-minded would you say you are to going, maybe I'm wrong, maybe I need to listen to this person, even if it conflicts with your own values?
MB: Well, I don't know if it conflicts with values, you know, I think we're trying to get to the same goal. If you look at an issue like homelessness or transportation infrastructure or, you know, the challenge that society faces, you know, if you have the same goal in mind, the same interest, then you can look and work together in ways to achieve those goals.
And obviously, you know, Congress is not set up for a one-man dictatorship. It's 435 members of Congress, and that means if you want to get an idea into a bill off the congressional floor, you have to get 218 votes. How do you work together to get those 218 votes?
You know, I was in the state Senate, there were 49 state senators, so that meant you had to get 25 senators to work together.
And so I was really good at working, counting to 25, you know, and worked with local legislators like Andy Billig and Marcus Riccelli and Mike Volz, amongst others, to Mark Schessler.
And, you know, we created great projects for the Inland Northwest, and I think we'll continue to do that in Congress as well too. So yeah, I think, you know, the temperature is very high right now in the American political system.
People have become very tribal, unfortunately, and it's very divisive. But you know, I think what we need to do is just work together on areas and make sure that we're not demonizing either side on issues where there is disagreement.
Because our policy goals, great communities, safe communities, great education, those are what we share. It should just be a difference in the mechanism with which we pursue those goals.
BH: As a congressional representative, you would have a dual role. You're obviously representing the 5th District of Washington, if that's the case, but also you'd be voting on, as you just alluded to, national stuff.
You're going to be voting on legislation that would affect New York and Florida and Alabama and California and everybody.
How would you balance out those differing roles of being a local advocate for what we need in eastern Washington, but also having to be up on what's going on in Brooklyn or in Maine or in Detroit so that you can vote effectively on those issues?
MB: Well, you certainly need to be educated on those issues, and you do that through policy staff and reading and all those things. But, you know, it's working for Eastern Washington first and foremost.
So, you know, having spent as much time overseas as I have and challenging places like Iraq and Afghanistan, I'm used to working with folks of different cultures and different backgrounds and finding commonality.
So I think the diplomatic side of things is actually one of my strengths and I think we'll do well even working with folks from those exotic locations like New York and Illinois and Florida.
BH: One of the tasks that faces the new Congress after they convene in early January of 2025 will be voting to certify the results of the election. That did not go so well last time. We all know that.
I'm going to ask you point blank: Will you vote to certify the results of the election regardless of the outcome?
MB: I swore an oath to the Constitution when I raised my hand to become a State Department officer to go to Baghdad and serve under Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
And I take that oath very seriously. So yes, I will be voting to certify the results of the election and very much hope that we can restore trust in our democratic system because our republic only works insofar as people believe in it. So it's very important we have trust in our elections.
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Reporting by Doug Nadvornick and Brandon Hollingsworth. Interviews edited by Owen Henderson.
