Michael Baumgartner and Carmela Conroy: who will fill the seat being vacated for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers?

Either Republican Michael Baumgartner or Democrat Carmela Conroy will be a fresh face in the House of Representatives next year, as, for the first time in 20 years, Eastern Washington voters will not be asked whether they want to be represented in Congress by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
The incumbent has held that seat for 20 years, and, indeed, her successor may be expected to serve out a long career representing this district, judging by history: only four people, including McMorris Rodgers, have represented the district in the last 80 years.
Baumgartner is one of the best-known names in local politics, gaining prominence in 2010 when he defeated incumbent Democratic state Sen. Chris Marr in what was then the most expensive legislative race in Washington state history. He has served in the state Senate for eight years and as the county treasurer since 2019. He also unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2012.
He also previously served for a year in Iraq as a foreign service officer for the State Department and in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor focused on counter-narcotics.
Despite some initial friction with the grassroots of his party during this year’s primary election, he raised more money and earned more votes in the August primary than all of his Republican rivals combined. He earned 28.5% of the vote in the primary.
Baumgartner has the endorsement of a wide swath of Republican and conservative leaders across the state, including McMorris Rodgers; state Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville; most of his Republican rivals in the primary; former Spokane mayors David Condon and Nadine Woodward; and Brian Heywood, the leader of Let’s Go Washington, a political action committee that has animated conservative politics in the state this year.
Given the ease with which McMorris Rodgers has retained her seat over the last 20 years and the overall Republican-leaning district, he is the odds-on favorite to win this November.
While his Democratic rival has never held elected office before, Conroy has argued her experience in negotiations and difficult environments have prepared her for a job in Washington, D.C.
She served for 24 years as a foreign service officer and diplomat for the State Department working overseas in numerous countries, including four years in Afghanistan and Pakistan, retiring in 2020 amid what she has characterized as hostility toward career officials from the administration of former President Donald Trump.
She was the consul general of the Lahore, Pakistan, consulate from 2009 to 2011 and has been praised by her peers for her handling of several diplomatic crises, including the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in a Pakistan compound in May 2011.
Conroy has the endorsement of seven retired ambassadors as well as U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, who serves as the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. She also has the backing of big names in area Democratic politics, like state Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig and Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, and major unions, such as the Washington Education Association, the Washington State Labor Council and the Washington Machinists Council.
Conroy is at a major fundraising disadvantage heading into the November general election. While fundraising totals won’t be updated by the Federal Election Commission for another week, by July she had raised $234,000 to Baumgartner’s $790,000.