Rep. Michael Baumgartner already faces seven challengers as year begins

It’s been a little over a year since Michael Baumgartner was elected as Eastern Washington’s congressman from among the most crowded field in decades, replacing former Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who held the seat for 20 years before announcing her retirement.

That means it’s already time for the freshman congressman to face re-election, and while the race hasn’t yet attracted the crowded field of 2024, seven other candidates had filed with the Federal Election Commission by New Year’s Day. Several other people have also expressed interest in the race but have not yet formally filed.

It’ll be an uphill battle to unseat the incumbent, who received more than 60% of the vote in 2024, proving to be slightly more popular in the district than President Donald Trump. Trump’s approval ratings have plummeted since taking office last year, however, and several candidates hope the changing political tides will give them a chance in 2026.

The candidates

Baumgartner

Baumgartner has had an extensive career in politics and the federal government. He previously served as a state senator for eight years and then as Spokane County Treasurer for six. Before that, he worked with the U.S. Department of State in both civilian roles and as a foreign service officer in Iraq and Afghanistan during the wars in those countries.

He filed for re-election in August and currently reports more than $500,000 in his campaign coffers.

Carmela Conroy

Former diplomat Carmela Conroy was Baumgartner’s general election opponent in 2024, earning a little over 39% of the vote. She declared her intent to run again in 2026 immediately after she lost the 2024 race. The Spokane Democrat formally registered with the Federal Elections Commission last January. She currently reports over $133,000 in campaign contributions.

Prior to her retirement in 2020, Conroy served in various diplomatic roles for over 20 years, including as Consul General in Lahore, Pakistan, during a tumultuous period in relations between the two countries. Before running for election in 2024, she served as chair of the Spokane County Democrats.

Aaron Croft

Air Force veteran Aaron Croft, from Spokane, filed to run for the seat as an independent candidate in October but has since withdrawn his candidacy.

Ann Marie Danimus

Ann Marie Danimus, a Spokane Valley consultant for small businesses, also ran for the seat in 2022 and again in 2024 as a Democrat with a platform decrying the role of money in politics, earning around 5.5% of the vote in the primary. Before that, she ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2020.

Danimus has since split from the Democratic Party and is running as an independent.

Danimus filed to run in June and currently reports less than $1,000 in campaign contributions.

Anthony Jensen

Anthony Jensen filed in 2023 to run in the 2026 congressional race as a Republican. Based in Spokane, no other information about Jensen was immediately available, and attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.

Bajun Mavalwalla

Bajun Mavalwalla, who filed to run as a Democrat on Jan. 1, is a retired intelligence officer who served in the U.S. Army for over two decades, including two tours each in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also the father of Bajun Mavalwalla II, one of the nine people who were arrested following the June 11 protests in Spokane regarding the detainment of two men by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Mavalwalla formally launched his campaign Saturday at the Women’s Club of Spokane, after being introduced by his son. Describing himself as the rustic resident of a Stevens County log cabin, Mavalwalla derided Baumgartner as an out-of-touch lackey of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and argued the district needed a representative focused on kitchen -table issues.

“In Congress, it’s our responsibility to take care of people in this district, and continuing subsidies so working families can afford health care is a moral responsibility,” Mavalwalla said. “Rural hospitals have had their funding gutted by Michael Baumgartner’s vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill … because he’s only got one master, and that’s Speaker Mike Johnson.”

Mavalwalla worked as campaign manager for Bernadine Bank, who ran for the seat in 2024 as a Democrat and earned 11.9% of the vote in the primary. Bank is now working on Mavalwalla’s campaign. Mavalwalla has also been endorsed by Matthew Welde, another 2024 candidate for the seat.

David Womack

David Womack is a retired Air Force colonel and served as the medical group commander at Fairchild Air Force Base. After retiring from military service, he worked at various times as the CEO of Whitman Hospital in Colfax, a senior vice president at Kaiser Permanente and as the chairman of the Kern Economic Development Corporation in California.

“When I took that oath to the Constitution at 23 years old, that’s never expired,” Womack said in a brief interview. “I see the Constitution being shredded by this administration and its congressional enablers every day. … I just feel like it’s my duty to do something about that for the people here.”

The Walla Walla Democrat filed to run in November.

Anthony Whisenhunt

Anthony Whisenhunt is a Malden beekeeper who was convicted twice of first-degree child molestation when he was a teenager, and more recently convicted of more than a dozen charges of animal cruelty stemming from 2011 and 2016 cases. His social media presence primarily consists of criticizing President Donald Trump and posting lascivious responses to adult content creators on Twitter. He filed with the Federal Elections Commission in November to run as a Democrat.