Trump, Speaker Johnson endorse early in Central WA race to replace Newhouse
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- President Trump and Speaker Johnson endorse Yakima commissioner Amanda McKinney for WA-4.
- McKinney gains super PAC support and a TV ad framing her as Trump conservative.
- Multiple Republicans and one Democrat eye the open WA-4 seat ahead of May filing.
Amanda McKinney received two major endorsements on Tuesday in her bid to succeed U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse.
Both President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson said they were backing the Yakima County commissioner’s campaign for Washington’s 4th Congressional District. It’s expected to be a competitive midterm election cycle with the departure of U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, the six-term Sunnyside Republican who announced his retirement last month.
“It is my great honor to endorse America First Patriot, Amanda McKinney, who is running to represent the wonderful people of Washington’s 4th Congressional District,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
He called her a “highly respected” civic leader who has “dedicated her life to serving her community.”
“Amanda McKinney has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Washington’s 4th Congressional District — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump concluded.
Johnson also spoke highly of the congressional hopeful, calling her a “patriot who will help us continue to deliver safe streets, secure borders, lower costs, a strong economy and peace through strength.”
“I am proud to ENDORSE Amanda McKinney for Washington’s 4th Congressional District, and look forward to working with her to defend and grow our House Republican majority and CONTINUE our American comeback,” the Louisiana Republican wrote in a Tuesday post to Twitter/X.
The pair of endorsements are a likely shot in the arm for McKinney, the Mid-Columbia-raised mortgage banker who’s hoping to position herself as the Trump-aligned heir to Newhouse.
She’s also garnered substantial super PAC backing in the lead up to Newhouse’s retirement, according to Punchbowl News, and a new TV ad paid for by Washington Rising aims to paint her as the “Trump conservative” in this race McKinney said she was “honored” to have Trump’s endorsement in a news release.
“I will stand with President Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and the GOP to stand up to the D.C. bureaucracy and always put Central Washington and America First,” she said.
But it’s anyone’s race this early on. About a half-dozen candidates have thrown their hats into the race so far, and it’s likely that more candidates will announce in the coming weeks and months as they eye the open seat.
Candidates must register to run for office during filing week, which starts May 4.
McKinney will also have to fend off fellow Republican Jerrod Sessler, the Prosser businessman and former regional circuit NASCAR driver, who was formerly endorsed by the MAGA president and who picked up grassroots support in his 2024 challenge against Newhouse.
Matt Boehnke, the Republican state senator from Kennewick, has also expressed interest in running this year for the seat. The former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel told the Herald that he’s received encouragement to run.
Infighting among democrats
Some progressives, meanwhile, have begun coalescing support around West Richland Democrat John Duresky. Not everyone is convinced that his candidacy will make it past August’s jungle primary election.
Doug White, the Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Newhouse in the 2022 general election, said in a Jan. 2 newsletter that the “situation is not encouraging” on the left.
“The only declared Democrat, John Duresky, made serious missteps early and his campaign has yet to find its footing. If he cannot correct course quickly, we are headed for another cycle where Democrats fail to clear the starting line,” White wrote.
White declined to expound on his criticism of Duresky in a Tuesday evening phone call.
Duresky did respond in a Tuesday video, suggesting that White was trying to “publicly attack” his campaign in order to mount another run. But White told the Herald he has not even begun considering a run for Congress.
“I guarantee we won’t have a Democrat in the general election if we have more than one in Washington’s top-two primary system,” Duresky said. “It is more important to me that we flip this seat than it is for me to be a candidate. If Barack Obama moves to Central Washington, and runs for Congress, I would step aside. Doug White is no Barack Obama.”
Washington’s 4th Congressional District stretches from the U.S.-Canada border down to Oregon. It encompasses the Tri-Cities, Yakima, Yakama Indian Reservation, East Wenatchee, Omak and Goldendale.
It’s also the state’s most conservative-leaning district. In the 2024 presidential election, Trump won the district over former Vice President Kamala Harris by nearly 21 percentage points.
Trump has endorsed several Republican candidates to oust Newhouse in the years since he and nine other House Republicans voted to impeach him over his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol building. That’s included former Republic police chief Loren Culp, veterans advocate Tiffany Smiley and Sessler.
This story was originally published January 7, 2026 at 10:57 AM.
