Tri-Cities veteran advocate makes U.S. Senate challenge official. Newhouse also draws opponents

A Pasco woman who rose to national prominence after fighting for her husband who was blinded by a suicide car bomber in Iraq, has made her run for the U.S. Senate official.

Tiffany Smiley is one of 13 candidates challenging U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., in the August primary. The top two candidates after the primary, no matter which political party they affiliate with, will move on to the November election.

When Smiley, a Republican, announced her intent to run last year, she said she would bring her experience from years of advocating for her husband and other veterans to the Senate.

The Senate race is the most packed in what has been a quiet filing week in Benton and Franklin counties.

Only a handful of candidates are running for the open state and county seats, and many Tri-Cities incumbents remain unchallenged with just one day left to file.

Candidates looking to run for election can file with the county auditor’s office or online through a Washington state portal at bit.ly/FilingCandidacyWA. Deadline for filing online is 4 p.m. Friday, May 20.

Those who don’t want to file online can file with the Benton County Voting Center at 2618 N. Columbia Center Blvd, or with the Franklin County Auditor’s Office at the Franklin County Courthouse. In person filing ends at 4:30 p.m.

Anyone with questions about filing can reach the Benton County Elections Department at 509-736-3085 or the Franklin County Elections Department at 509-545-3502.

U.S. House

While not as crowded as the race for Murray’s U.S. Senate seat, seven candidates are challenging U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, in the 4th Congressional District.

The representative drew ire from fellow party members after he was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

He said the president had not acted quickly enough to quell the riot. Organizers have since been charged with seditious conspiracy.

While Newhouse has always attracted Republican challengers, this year’s election has brought in a former gubernatorial candidate, Loren Culp, and a former NASCAR driver and businessman, Jerrod Sessler, who moved to the Prosser area to challenge him.

It also motivated state Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick, to file against him.

A straw poll run by the Republican Liberty Caucus of Washington of about 110 people following a debate by the candidates in early May put Culp and fellow challenger Corey Gibson at the head of the pack.

One Democrat, Doug White, also has filed to challenge the congressman. A fourth-generation Yakima area farmer, White said he’s running because he feels Central Washington’s needs are being ignored by politicians.

State, county races

The race for outgoing Benton County Commissioner Shon Small’s seat is one of three state or local races heading to the August primary.

Small announced he didn’t plan to run for a fourth four-year term.

Three of the four candidates expected to file for the seat have done so. That includes former state Rep. Bill Jenkin, PUD Commissioner Barry Bush and Richland Mayor Michael Alvarez.

While Kennewick Police Officer Monte Monteblanco has filed with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission that he intended to run, he had not filed for the spot by Thursday morning.

District 16 Rep. Mark Klicker has attracted two challengers — Democrat Jeff Strickler and Peace and Freedom party candidate Sharon Kay Schiller.

Three people have filed for Rep. Matt Boehnke’s former seat in the 8th District. Republicans April Connors, Joe Cotta and Alliance candidate Larry Stanley are each seeking to replace him.

A handful of candidates have filed for the open seats. With Klippert and Sen. Sharon Brown leaving their spots, two people have filed for each of the seats.

Republican Boehnke and Independent Ronni Batchelor, a peer specialist with Lourdes Health Network are running to replace Brown.

Two Republicans, Stephanie Barnard and Glenn Taylor, are seeking to replace Klippert.

Two candidates have filed in the race to replace retiring Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller. Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Lukson and Richland attorney Eric Eisinger have filed for the seat.

The remaining county seats including assessor, auditor, clerk, coroner, treasurer, and sheriff did not have any challengers as of Thursday morning.

This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 12:59 PM.