Newhouse is one of 10 Republican House members who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump in January 2021 following the attack on the US Capitol. Trump had endorsed Republican challenger Loren Culp in the district.
Washington holds open primaries in which all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the same ballot, with the top two running in the November general election.
Despite his own party’s anger over his impeachment vote, Newhouse had a number of factors at play this week: the incumbent vastly outpaced his opponents, the field was wide and fractured, and the open primary system of the Washington State allowed people to vote for any candidate, regardless of affiliation.
Besides White and Culp, the field also included former NASCAR driver Jerrod Sessler and State Rep. Brad Klippert.
Local Republican operatives, many of whom censured and criticized Newhouse after his impeachment vote, feared many had moved on from impeachment and caused Republicans to focus on other issues as they headed to the polls tuesday. Newhouse also leveraged his agricultural expertise, using it to appeal in the largely rural district and divert some of the attention away from impeachment.
This story has been updated with additional background information.
cnn en2fr2en
