Campaign 2022: What you need to know about major August primary races in Washington

Ballots for the August 2022 primary election are due by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, with a handful of high-profile races hanging in the balance across Washington state.

Monitor live election results as they arrive

U.S. Senate

Washington Senator Patty Murray has her sights set on a sixth term, having spent nearly 30 years in the role after first stepping into the role in 1993. Despite her lengthy tenure, she believes that she has plenty to accomplish.

“I feel more strongly than ever that I need to be there to stand up for our families,” Murray told KIRO 7′s Graham Johnson in July.

She’s facing Republican Tiffany Smiley, who calls herself “the new mom in town.”

“I was 11 years old when Patty Murray was first elected,” Smiley said.

Although there are 18 candidates on the ballot this year, it’s widely believed that Murray and Smiley will advance on to the general election November.

Both campaigns report raising about $2.6 million last quarter. Smiley has $3.5 million in cash on hand, while Murray has about $6.6 million.

You can read more about what’s at stake, how each candidate has approached their messaging ahead of the primary, and what issues they each have focused on here.

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Washington 8th Congressional District

If politics meet in the middle anywhere in Washington, it’s the 8th Congressional District.

Stretching from eastern Pierce and King counties across the Cascades, the swing district is now represented by Dr. Kim Schrier, who was first elected in 2018.

“I promised the people of this district that I would go to bat for them like I’ve always gone to bat for my patients,” Schrier said.

Schrier’s campaign has more than $6 million in cash on hand, but she faces 10 challengers, including three Republicans who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars each before the middle of the year.

Schrier will be facing off against a mix of familiar faces, both at the state and local level, as the GOP takes aim at reclaiming the 8th District seat for the first time since 2019. That includes former Army Ranger Jesse Jensen -- who was narrowly defeated by Schrier in 2020 -- as well as King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn and former state attorney general candidate Matt Larkin.

Learn all about the major candidates in the 8th District race, how Republicans are approaching the bellwether district, and how Schrier is planning to fend out a GOP challenge for a third straight election here.

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Washington 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts

In the 3rd and 4th District respectively, entrenched Republican incumbents Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse both find themselves facing their first significant primary challenges since they first took office, and from within their own party no less.

Herrera Beutler and Newhouse were among the 10 Republicans who crossed party lines to vote in favor of impeaching then-President Donald Trump following the events of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In the months and years since, Trump has targeted all 10 Republicans in primaries across the country, having endorsed Army veteran Joe Kent in the 3rd District, as well as former gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp in a bid to unseat Newhouse in the 4th.

You can read more about Herrera Beutler and Newhouse’s battle to retain their seats, as well as the various candidates challenging them this August here.

Washington Secretary of State

Washington voters are deciding which candidates for the secretary of state race will advance through next week’s primary.

Republicans have held the office for five decades but a Democrat is in the position now.

One of the big issues in this race is election integrity.

While counties run local elections, they are overseen by the secretary of state — Washington’s chief election officer.

>>Secretary of State addresses election misinformation after signs appear near drop boxes

Former Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman held the role since 2013 but resigned in 2021 after accepting an appointment to a federal election security role, which she now serves as senior election security lead for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which operates under the Department of Homeland Security and is the nation’s lead agency for cyber, infrastructure, and election security.

After her resignation, Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Democratic state Sen. Steve Hobbs to fill the role until this year’s general election. The winner of the general election will go on to serve out the remaining two years of Wyman’s term.

Hobbs will run to keep the seat against a field that includes Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, former Republican State Sen. Mark Miloscia, former software developer Bob Hagglund, and Republican State Sen. Keith Wagoner among others.

Find out more about the diverse field of candidates competing for the role here.