Newhouse will not seek reelection to House seat
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., announced today that he will not seek reelection in 2026 to a sixth two-year term representing central Washington’s 4th Congressional District.
Newhouse, 70, whose family farms near Sunnyside, was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014 after previously serving in the Washington state legislature and as state agriculture director under Democratic Gov. Gary Locke.
“After over 25 years of public service, including more than a decade in the House, I am grateful to the Washingtonians who put their faith in me, as well as the colleagues I have served with on both sides of the aisle,” Newhouse said in the Dec. 17 statement issued by his office.
“Serving the Fourth District of Washington has been the honor of my life, and this decision comes with no reservations or remorse, only gratitude for the tremendous opportunity to have represented my home state in Congress,” said Newhouse.
Newhouse enjoyed strong support from voters in the sprawling 4th District, which extends from Oregon to the Canadian border, until he and nine other Republican House members joined with Democrats in voting to impeach then-President Don Trump for his role in fomenting the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying electoral votes that gave Joe Biden the presidency.
In Newhouse’s subsequent reelection campaigns in 2022 and 2024, he faced GOP challengers endorsed by Trump. Last year, Newhouse received 52% of the vote districtwide to defeat Republican Jerrod Sessler in the November general election, but Sessler was favored by 51% of Grant County voters.
Sessler, 56, a businessman and former NASCAR driver now living in the Tri-Cities, was also a candidate in 2022 and is running again in 2026 for the House seat, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Voters in the 4th District have not elected a Democrat to Congress since former Gov. Jay Inslee served a single term in 1993-95.
Since Trump’s return to the Oval Office this year, Newhouse is among 29 incumbent GOP House members who have announced they are not seeking reelection in 2026.
This year, Newhouse has tread carefully in comments about the Trump Administration and its actions on tariffs and immigration. The 4th Congressional District is one of the nation’s prime agricultural regions and relies significantly on farm exports to foreign countries while needing workers, primarily from Mexico, to assist in the production of diverse, labor-intensive crops.
Last week, Newhouse issued a statement regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement of a $12 billion allocation for one-time payments to American farmers due to trade market disruptions and increased production costs.
In it, Newhouse said he appreciated President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins for the financial assistance to farmers and ranchers. But Newhouse also said farmers in central Washington and across the U.S. are “reaching a breaking point because of supply chain issues, high input costs, and uncertainty around foreign market access.”
In today’s announcement, Newhouse said he was confident there are “qualified and serious people” interested in running for his House seat next year.
“Central Washington will have a strong, capable leader to whom I can pass the torch,” he said.
Newhouse said public service “takes many forms” and that he looks forward “to this new chapter and ways I can continue to serve my community and this great Nation ….”
He thanked his family for their continued support and said he was “truly humbled by this uniquely American journey that took a farm boy from Sunnyside, Washington clear across the country to represent his friends and neighbors in the ‘other’ Washington.”
