Three contested county races; large field for Congress
Weeklong filing period closes Friday.
EPHRATA — Five candidates are looking to succeed U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection in representing central Washington’s 4th Congressional District.
It’s a crowded lineup in a weeklong filing period that opened Monday for federal, state, and local offices in the upcoming 2026 elections.
As of Tuesday, the congressional candidates include a trio of Republicans — Matt Boehnke of Kennewick, Amanda McKinney of Yakima, and Jerrod Sessler of Prosser — one Democrat, John Duresky of West Richland; and Jacek Kobiesa, an Independent from Pasco.
Among the Republicans, Sessler, a businessman and former NASCAR driver, is making his third bid for the seat held by Newhouse. McKinney is a current Yakima County commissioner and former mortgage banker whose family also farms. McKinney says she has been endorsed by President Trump; Sessler has previously been endorsed by the president. Boehnke, a small business owner and current Washington state senator, was recently endorsed by retired Congressman Doc Hastings, who represented the 4th District for 20 years.
Duresky, the lone Democrat running in a district that has been staunchly conservative for nearly three decades, is a retired Air Force major and former project control officer at the Hanford nuclear site. Kobiesa, a mechanical engineer, describes himself as an independent Republican.
In Grant County, there are currently three contested races for elective offices in the courthouse.
Two Republicans, Shannon Falstad of Ephrata and Andrew Koeppen of Moses Lake, are vying for the county auditor seat held by Michele Jaderlund, who is not seeking reelection. Falstad is currently the accounting deputy in the county clerk’s office and has two decades of prior experience in the auditor’s office, which oversees the county’s accounting, elections, licensing and recording tasks. Koeppen cites his experience as a small businessman and his involvement with the Grant County Republican Party.
Incumbent county sheriff Joey Kriete of Moses Lake is seeking reelection to another term in office. He is being challenged by Josh Sainsbury of Ephrata, a former chief deputy who was demoted to sergeant after announcing his candidacy in January. Another former chief deputy, Darrik Gregg, now with the Moses Lake Police Department, also announced his candidacy earlier this year but had not filed for office as of Tuesday morning. All three are Republicans.
Incumbents who have filed for reelection include county clerk Kimberly Allen of Soap Lake, coroner Craig Morrison of Moses Lake, district court judge Brian Gwinn of Moses Lake, and Grant PUD commissioners Larry Schaapman of Quincy and Nelson Cox of Warden.
Newcomers to elective office who have filed include two Independents, both from Ephrata — Clayton Johnson for county assessor and Carrie Heston for treasurer; along with Republican Janice Flynn of Royal City for county commissioner representing District 3, and Tom Middleton of Ephrata for district court judge.
Superior court judge Jennifer Richardson, a former state assistant attorney general who was appointed to the bench early this year by Gov. Bob Ferguson, has filed for the remaining two-year unexpired term. She succeeds former incumbent Tyson Hill of Moses Lake, who was appointed by Ferguson to a state appellate court post last year.
Richardson faces a challenge from Kenneth Chadwick, an attorney in private practice with the STW Law firm in Ephrata.
The judicial and PUD positions are non-partisan.
Five state legislative positions which include portions of Grant County within the 13th and 16th districts will be on the ballot this fall. Thirteenth District state Rep. Tom Dent of Moses Lake has filed for reelection; former Moses Lake city council member Deanna Martinez has filed for the other representative position currently held by Alex Ybarra of Quincy. All are Republicans.
The various positions carry filing fees of 1% of their respective annual salaries.
The last day to file for office is May 8 at 5 p.m., with a May 11 deadline for candidate withdrawal. May 19 is the final day to submit candidate statements and photos for the state Voters Pamphlet. There are also respective deadlines of July 16 and Oct. 15 to file as write-in candidates for the August primary and November general elections.
Additional information — including online filing, political advertising, financial regulations and public disclosure requirements — is available at the Grant County Elections Department in Ephrata and the Washington Secretary of State’s Office.
Editor's note: this article was updated on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 1:04 p.m. to reflect a second filing for the position of Grant County Superior Court judge.
