It's a difference of less than 1%.
In Tuesday's general election, U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, the Republican incumbent running for a second term in Washington state’s 5th Congressional District, had a slight edge over Democratic challenger Carmela Conroy.
Preliminary returns showed Baumgartner leading with 96,663 votes to Conroy’s 94,806, or 50.32% to 49.35%, respectively, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s elections website. Write-in candidates accounted for 644 votes cast, or 0.34%. The numbers were reported just before 10 p.m. Tuesday night.
The tight race to represent Washington's east side marks a dramatic shift from 2024 — the last time the two candidates faced off in a general election — when Baumgartner won his first term with 240,619 votes to Conroy’s 156,074 votes, or 60.57% to 39.29%, with 593, or 0.15%, write-ins.
Baumgartner's team could not immediately be reached for a statement. Conroy's team postponed a planned interview with NWPB because of the close results.
Although the Democratic Party dominates state politics, Republicans have maintained a formidable streak in the 5th Congressional District, which hasn't sent a Democrat to Washington, D.C., since the 1990s.
The district covers Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Port Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla and Whitman counties, and most of Adams and Franklin counties.
More votes are still to be counted. According to the Secy. of State's website: "Each county will report precinct results as "Election Night Complete" or "Partially Reported" until the election is certified on November 24, 2026. Results posted before certification are unofficial."
