As the primary election for Washington鈥檚 4th Congressional District race nears, voters have the chance to hear from candidates at an upcoming forum hosted by Yakima Indivisible.
Last year, longtime Congressman Dan Newhouse announced he wouldn鈥檛 be running for reelection after representing the 4th Congressional District for more than a decade. The Central Washington district stretches from the Canadian border to the Oregon state line.
Eleven candidates have filed to replace him. In the upcoming Aug. 4 primary election, voters will choose who will advance to the general election. The two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of party affiliation, will appear on the November ballot.
The 11 candidates running for the seat are Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney (R), state Sen. Matt Boehnke of Kennewick (R), John Duresky of West Richland (D), Jacek Kobiesa of Pasco (no party preference), Jerrod Sessler of Prosser (R), Zac Rossi of West Richland (no party preference), Favian Valencia of Yakima (independent), John Hughs of Lind (R), Devin Poor茅 of East Wenatchee (Cascade), Ken Vaz of Seattle (R) and Elpidia Saavedra of Toppenish (R).
Yakima Indivisible reached out to all candidates for their availability. According to a news release from the organization, all candidates but McKinney and Rossi provided dates. The McKinney campaign did respond to correspondence from Indivisible and communicated that McKinney would be unable to attend due to a conflict, the group confirmed. As of mid-June, seven candidates聽鈥� Boehnke, Duresky, Kobiesa, Sessler, Valencia, Poor茅 and Saavedra聽鈥� confirmed they would attend.聽
The forum, hosted in partnership with Washington Youth Alliance, League of Women Voters of Yakima County and Fruitvale Grange No. 34, will take place July 7 at the Fruitvale Grange Hall at 2908 Castlevale Road in Yakima. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the forum will go from 6 to 8 p.m., with the last half-hour reserved for refreshments and a meet-and-greet.