3 Tri-Citians endorsed at WA GOP convention. What they’re running for

Three Republicans from the Tri-Cities earned their state party’s nod over the weekend for political offices they plan to run for.

This will be an important election year for the Washington State Republican Party. The GOP hopes to punch back this year in a more organized fashion and avoid mishaps that led the party to be shut out of some general election races and lose a Republican-held congressional seat two years ago.

At the 2024 Washington State Republican Party Convention last weekend in Spokane, delegates voted overwhelmingly to endorse Semi Bird of Richland in the race for governor; Pete Serrano of Pasco in the attorney general race; and Jerrod Sessler of Prosser in the race for Washington’s 4th Congressional District.

Candidates who earn the party’s endorsement receive the backing, resources and infrastructure of the Washington State Republican Party and its partners.

Semi Bird — Governor race

Washington Republicans are backing a Tri-Cities veteran and social scientist who’s shown an ability to unite and energize conservative factions of their party.

“This is a historic day not just for the Republican Party, but for Washington state and for all Americans,” Semi Bird said in a statement.

“I am humbled by the support of so many and I promise to work tirelessly to represent every citizen, regardless of race, creed or religion. The time is now to join together for a brighter future for all of Washington,” he continued.

The process last weekend was muddled over blowback from a decision by the party’s state candidates committee not to make a gubernatorial endorsement after a Seattle Times story revealed Bird’s unreported misdemeanor charge for a financial crime 30 years ago.

Previously, the Tri-City Herald reported that Bird was arrested and charged with felony gun theft around that same time for failing to return his law enforcement-issued firearm after leaving his reserve deputy role at the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office. The charge was later dropped.

But delegates ultimately overruled top party brass, voting overwhelmingly to ignore the decision and endorse Bird anyway. He earned 72% of delegate votes for the endorsement.

Bird is the decorated retired U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret and Richland School Board member who voters recalled from office following a controversial Tri-Cities election last year for flaunting COVID mask mandates.

Despite his strengths and weaknesses, Bird has carved a niche as a populist play maker in this year’s open race for governor.

His newcomer presence has irked some GOP elites and establishment figures, who argue he can’t win. Some have even asked him to bow out and support former Congressman Dave Reichert, who is seen as the Republican front runner.

Reichert’s campaign is flush with nearly $1 million cash on hand thanks to a robust fundraising operation. Comparatively, Bird has $50,000 currently to spend — a hard reality that could be remedied by the state party’s endorsement and, if possible, an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

On Saturday, as debate over the gubernatorial endorsement geared up, Reichert withdrew his name from consideration, citing a party in “disarray.” His campaign for governor will go on, and he plans to continue seeking endorsements from Republicans statewide.

Democrat Attorney General Bob Ferguson also is running to succeed Gov. Jay Inslee, who announced last year he would not run for a fourth term.

Records show 2024 WA GOP hopeful failed to return sheriff-issued gun for more than a year

Pete Serrano — Attorney General race

Pete Serrano is the Pasco councilman elected mayor back in January.

He works as director-general counsel of the Silent Majority Foundation, a conservative nonprofit based in Pasco that has filed legal challenges to the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders, vaccine mandates and gun control legislation.

“I’m grateful to have received 100% support of the WSRP delegates this weekend,” Serrano said in a statement to the Tri-City Herald. “I’m looking forward to the elections in August and November.”

Most recently, Serrano and his firm successfully argued to a Cowlitz County Superior Court judge that the state’s 2-year-old ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines went against the Second Amendment.

The state’s prohibition lapsed briefly on April 8. Nearly an hour and a half after the order was released, Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office secured an order from the Washington State Supreme Court that placed the ruling on hold, keeping the ban in place while an appeal is filed.

Serrano’s background is in environmental law. Before his work with Silent Majority Foundation, he worked as a lawyer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford nuclear site near Richland.

Serrano is the only member of the Republican Party currently running for state attorney general. He’s raised more than $100,000 since announcing his candidacy at the start of 2024.

It’s likely he’ll make it through August’s top-two primary and qualify for the November general election, where he’ll face either former U.S. Attorney Nick Brown or King County senior Deputy Prosecutor Manka Dhingra, both Democrats.

Update: Eastern WA attorney who fought gun laws, COVID mandates plans run for state AG

Jerrod Sessler — WA’s 4th Congressional District race

Fourth Congressional District hopeful Jerrod Sessler also received an endorsement from the state party.

The Prosser Republican is gearing up to challenge U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, for a second time after failing to get past the 2022 primary. He earned 69% of the delegate body’s vote.

“Big endorsements are helpful and are humbling, but nothing compares to the nod from my people,” Sessler wrote in a Saturday post to X/Twitter.

Earlier this month, former President Donald Trump gave a full-throated endorsement of Sessler, blessing the MAGA candidate’s challenge and calling Newhouse a “weak and pathetic RINO” or Republican in name only.

Newhouse and nine other Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach the former president following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. At least seven people lost their lives in connection with the violent attack.

Newhouse was the only pro-impeachment Republican to defeat a Trump-endorsed primary challenger in 2022.

Sessler and five other Republicans tried that year to unseat Newhouse, but a crowded Republican field divided conservative votes and allowed the Sunnyside farmer to surf to an easy reelection victory.

Sessler earned just 12% of votes in the August 2022 primary election. The Republican who was endorsed by Trump that cycle was former Republic, Wash., police chief Loren Culp.

The Fourth Congressional District encompasses central Washington, stretching from the U.S.-Canada border down to the Columbia River. It includes the Tri-Cities, Yakima, Yakama Indian Reservation, Moses Lake, East Wenatchee and Omak.

Newhouse plans to run for a sixth term in Congress this later this year. It’s unclear if Democrats will back a candidate to challenge him this year.

Trump just made a 2024 endorsement in this Eastern WA congressional grudge match