Campaign Phone Number
5098676594
Biography (max 750 char)
I’ve taken a different road than most. I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career, so I spent years taking community college classes while working in restaurants. It’s a double edge sword. I’ve taken a college course on just about every topic, but there’s a limit on transferable credits. I graduated with honors from WSU in 2014 with BA in Business Administration. I’ve been an auditor at L&I since 2015, and a full dues paying member of WFSE. I’m the commissioner of multiple fantasy football leagues that have been active for over 20 years.
Universal Healthcare is a necessity and affordable. We spend $4.9 trillion on healthcare. Universal Healthcare is estimated at $3.8 trillion, the $1.1 trillion saved is nearly enough to fund the $1.5 trillion cost of Social Security.
Implement “Total Healthcare.” Family plans cost an average of $25,572 (2024), yet we have separate dental plans that provide minimal benefits, and don’t even count towards our deductibles. We’ll have one plan that includes, physical, mental, oral, eye, and hearing care.
Consolidation and monopolization of markets is the primary driver of increased costs and income inequality. Antitrust laws must be enforced. CA Attorney’s General released unredacted records showing Amazon engaging in price fixing an collusion with Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and others.
For decades elected Republicans and groups like the Heritage Foundation have sought to undermine our democracy and erode faith in our elections. The Trump administration’s lies about election integrity are a foundational element of their plan to permanently install a Republican majority. We must provide a robust civics education for the next generation.
Congress must remove Section 230 protections for social media companies. Algorithms are not free speech, they are tools for propaganda, manipulation, and division. AI will only increase the problem. The lies about election integrity are disseminated across social media by internal and external adversaries, there must be recourse.
Mandate leave for voting where mail-in is not permitted, and resources to eliminate lines at polling locations.
Environmental damage is lasting. Clean water is becoming scarce. Extreme weather is frequent. The Spokane River ran dry last summer, we had no hard freeze, and minimal snow. That will be the new norm. We need to adapt immediately. Lee Zeldin has no business running the EPA!
We have plenty of energy for the people. We paid for the infrastructure. Data centers and other energy hogs need to provide their own energy infrastructure.
Trickle down economics is the biggest scam perpetrated over the last 40 years. It’s time for trickle up economics where we prioritize an educated, healthy, and secure populace. The +$200 billion we spend on corporate welfare could cover undergraduate tuition for every student at a public university. Educated workers unburdened by loans are a benefit to the economy.
Begin with the premise we all come from immigrant families, unless we’re Native American. Irish, Italians, Chinese, and Japanese families all faced immigration backlash. We need to address immigration with empathy. Asylum is an international right. Resources should be used to expedite immigration court proceedings where the backlog exceeds 3 million cases. Minimally trained paramilitary forces cannot be allowed to abduct people. Regardless of their status, immigrants are PEOPLE, so adhere to the “golden rule.”
My current job involves businesses and their workers. Taxes are withheld from undocumented workers pay if the business wants to deduct their wages from revenue. It is illogical to have a housing shortage, then seek to deport the very workers who are needed to build said housing.
We are stressed, depressed, and repressed! Our needs are not being met and our representative does not care. We have been conditioned to believe that someone else receiving a benefit means something was taken from us. The current system extracts as much and returns as little as possible. When the people want their needs met (healthcare, housing, food, education, etc.) we hear cries of “socialism.” Baumgartner believes corporate welfare is synonymous with capitalism.
We all deserve a piece of the pie. It’s ok if some are bigger than others. The USA has the largest pie in the world, we shouldn’t resort to licking the billionaires’ plates to get our taste! We have the power to fulfill all of our needs, but first we must unite. We’re in this together, we can choose to thrive or just survive.
Campaign Phone Number
5092181350
Biography (max 750 char)
Michael Baumgartner represents Washington’s 5th District in Congress. He previously served as Spokane County Treasurer and State Senator. Raised on the Palouse, Michael graduated from WSU (B.A. Econ). He also earned an (M.P.A.). He advised Hecla Mining and served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he met his British wife Eleanor. They are raising five children in Spokane. In Congress, he is fighting to secure the border, cut taxes and federal waste, protect Snake River dams and rural water rights, support Fairchild AFB, and pass pro-ag policies. He sponsored legislation banning congressional stock trading and has helped thousands of constituents. Michael is committed to lower taxes, smaller government, and Eastern WA values.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Campaign Phone Number
5092109755
Biography (max 750 char)
Carmela Conroy is a third-generation Eastern Washingtonian and union member with nearly three decades of experience in non-partisan public service; first as a deputy prosecutor fighting for survivors of sexual assault, and later as a member of the U.S. Foreign Service in Afghanistan, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, and DC. Safety, collaboration, and accountability are at the core of her personal convictions and political platform. In 2024, Carmela first ran for WA-05, building a credible campaign from scratch. Now she is running again with name recognition, a donor base, campaign headquarters, and professional team. Off the campaign trail, you can find Carmela and Bailey Blue enjoying Eastern Washington’s parks and walking trails.
Eastern Washington families are caught in a squeeze; prices keep climbing while paychecks don't. I'd start by ending the tariffs hammering our wheat, apple, and cherry growers, which raise costs at the grocery store and cost farmers their export markets. I'd let Medicare negotiate more drug prices and protect the ACA marketplace credits that keep premiums down. On housing, I support federal investment in supply and emergency shelter. And I'd push for childcare that costs less than rent, paid for by the wealthiest paying their fair share. My dad worked for the railroad, my mom for Ma Bell; they taught me a full-time job should cover a doctor, a home, and a decent retirement. Federal minimum wage must be high enough to support a family, indexed to inflation.
I spent nearly 25 years as a diplomat, reporting on people in Kabul and Lahore risking their lives to vote, and I stood up for human rights where they were restricted due to gender, religion, and skin color. Free elections and the rule of law aren't guaranteed. They're maintained. Congress should protect the right to vote, keep elections secure and accessible, and respect the results whether or not its members like them. Officials who lose must concede. The peaceful transfer of power is not optional. I support ending Citizens United; restoring strong federal voting rights protections; and keeping foreign money out of our elections.
Climate change is real and it's hitting Eastern Washington now, from drought to wildfire smoke to hotter growing seasons. I don't see growth and a livable climate as enemies. Done right, clean energy is a jobs engine here--our region already powers the Northwest. The lower Snake River dams require greater federal investment. Fish have to survive them. Barging agricultural inputs and products is as low-carbon as it gets. I'd build on our hydropower with investment in clean energy, grid upgrades, and carbon capture, and in the union jobs that come with them. Farmers and ranchers are our first conservationists. They deserve a seat at the table, not a mandate dropped on them. The goal is simple: good-paying jobs, reliable power, and land and water our kids can still use.
Eastern Washington’s care economy, education sector, and agriculture all depend on contributions by immigrants whose work is vital to our communities. Immigration policy that ignores their role hurts both employers and essential workers. I support comprehensive reform: strong border and port-of-entry enforcement, a realistic path to citizenship for undocumented people already living and working here, and a faster, more efficient system. I support due process for everyone, and permanent protection for Dreamers who grew up here. What I've seen lately isn't border security. It's higher fees, suspended processes, and families living in fear. We can secure the border and treat people with dignity at the same time.
The cost of living. Housing, childcare, groceries, and prescriptions keep climbing while wages don't, and young people can't afford to stay near family. Right behind it, our rural hospitals are one bad Medicaid cut from closing. When a hospital shuts, the doctors and nurses leave, and the next emergency means an hour's drive. The federal government has real tools here. End the tariffs raising prices on food and equipment. Let Medicare negotiate drug prices. Protect Medicaid and rural hospital funding. Invest in housing supply and childcare. Our current representative spends his time picking fights. I'll spend mine bringing costs down and keeping hospital doors open. That's the job I'm asking voters to hire me to do.
Campaign Phone Number
5092558426
Biography (max 750 char)
Job Creator • Problem Solver • Leaderl. Ann Marie is a business consultant, author, speaker, and community advocate running as an Independent for Congress because corporate politicians are failing the people. While groceries, gas, housing, and healthcare skyrocket, they serve donors instead of you. It’s time to Make America Affordable Again. Ann Marie has a 19-point economic plan to start turning our economy around and regional plans to bring revenue and jobs to the 5th. She has made a lifetime pledge to never take corporate or special interest PAC money. A vote for Ann Marie is a vote for YOU.
We need to defund the billionaire class and start building an economy for everyday Americans. This includes raising the minimum wage, eliminating the cap on Social Security and look to investing the fund similar to the system in the Netherlands. We need universal healthcare and to adjust patent laws on pharmaceuticals developed with taxpayer's money. Start setting communities up for success by regionalizing markets for farming and manufacturing, breaking up subsidy driven industries into regional investments. Create more small business opportunities in cottage industries, and building vertical markets with a focus on sustainability and Green jobs. Lastly, we need to break up monopolies to create competition in the market which has proven to drive prices down.
We need to kick down the door with confidence with the constitution tucked under our arm. This country’s sacred institutions and the rule of law have been challenged by the Trump administration in ways that threaten the survival of our country. We need to pass the John Luis voting act and pass a set of laws that restrain the executive branch from taking the power of the purse and interfering with our justice system, as well as codifying clearly the balance of power when it comes to manipulating our currency and tearing down the monuments of government. There needs to be restraints regarding naming rights for any living president as well as developing a committee to review the president’s medical records. We need to expand the house as well as the supreme court and set term limits on both.
Green energy is economic growth. Currently, China is producing 80% of all solar panels. They have 75% marketshare on lithium ion batteries. 80% market share on wind turbines and every other green manufacturing they have seized the market. It took us 15 years to catch up with Japan when they took over the auto industry. We need to start elbowing our way into these markets.
Of note: we are 100% import dependent on 10 crucial minerals and over 50% import dependent on 28 others.
To transition, we need to educate our people to compete in the global market. Educating workers for a new economy requires subsidizing education. AI will bring about a huge workforce transition increasing jobs by 10 to 15%. Congress needs to take the lead on developing programs to lead us into the future.
ICE needs to be held accountable for the crimes they are committing. Immigrants being wrapped up, arrested without cause, denied basic rights and essentials like food, a shower, a cot or emergency medical care is an affront to the Constitution. We have people on death row that have murdered innocents that get three hots and a cot.
The rule of law with a humanitarian approach to immigrants striving for the American dream needs a complete reset. Immigrants are a huge economic boost to the United States. Immigration lacks caseworkers, judges, translators, legal defense and visas for work that is done in this country that has no visa attached to it. DACA needs to come back in full. And most importantly, we need to remove fear from the system.
Food, shelter and Healthcare. The most basic and essential needs are becoming harder and harder to afford. The road to secure systemwide solutions to these problems are going to take longer than people have. Farmers are giving up producing food because they can’t afford to do it any longer. Mental healthcare has great shortages. If we do not provide temporary relief while Congress gets to work on the bigger issues, we are going to lose people.
All of the candidates have a long list of big ideas and wishes, myself included. But those solutions will not come soon enough for some.
I will appoint staff in the congressional office to coordinate with assistance programs to develop a more robust food bank program & other outreach and emergency service needs since FEMA has been stripped.
Biography (max 750 char)
Kevin is a Gonzaga graduate with a background in climate change and sustainability. As an Operations Manager at Resource Synergy and a Board Member of the City of Spokane’s Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board, Kevin has devoted his personal and professional time to fighting climate change and making our communities more liveable.
I believe we must treat housing and health care as human rights, not commodities. I support Medicare for All to ensure no one goes bankrupt due to a medical emergency. For housing, we need bold federal action to address the supply shortage and affordability crisis. This includes investing heavily in public and social housing, implementing universal rent control, and preventing private equity firms from buying up single-family homes. I also support universal childcare to relieve the burden on working families and ensuring our tax system asks the wealthiest corporations to pay their fair share so we can fund these vital public services.
Congress must act to get corporate money out of our democracy. I support overturning Citizens United, banning congressional stock trading, and rejecting corporate PAC money to ensure elected officials are accountable to constituents, not wealthy donors. To protect voting rights, we need universal voter registration, no-fault absentee voting, and making Election Day a holiday. Democracy thrives when every voice counts; we must dismantle the systemic barriers that prevent people from participating and restore public confidence by delivering tangible economic improvements that prove government works for the people.
We don't have to choose between our economy and our environment—we can do both with a Green New Deal. I support significant federal investment in clean energy infrastructure, like upgrading our electrical grid and transmission capacity, which creates good-paying union jobs. We must prioritize sustainable housing, public transit, and passenger rail, ensuring these investments are distributed equitably. By transitioning away from fossil fuels, we lower energy costs for families, create high-quality jobs, and build a more resilient future for the Inland Northwest while protecting our vital natural resources.
We need a humane immigration system rooted in dignity and due process. I support abolishing ICE and replacing it with a system that prioritizes family unity and streamlines pathways to citizenship for those already contributing to our country. We can ensure border security while rejecting policies that criminalize families or traumatize immigrant communities. By focusing on root causes, protecting labor rights for all workers to prevent exploitation, and creating fair legal pathways, we can build a system that reflects our values and supports our nation’s workforce needs.
The most critical issue is economic security—too many working families in Eastern Washington are being priced out of their own communities. Whether it's the cost of rent, groceries, or child care, the status quo is failing working people. The federal government has a responsibility to intervene by passing policies like Medicare for All, universal childcare, and aggressive housing investments. My focus is on making life affordable and ensuring that our economy works for everyone, not just the wealthy. We need a representative who challenges corporate power and prioritizes the dignity and security of our families.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Campaign Phone Number
5095639941
Biography (max 750 char)
Bajun Mavalwalla is a retired U.S. Army intelligence officer, small business owner, and candidate for Congress in Washington's Fifth Congressional District. He lives on a small farm in Stevens County and is a Life Member of the VFW and American Legion. During his 26-year Army career, he served as the military liaison to the Political Section of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, graduated from the Defense Language Institute in Russian, and deployed in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. After retiring, he started a small business and completed a union apprenticeship. Bajun is running to bring principled, independent leadership that puts the Constitution, country, and Eastern Washington ahead of partisan politics.
The federal government's first responsibility is to stop making inflation worse through irresponsible fiscal policy. Congress must address the national debt while making targeted investments that lower costs for working families.
Housing affordability requires increasing supply through infrastructure investments, workforce housing, and reducing unnecessary barriers to construction. We must protect rural hospitals, preserve Medicaid for those who qualify, improve access to primary and mental healthcare, and increase transparency and competition to reduce prescription drug costs. Small businesses create nearly half of American jobs. Protecting the Small Business Administration, investing in workforce training, and maintaining reliable infrastructure help create better-paying jobs.
Congress has a constitutional responsibility to protect both the right to vote and public confidence in our elections. Those goals are complementary, not competing. Every eligible citizen should have the opportunity to vote, and every lawful vote should be counted accurately. Elections should be secure, transparent, and administered in a manner that earns the confidence of the public regardless of political party. Congress must also protect the independence of the courts, respect the separation of powers, and ensure that no person is above the law. Our constitutional system depends on checks and balances, an independent judiciary, a free press, and the peaceful transfer of power.
Eastern Washington depends on affordable energy, productive agriculture, and responsible stewardship of our natural resources. We do not have to choose one at the expense of the others. Congress should encourage an "all of the above" energy strategy that includes hydropower, nuclear energy, renewables, and emerging technologies while maintaining a reliable electric grid. We should invest in research, modernize infrastructure, and support American energy production that reduces dependence on foreign the same time, protecting clean air, clean water, healthy forests, and productive farmland is essential to our economy and quality of life. Sound environmental policy should be guided by science, practical solutions, and collaboration with local communities—not political ideology.
A nation without secure borders cannot effectively enforce its laws, but border security alone is not an immigration policy. Congress should provide the personnel, technology, and resources needed to secure the border while modernizing an immigration system that is overwhelmed and inefficient. Legitimate asylum claims deserve timely, fair hearings, while those who do not qualify should receive due process under the law. Our economy also depends on legal immigration. Agriculture, healthcare, technology, and many small businesses rely on workers who contribute to our communities and economy. Congress should expand lawful pathways for employment while ensuring employers follow the has always been strengthened by legal immigration, but compassion and the rule of law must work together.
The greatest challenge facing Eastern Washington is restoring trust that the federal government works for the people instead of political parties and special interests. Families are concerned about rising costs, access to healthcare, support for veterans, rural hospital closures, infrastructure, public safety, and opportunities for their children. Too often, Washington, D.C. is consumed by partisan conflict while these practical issues go unresolved. The federal government's role is to provide for our national defense, protect constitutional rights, invest in essential infrastructure, support economic opportunity, and partner with—not dictate to—local communities. I am running because I believe representatives should put the Constitution, their constituents, and the country ahead of party
I believe the high cost of housing affects nearly every other sector of our economy, so it's one of the most critical issues facing our state and our country. The FHA can make borrowing easier with targeted low-interest loans, but much of the solution to housing lies with state and local governments. The feds should stop deporting the people who build our houses.
As for health care, I support Medicare for All. The ACA is just funneling money to insurance companies; important but not a remedy. We should give the surgeon general an army, which would provide non-emergency care in local clinics around the country.
Congress should reassert its role in setting tariff rates, so our farmers can make their plans based on rational, predictable costs.
Congress is the first among the three equal branches of our government. It should be passing laws that encourage and support voting, not that restrict it, such as the SAVE Act currently being pushed by the president. We already have many reasons to be confident in our elections -- they're well-regulated and -monitored by the states, and voter fraud is so rare as to be practically non-existent.
We must transition away from fossil fuels, for many reasons: national security (we can't be "held hostage" by other countries, nor will we need to invade other countries), environmental protection (we're scraping down mountains for coal, fracturing the ground beneath our feet for natural gas, and invading nature sanctuaries for oil, and it's only going to get worse). And we give billions of dollars every year in subsidies to oil companies that have always made record profits. That money would be better spent on energy sources of the future; fossil fuels are the modern equivalent of whale oil.
Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma led a bipartisan team and came up with an excellent proposal in 2024 to address many of our immigration problems, but it was tanked by Republican leaders after Donald Trump decided it would be a good campaign issue.
We can and must treat immigrants humanely, and issuing temporary work visas to farmworkers and others who only want to stay for a short while should be easy to do.
I believe every district in the country has the same critical issue: hyperpartisanship. Republicans currently think their 48.3% plurality gives them a "mandate" to do whatever they want, and to ignore the Democrats because they only have 48.1% of the people behind them. And I fear a "Blue Wave" will make Democrats think they have a mandate to drag the country in their direction. This is not progress, it's merely a pendulum.
But if you're talking about more mundane issues, I'd say it's that wages are not keeping up with inflation. Congress can help with that by helping with the second-biggest expense: medical costs (Obamacare for now, Medicare for all eventually).
Biography (max 750 char)
Nate Powell was raised in Spokane's Logan neighborhood. His father was a Spokane Valley firefighter whose union salary lifted his family into the middle class. Two weeks after graduating high school, Nate enlisted in the Marine Corps, completing two deployments and teaching hand-to-hand combat. He returned home, attended college on the GI Bill, met his wife Paxton, and followed his father's footsteps by becoming a union firefighter serving the same neighborhood he grew up in. Today, as he and Paxton raise their young daughter, Nate has a front row seat to the collapse of the middle class: five overdoses in one day he can't bring back, families living in detached garages, and neighbors rationing medications they can't afford.
Every shift as a firefighter gives me a front-row seat to the collapse of the middle class. Working people are getting squeezed and our standards of living are falling further behind. This isn't by accident. Billionaires and corporations have spent decades writing the rules in their favor and buying the politicians who let them do it.
I will stop giant corporations from buying up single-family homes, pass Medicare for All to eliminate insurance middlemen and cover everyone, stop unregulated data centers from spiking our electricity bills, restore Congressional oversight on tariffs, and vote to cut billions spent on forever wars and corporate subsidies that inflate our debt and close the tax loopholes that allow those same corporations to avoid helping the working class pay it off.
Congress must work to restore confidence in our democracy by getting money out of politics. I will ban insider stock trading by members of Congress, pass term limits, and work to overturn Citizens United to stop billionaires from buying elections. When special interests pour money into both parties and shape the rules to protect their influence, working people lose faith in the system. Only 2% of Congress comes from the working class, the rest are CEOs, lawyers, and career politicians. I want the working class to have a seat at the table, because we built it.
We don't need to choose between a healthy environment and an affordable life. Data centers can be kept from spiking our electricity bills and polluting our neighborhoods with common sense regulation. And corporate consolidation in the farming industry – controlling fertilizer prices, cornering the meat packing industry, and buying up farmland – can be stopped with antitrust laws to prevent those corporations from prioritizing yield and profit over sustainable land management. Family farmers have a generational stake in keeping the land healthy. Corporations don't. Congress can hold corporations accountable while ensuring working families and rural communities share prosperity, not cost.
Our immigration system is broken, and working families on both sides of the border are paying the price. Legal pathways are so slow and dysfunctional that people who want to come here legally end up waiting a decade while others cut the line, risking dangerous illegal crossings. If migrants aren't exploited crossing the border, they join an underclass of exploited labor that corporations profit off of, which drives down wages and pits the working class against each other. We need a system that restores both order and humanity, keeping the border secure while fixing our legal immigration system so people who want to work hard and contribute to this country can do so through safe and lawful pathways.
The most pressing issue facing our district is the same one facing working families everywhere: a system that has been rigged against them. The problems we face are not left-right issues. They are top-bottom issues.
Affordability, healthcare, housing, money in politics, these are not partisan problems. They are the result of decades of billionaires and corporations writing the rules in their favor and buying the politicians who let them do it. And working people are the ones who pay. The federal government's role is simple: stop serving donors and start serving the people. That means getting money out of politics, protecting the programs working families depend on, and ensuring the economy works for everyone – nurses, farmers, teachers, plumbers – not just those at those at the top.
Campaign Phone Number
3035065120
Biography (max 750 char)
See my website at UsreyForUS.com for a complete Bio
See my website at UsreyForUs.com for more comprehensive discussion and answer to these issues. Nonetheless, the federal policies include the recent legislation (21st Century ROAD to Housing Act - H.R. 6644) that became law on July 10th to help remove obstacles for obtaining affordable housing is one example to ease rising costs for Washington families. My proposal for Healthcare reform on my website is unique in having a proven record of reducing costs of coverage for Major Medical incidents and health insurance for non-Major Medical occurrences. Reduction in food costs will come about when President Trump quits using tariffs to bully foreign governments, since settled economic theory and practice shows the misuse of tariffs gets passed on as higher prices to Washington consumers.
Congress should work hard to help the States develop systems that ensure the protection of voting rights, primarily. See my website at UsreyForUs.com for an integrative approach State empowerment in these matters.
Environmental protection can and should be tied together with economic growth, and energy needs. Congress should understand that these three policies are like balancing a 3-legged stool, where each leg has to support the other two from a catastrophic collapse. All three must be addressed for any new program or project that would affect family budgets and State finances. AI is an example of data centers and their requirement of enormous energy needs for AI development, which distorts energy costs for the average Washington family. AI’s environmental problems haven’t been fully examined under a rush for economic monopolization by just a few individuals in this new, speculative market. The Executive Branch is responsible for much of this upheaval, leaving Congress to re-balance these issues.
First, ICE agents need to be held accountable at the personal legal liability level, meaning that there could be significant civil monetary damages that are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy, as delineated in my website. Secondly, border security is essential, coupled with a comprehensive revision of Homeland Security as an organization. Thirdly, the nation’s workforce needs must be evaluated on a regular basis, so as not to harm the economy, and that means humanitarian efforts are essential to reestablishing the values of this ongoing immigrant society. We must stop the inherent xenophobia of the Trump administration, particularly with policies that discourage foreign students from enrolling in our universities and colleges, as well as limiting farm workers in agriculture in our region.
Artificial intelligence or “AI” is the greatest challenge to Constitutional rights of privacy and issues of commerce for US citizens in over 100 years. AI’s pervasive involvement in all fields of human endeavors will impact how we work, how wars develop, how we socialize, as well as how education is done. Its impact will be much more than an emphasis on productivity and efficiency tools. AI advice is based upon no moral code and doesn’t prioritize human wisdom as a critical element of its future development. Congress needs to develop legislation, rules, and regulations (guardrails and firewalls across a number of federal agencies, in coordination with State legislation—which under the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution can and should provide greater protections for their citizens.
Campaign Phone Number
5098210758
Biography (max 750 char)
In a political landscape dominated by hyper-partisan rhetoric, self-serving ambition, and blatant lying, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and healthcare executive David Womack stands out as a genuine, pragmatic, mission-driven outsider. Running for Congress in Washington's 5th District, Womack brings true leadership to the race. His resumé includes 26 years as a military commander, private sector executive experience, and community volunteering. Grounded by integrity, service, and excellence, his campaign centers on grassroots activism and coalition building. He offers direct accountability to Eastern Washington, advocating for defensive foreign policy, a "Medicare-for-all" public option, and vital support for rural communities.
On day one in Congress, my priority will be introducing legislation to completely undo the devastating funding cuts enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). To pay for corporate tax handouts, this law stripped away the foundational safety nets hard-working families rely on. I will fight to immediately restore the $1.02 trillion cut from Medicaid and CHIP, which threatens coverage for millions and drives up private premiums, alongside the $200 billion slashed from food assistance and SNAP benefits that left families struggling to afford basic groceries. I would restore ACA subsidies, Medicare-for-all and ultimately Universal Care. I would expand federal funding for rural health infrastructure, and back investments in affordable housing supply and agricultural grants.
Congress must act as a firewall for our democratic institutions by setting baseline protections while respecting local administration. My priority is passing legislation to fully restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act, reviving the federal preclearance formula to block discriminatory laws before they take effect. Crucially, I will champion a constitutional amendment to overturn *Citizens United*, removing the flood of dark money corrupting our political process and returning power to real voters. At the same time, I believe we must maintain the constitutional principle that election administration remains strictly the responsibility of the states. By eliminating corporate dark money and protecting the ballot, we can rebuild true public confidence in our elections.
Congress must foster a sustainable economy by balancing innovation, conservation, and fiscal responsibility. Under the Biden administration, the economy grew at a healthy pace without inflation while reducing deficits. I will promote aggressive green energy development to meet our energy needs while creating high-paying jobs, alongside increasing protections and expanding our national parks. To maintain that stability, I would protect the independence of the Federal Reserve Board. To fully balance the budget and fund our clean energy future, I will ensure billionaires and powerful corporations finally pay their fair share in taxes. We do not have to choose between a thriving economy and a healthy planet; by making the wealthiest pay their fair share, we can achieve both.
Congress must replace partisan theater with a rational, comprehensive immigration strategy that secures our borders while honoring our values and economic needs. We must heavily invest in border technology, personnel, and immigration judges to ensure orderly enforcement and eliminate the years-long asylum backlog. True security requires humanitarian dignity; we must establish safe, legal pathways that allow individuals to work and pay taxes legally, fulfilling critical workforce shortages in Eastern Washington’s agricultural and healthcare sectors. By combining strict, orderly enforcement at the border with a modernized, humane visa system that supports our industries, we can secure our nation, strengthen our economy, and uphold our fundamental humanitarian responsibilities.
The defining issue facing Eastern Washington is the economy which is under siege from inflation, short-sighted trade policies and an unnecessary war. Inflation has hit our families hard. In our large rural district, filling the gas tank and buying groceries isn’t getting any cheaper. Furthermore, aggressive federal tariffs have directly penalized our local economy, closing international markets and strangling the farms that support our region. The federal government must step in with a rational economic strategy: securing long-term, fair trade agreements that lift punitive tariffs off our agricultural exports. We also need to hold the President accountable regarding the war in Iran. Congress has been negligent in performing its Constitutional duty in asserting the War Powers Act.
