Bellevue - A Navy veteran, stage IV cancer survivor, and former race car driver Jerrod Sessler, a candidate for Congress, was endorsed by the Washington State Republican Party (WAGOP) at the state convention in Spokane last month, over Rep. Dan Newhouse in 4th Congressional District race—a seat Newhouse has held for nearly a decade.

Prior to the convention, Sessler also scored a notable endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

On Monday, candidate filing day, Tiffany Smiley, who ran against Democrat Senator Patty Murray in 2022, and lost, announced her bid for Congress in a video announcement on “X.”

Sessler, who resides in Prosser, WA, took the news in stride.

“I’m the only military veteran in the race, the only candidate endorsed by the Washington State Republican party, the only candidate endorsed by members of the House Freedom Caucus, and the only candidate endorsed by President Trump,” said Sessler.

“Tiffany Smiley’s entrance into the race at this juncture is simply bad form and offensive to President Trump and every Washington State Republican,” he added. “I look forward to defeating Dan Newhouse and bringing an America-First Agenda to DC and no amount of dark money from outside the district is going to change that.”

Of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, incident at the Capitol, only Newhouse and Rep. David G. Valadao (R-Calif.) remain in the House.

“With his commitment to upholding the Constitution, Jerrod is driven to bring his America-first approach to Washington DC on behalf of his fellow Central Washingtonians,” reads a section from his website. “Jerrod will defend the families and farmers of Central Washington to stop a bloated government bureaucracy and an out of touch leftist minority from wreaking any more havoc on this great nation.”