Takeaways From Washington's All-Candidate Primary: More Competitive Races, Newhouse Survives

Washington State’s primary system resulted in more voters casting meaningful ballots, more competitive elections, and even helps explain how Rep. Dan Newhouse survived a primary challenge. Washington uses an all-candidate primary, where every candidate appears on one ballot and every eligible voter can participate. The top two finishers advance to the general election, regardless of party.

These key races demonstrate the positive impact of Washington’s primaries:

• U.S. House District 4: Incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse has officially survived a primary challenge. Newhouse is one of just three Republicans in Congress - all from states that abolished party primaries - that sought and won reelection in 2022 following their vote to impeach or convict former President Donald Trump. In the old party primary system, it’s likely Newhouse would have been primaried out of office by his Trump-backed opponent, Jerrod Sessler.
  • District 4 is also notable because two Republicans - Newhouse and Sessler - will face off in the general election. Same-party general election matchups are a feature of all-candidate primaries because they can inject competition into the general election. In the old party primary system, District 4 wouldn’t be competitive because the district is safe for Republicans. Now, all voters - including Democrats - have a say in determining which Republican will represent their district.
• U.S. House Districts 5 and 6: Even though both of these open seats are uncompetitive in the general election, Washington’s all-candidate primary allows all voters to have a say in choosing their representative. In the old party primary system, only voters in the Republican primary for District 5 and the Democratic primary for District 6 would have had a meaningful vote.

Nick Troiano, Unite America Executive Director and author of The Primary Solution, issued the following statement:

“Two simple but powerful things are true about Washington’s elections: Every eligible voter has the freedom to vote for any candidate, regardless of party, in every taxpayer-funded election; and candidates have to win a majority of the vote to take office in November. These principles are so popular and so common sense that you’d think they were reality across the country - but they’re only true in four states for state and federal offices.

This year, voters in six states have the opportunity to follow Washington’s lead and pass all-candidate primary ballot initiatives. If successful, just as we’ve seen in Washington, voters would have better choices on the ballot and more say in determining election outcomes.” 

In 2004, Washington became the second state to abolish party primaries and institute all-candidate primaries. Four states currently use this system for state and federal offices. Research from the right-leaning think tank R Street finds that the reform in Washington opens up the most consequential elections to all voters, and incentivizes candidates to appeal to a broader cross-section of the electorate.

Voter-led initiatives to open or abolish party primaries are already on the ballot in Idaho, Nevada, South Dakota, and Washington, D.C.; and Arizona, Montana, and Colorado are on track to qualify in the coming weeks.