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Mary Baechler

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Mary Baechler (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Washington's 4th Congressional District. She lost in the primary on August 6, 2024.

Baechler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Mary Baechler was born in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Canyon Del Oro High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from Washington State University in 1979 and a graduate degree from Northeastern University in 2014. Her career experience includes working in community outreach, as a midwife, founder of a stroller company, economic development planner for Yakama Nation, teacher, and communicable disease investigator. She has been affiliated with the Yakima County Democrats.[1][2]

2024 battleground election

See also: Washington's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 top-two primary)

Ballotpedia identified the August 6 Democratic primary as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.

Incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse (R) and Jerrod Sessler (R) advanced from the top-two primary for Washington's 4th Congressional District on August 6, 2024. Click here for more details on the results. The general election was held on November 5, 2024.

Eight candidates ran in the top-two primary. Three candidates led in media attention and campaign finance: Newhouse, Sessler, and Tiffany Smiley (R).

This election took place against the backdrop of Newhouse’s vote in 2021 to impeach then-President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection. Of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, Newhouse and Rep. David Valadao (CA-22) were, at the time of the election, the only ones still serving in Congress.

On his vote to impeach Trump, Newhouse said, "Some people are still very adamant in their opposition to me because of that, but I gotta tell you, there are a lot of people that will come up to me and say, 'Hey Dan maybe I disagree with that one vote but I support you on all the other things you're doing, I'm beyond that.'"[3]

Newhouse was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014 after defeating Clint Didier (R) 50.8% to 49.2%. Before serving in Congress, he was Washington's Director of Agriculture from 2009 to 2013. Newhouse's campaign website described him as "a leading conservative voice for Central Washington and our rural communities."[4] Newhouse said he is running for re-election to "keep the American dream alive for generations to come."[5]

Sessler’s professional experience included working as a NASCAR driver and an entrepreneur.[6] In 2022, Sesler ran in the top-two primary election for Washington's 4th Congressional District. Newhouse defeated Sessler 25.5% to 12.3% in a field of eight candidates. Sessler said he ran because "we need more regular people with knowledge of how our civic structure works in America to stand up and be a part of for example the House of Representatives."[7] Trump and the Washington State Republican Party endorsed Sessler.[8]

Smiley’s professional experience included working as a nurse. She also served as the president and co-founder of Hope Unseen LLC, a public speaking forum.[9] In 2022, Smiley ran against incumbent Patty Murray (D) for the U.S. Senate. Murray defeated Smiley, 57.1% to 42.6%. Smiley said she ran because “we need someone in Congress who can be a reliable vote to help get President Trump’s agenda through Congress—something that would not be possible with the current WA-04 representation.”[10]

Ballotpedia provided race forecasts from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. To see how each outlet rated the general election, click here.

Elections

2024

See also: Washington's 4th Congressional District election, 2024

Washington's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 top-two primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Washington District 4

Incumbent Dan Newhouse defeated Jerrod Sessler in the general election for U.S. House Washington District 4 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dan Newhouse
Dan Newhouse (R)
 
52.0
 
153,477
Image of Jerrod Sessler
Jerrod Sessler (R)
 
46.2
 
136,175
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.8
 
5,400

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 295,052
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Washington District 4

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House Washington District 4 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jerrod Sessler
Jerrod Sessler (R)
 
33.1
 
51,020
✔
Image of Dan Newhouse
Dan Newhouse (R)
 
23.4
 
36,073
Image of Tiffany Smiley
Tiffany Smiley (R)
 
19.3
 
29,761
Image of Mary Baechler
Mary Baechler (D) Candidate Connection
 
14.5
 
22,353
Image of Jane Muchlinski
Jane Muchlinski (D) Candidate Connection
 
6.2
 
9,593
Image of Barry Knowles
Barry Knowles (D) Candidate Connection
 
2.2
 
3,329
Image of Benny Garcia
Benny Garcia (Independent Party) Candidate Connection
 
0.9
 
1,389
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
John Malan (MAGA Democrat Party)
 
0.5
 
711
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
98

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 154,327
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Election campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Dan Newhouse Republican Party $2,512,739 $2,422,533 $104,807 As of December 31, 2024
Mary Baechler Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Barry Knowles Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Jane Muchlinski Democratic Party $12,676 $12,676 $0 As of September 30, 2024
Jerrod Sessler Republican Party $782,004 $715,569 $68,481 As of December 31, 2024
Tiffany Smiley Republican Party $1,068,852 $1,046,789 $22,062 As of December 31, 2024
Benny Garcia Independent Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
John Malan MAGA Democrat Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[11][12]

If available, satellite spending reports by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and OpenSecrets.org are linked below. FEC links include totals from monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual reports. OpenSecrets.org compiles data from those reports as well as 24- and 48-hour reports from the FEC.[13]

Details about satellite spending of significant amounts and/or reported by media are included below those links. The amounts listed may not represent the total satellite spending in the election. To notify us of additional satellite spending, email us.

By candidate By election

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Baechler in this election.

2012

See also: Washington's 4th Congressional District elections, 2012

Baechler ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Washington's 4th District. She and Doc Hastings advanced past the blanket primary and faced off in the general election on November 6, 2012.[14] Hastings won.[15]

Republican incumbent Doc Hastings won with almost 68% of the vote in 2010. In 2012, he was challenged by fellow Republican Jamie Wheeler and Democrats Baechler and Mohammad Said.

As of late July, Hastings had a huge lead in fundraising.[16] Physician Said and tea party activist Wheeler had under $5,000 each, with professional community organizer Baechler just exceeding that in the last reporting period.[16]

On the issues, Hastings had a record of supporting budget cuts and opposing the Affordable Care Act. Wheeler wanted to defund several major federal agencies. Palestinian-born Said focused on foreign policy issues, wanting a nuclear-free Middle East. Baechler sought to defend Social Security and Medicare programs.[16]

The district Democratic Party backed Baechler.[16]

U.S. House, Washington District 4 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDoc Hastings Incumbent 66.2% 154,749
     Democratic Mary Baechler 33.8% 78,940
Total Votes 233,689
Source: Washington Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"
U.S. House, Washington District 4 Open Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngDoc Hastings (R) Incumbent 59.3% 60,774
Green check mark transparent.pngMary Baechler (D) 26.5% 27,130
Jaime Wheeler (R) 11.3% 11,581
Mohammad H. Said (D) 2.9% 2,958
Total Votes 102,443

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Mary Baechler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Baechler's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Mary Baechler has been a businesswoman, an entrepreneur and a grass roots community organizer with almost 40 years in the Yakima Valley. She was one of the co-founders and CEO of the Baby Jogger Company, Yakima’s innovative stroller business, creating more than 400 jobs in 18 years. Baby Jogger employees provided extraordinary customer service and built world class running strollers. Mary has worked as a community organizer, focusing on voting and water issues in the Yakima area; she also worked as the Planner in Economic Development for Yakama Nation, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, worked for Public Health as a Communicable Disease investigator. Mary brings a wealth of experience and a focus on job creation. Mary ran for Congress in the 4th Congressional District in 2012, running against incumbent Doc Hastings.
  • Families First We all want a good future for our children. We need to protect our planet for our children; we need to address climate change, and this will create green new jobs. Remember the smoke from the wildfires every summer? None of us wants that. We can take positive steps, like planting trees, with organizations like Sugi. We need to work to stop climate change to protect families, family farms and the farmworkers.
  • Preserve Women’s Rights Women should be free to make their healthcare decisions without interference. By funding contraceptive access and comprehensive sexual health education, we can reduce the need for accidental pregnancies and abortions. The countries with the lowest abortion rates are the ones that have comprehensive healthcare, including OB/GYN services.
  • Affordable Housing Housing is expensive and scarce. We have been let down by career politicians, but we can help builders with simplified regulations and incentives for housing.
Climate Change - we must take every step possible to reverse climate change.

Women's right for reproductive freedom
Reducing costs on food, housing, gas, childcare for families

Lowering taxes for middle class American families
I look up to President Obama, and Senator Bernie Sanders. For each of them, because they really reached people, they gave hope that America could be better, that we could be our best selves.
The characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official are the ability to listen deeply, especially to opposing views, being able to uunderstand complex problems or situations, and understanding that we are here to be of service, we are here to help each other.
The qualities that I have that would make me a successful representative are that I believe in service to community; I am able to digest and learn large amounts of information quickly; I am not stuck and I am able to change my mind if new information comes up. My backgound as CEO was shaped by also being a kitchen-table entrepreneur (we started the Baby Jogger Co. from a kitchen table); we should all be able to take out the trash, answer a phone, help a customer. I believe in extraordinary customer service, and always trying to do the right thing.
The core responsibilities of a Representative are to represent the people of their District by working on legislation that will improve their lives and the lives of all Americans. This includes legislation to support the basic human needs for clean air, food, water, housing, to be safe, to have employment, to support health, to support community, to support the arts and especially human rights and the basic rights of the Constitution. Other responsibilities are to represent their Congressional District, to help their constituents, to be present for legislative voting and to develop new legislation, and to serve on committees and caucuses. Serving in Congress is a privilege and a chance to provide extraordinary customer service. to the people we serve.
The legacy that I would like to leave is that I protected women''s right for reproductive freedom, that I helped to turn climate change around so our world can heal, and that I loved my family.
I remember watching the Beatles on a black and white tv, on the Ed Sullivan Show.
My first job was at age 16, at a riding school. It was a super fun job! And I learned a good work ethic.
Ka-Mi-Akin, the Last Hero of the Yakimas, by A.J. Splawn. Published in 1917, it is a breathtaking record of Ka-Mi-Akin and the Yakama people, how they lived, how they fought to save their land and their families. A.J. Splawn came through the Yakima (Washington State) area as a young man of age 16 in 1861; every page reads like a great adventure, someone trying to kill him, usually an Indian saving him. He wrote this book to present the Indian side of the Wars of 1865-1868. The first night I found this book, I was up reading until 2 am.
Sting's Brand New Day
I have been wealthy, and I have been poor. I am glad I went through being poor, because I understand how hard it is if you struggle to pay bills, or avoid going to the doctor because you don't have medical insurance, or you pay excessive fees on auto payments because you lost your income. These are all real to me, and the struggles of people to get housing or feed their families (or just themselves) are real to me. I am really grateful for all my experiences.
The framers of the Constitution designed Congress so the House is to represent the will of the people. Another unique characteristic is that one vote, one Congressperson, may be enough to make a huge change in federal law and programs, hopefully using that power for good.
It is very beneficial to have previous experience. Each Congressman or Congresswoman was new, at one point. It is very helpful to have experience with legal issues, local, state and federal laws or regulations, or to have previous elected experience. My background as the CEO of the Baby Jogger company gave me experience with regulations and government requirements in the U.S., Taiwan, China, and the 20+ countries we sold our strollers in.
Women's right for reproductive freedom; climate change is a serious threat to our well-being and national security, the Supreme Court's apparent bias to the Republican Party (and taking large gifts from beneficaries of their rulings), affordable housing, the high costs of food and consumer goods, making education in college and trade schools affordable, healthcare should be structure like Medicare for All, and protecting the social security system. We need to restructure taxes, making it easier for small businesses to succeed, and ensuring large corporations and billionaires pay a fair share.
Ideally the House might be four years, so that each Congressperson spends more time serving their constituents and the people of the United States, and less time campaigning.
I have mixed feelings regarding term limits. I support term limits for the Supreme Court judges; and term limits would be a way to bring younger representation into Congress. On the other hand, Congressional leaders who the voters bring back over and over, accumulate knowledge and the ability to really focus on legislation; they are able to really help their District.
I love that Senator Bernie Sanders is so bold and fearless. If elected, I hope to be bold and fearless, in service to the people we serve.
I have a good friend who is a Japanese American, with an organic farm in the Wapato area. He and his family have been farming there 20+ years, seliing in farmers markets back when they first started; just beautiful produce, picked for the best tasting lettuce, cucumbers, all kinds of beautiful fruits and vegetables.. This summer I went to visit his booth and he wasn't there. So I called, and my friend related that he had junior water rights, he has not been able to irrigate, even though he lives right next to the Yakima River. He said about 25 farmers in his irrigation district, they all have had to stop their crops, stop farming, because they cannot get water this year. This is climate change. We need to address climate change in every way possible, so our farmers have the water they need for food crops.
It is especially important to listen, understand the other points of view, and to work on bipartisan bills.
The House can intiate revenue comes via taxation. We need a minimum 15% tax on large corporations, so they pay their fair share; I agree with Senator Bernie Sanders that we need a wealth tax on the wealthiest Americans, the top 0.1% (this tax would only start if your net worth was more than $32 million) . A waitress or a school teacher should not be paying a higher tax rate than the wealthiest corporations or billionaires. At the same time we need to incentivise small businesses, for example businessses with less than $20 million a year in revenues, to help them grow, create equity and create jobs.
The House should use its investigative powers fairly, without partisan bias.
I am endorse by Richland County Democrats and awaiting for other possible endorsements. When I previously ran, 2012, same office, after making it through the Primary, I was endorse by all counties in the 4th Congressional District, unions, WSLC, WEA and the WA State Democrats.
The House Select Committee on Cllimate Change; I would love to see that restarted. TheEnergy and Commerce- Health Subcommittee , and the Natural Resources - subcommittee on Indians and Insular Affairs
The government and people who work in it should always have financial transparency and accountability.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2012

According to her website, Baechler's campaign platform included the following issues[17]:

  • Protect Social Security and Medicare
  • Help the economy through fair taxation
  • Full health care and equal pay for women

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Mary Baechler campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024U.S. House Washington District 4Lost primary$0 N/A**
Grand total$0 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

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External links

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 8, 2024
    2. ↑ Mary Baechler campaign website, "About Mary," accessed August 3, 2012
    3. ↑ KEPR, "Three prominent Republicans highlight WA 4th Congressional District primary election," May 20, 2024
    4. ↑ Dan Newhouse campaign website, "About Dan," accessed June 3, 2024
    5. ↑ Dan Newhouse campaign website, "About Dan," accessed June 3, 2024
    6. ↑ Jerrod Sessler campaign website, "Jerrod's Story," accessed June 3, 2024
    7. ↑ KEPR, "Three prominent Republicans highlight WA 4th Congressional District primary election," May 20, 2024
    8. ↑ Tri-City Herald, "3 Tri-Citians endorsed at WA GOP convention. What they’re running for," April 24, 2024
    9. ↑ Tiffany Smiley campaign website, "Meet Tiffany," accessed June 3, 2024
    10. ↑ Fox 13, "The dynamics change for WA's 4th Congressional District race with last-minute bid," May 9, 2024
    11. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
    12. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
    13. ↑ Amee LaTour, Email correspondence with the Center for Responsive Politics, August 5, 2022
    14. ↑ AP Primary Results
    15. ↑ CNN "Washington Districts Race - 2012 Election Center"
    16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 The (Lower Columbia) News-Tribune, "Trio of challengers seeks to unseat Doc Hastings," July 22, 2012
    17. ↑ Mary Baechler campaign website, "Home page," accessed August 3, 2012


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