Republicans in Gig Harbor-area House races face tough primary challenges — from within their own party

As political campaigns heat up ahead of the August primary election in Washington, a notable drama is playing out in the 26th Legislative District, which stretches from Gig Harbor to Bremerton and Port Orchard.

A series of ethics complaints, endorsement battles and attack ads have marked bitter Republican infighting as two incumbent, well-established representatives in the district try to hold off challengers from within their own ranks.

Political observers say the back-and-forth engulfing the district isn’t likely to end in defeat for the GOP lawmakers. But it has forced the Republican establishment to spend time aiding them — and sown division before the general election.

“It’s not especially helpful,” said Alex Hays, a Republican political consultant in the South Sound.

Despite her apparent strength as a candidate, Rep. Michelle Caldier, R-Port Orchard, has faced a hostile uprising from the right flank of her party over her voting record at the Capitol and an unfounded ethics complaint. Caldier won her 2016 election by nearly 18 points in a district that recently leaned toward Democrats, and she has raised more money than any candidate for the House this year besides Rep. Paul Graves, R-Fall City.

Caldier’s Republican challenger is Randy Boss, a commercial real-estate broker and member of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Citizen Advisory Committee.

Rep. Jesse Young, R-Gig Harbor, has faced attacks for twice breaking ethics rules by campaigning with state resources and for allegations he has mistreated staff, drawing a primary opponent in Republican Naomi Evans, who is a Bremerton School Board member.

Attacks on Caldier

The bickering has been particularly fierce in Caldier’s race. Frustration from some conservatives in the 26th District reached new heights when the Kitsap County GOP moved to strip Caldier’s endorsement in recent weeks.

Tony Stephens, chairman of the county party, said much of the opposition to Caldier stems from several of her votes at the Legislature in 2018 that he said violated the organization’s platform.

Those included votes for bills that banned bump stocks; required health insurance plans to stick to Obamacare rules for providing coverage for preventative services including birth control; and implemented new restrictions on therapies geared toward changing a minor’s sexual behavior, a practice known as “gay conversion therapy.”

While Stephens said the Kitsap County GOP did not make an endorsement decision on Boss, the move sent a clear message.

“Michelle Caldier voted to violate rights, and she just cannot be the standard bearer of a county party whose platform is the preservation of individual rights,” Stephens said in an interview.

Caldier pushed back, defending her votes and saying she was representing her district and voting with her conscience. She said if she had ever truly violated GOP trust by siding with Democrats, House Republican leadership would break with her, too.

“I guess the question is do you want a legislator who’s a puppet for extremists within the party, or do you want a legislator who listens to their constituents and makes decisions based off what their constituents want,” Caldier said.

House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox and the outgoing Sen. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, stuck by Caldier, and both have waded into intense arguments over Caldier’s tenure in office, sometimes in public view on social media.

“Your first loyalty is to the voters in your district. I think Michelle has done her best to do that,” Wilcox said. “She and I don’t have the same voting record, but it’s up to her to decide what’s the most faithful way to reflect her voters.”

Boss, Caldier’s election challenger, has taken the campaigning one step further. He has hammered the lawmaker over a complaint made to the state’s Legislative Ethics Board and campaign donations coming from outside the district.

The Ethics Board last week dismissed an accusation that Caldier secretly benefited her and her fiance Chris Tibbs through a request for money in the state’s construction budget. Caldier asked for $80,555 to pay for renovations at the Arc of the Peninsulas, a nonprofit based in Bremerton where Tibbs is CEO, without disclosing their relationship. She later voted to approve the construction money, but the board said the money didn’t enrich her or Tibbs.

Before the ethics ruling, Republican allies of Boss used YouTube to circulate an attack ad focused on the ethics complaint. Boss has paid for fliers sent to residents about the ethics complaint, too. Even after the dismissal of the complaint, he has stuck by his critiques.

“If she would have disclosed it, she wouldn’t have voted on it, and she wouldn’t be in the position she’s in right now,” Boss said Friday of Caldier’s relationship to Tibbs and her construction budget vote.

Caldier said she did disclose her relationship with Tibbs to Rep. Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, before the vote. DeBolt, who is the House Republican point person for the state construction budget, also said Caldier informed him of her connection to Tibbs at the time. He said he told her there were no conflict of interest concerns.

Some within the party have interpreted the ads related to the ethics complaint as personal attacks that have gotten out of hand.

“The tone has been really nasty, and unreasonably so and very personal,” Hays said. He is not working for any candidate in the 26th District.

Young faces spirited challenge

While Young’s race has been less heated, his opponent has drawn support from within the party.

Evans said she joined the race because she can be a better legislator on education and other issues. But she’s also criticized Young, saying ethics complaints and allegations of staff mistreatment surrounding him make it difficult for him to handle the office.

Several of Young’s former staff have accused him of verbally berating them, and the House has barred Young from having a legislative assistant and a state-funded district office since December 2016. Young has denied the accusations and said he doesn’t have an anger problem.

Evans lodged an ethics complaint herself when she saw Young mixing campaign and state resources at a town hall event earlier this year. The Legislative Ethics Board fined Young $1,500 for that offense, which he said stemmed from a small accident made by his mother, who was volunteering at the event.

“I think there’s a lack of efficacy in how you’re able to represent your people when you’re surrounded by all this other stuff,” Evans said.

Young contends he is an effective legislator, pointing to his success this year in negotiating a loan plan with Democrats that will freeze tolls on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, while likely extending them.

“I still get things done,” he said.

Wilcox stuck by Young, too, saying he has “visited with Jesse quite a bit” and believes he will move on from the ethics complaint and the allegations.

“I think Jesse is a very smart person, and I think he’s someone that is very capable of learning,” he said.

Discord helps Democrats?

While Young and Caldier were comfortably re-elected in 2016, their district isn’t considered a sure-fire win for Republicans. Hillary Clinton won the 26th District by a narrow margin that year, and Democrats are counting on animus toward President Donald Trump fueling turnout in 2018.

With a 50-48 Democratic majority in the House, losing one of the seats would be a hit to Republicans. Democrat Joy Stanford and independent Marco Padilla also are in Caldier’s race. Democrat Connie FitzPatrick is running against Young.

The top two vote getters in each primary race move on to the general election.

If the GOP is concerned their infighting will weaken their position headed to the general election, they aren’t showing it.

“By definition it’s still a swing district but is leaning pretty strongly Republican,” Wilcox said.

Hays categorized the primary races as a “bump in the road” and said most voters don’t pick a candidate based on “inside baseball” moves such as endorsements from county parties. He predicted Young and Caldier would win their primaries.

“There are much bigger forces out there affecting the Republican party than this,” he said.

Young also noted he overcame a GOP primary challenger in 2014 and 2016.

Still, Hays said this year’s bitter races with incumbents are “unusual.”

“It’s unwelcome from the perspective of the Republican party,” he said.

This story was originally published July 23, 2018 at 9:51 AM.