Michael Baumgartner
Michael Baumgartner, a Republican who has represented Washington's 5th congressional district since 2025 and earlier served as Spokane County treasurer and a state senator, faces Democrat Carmela Conroy in a 2026 rematch.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Michael Baumgartner.
- Born
- December 13, 1975
- Birthplace
- Pullman, Washington
- Education
- Pullman High School
Washington State University (degree in economics, 1999)
Harvard University (master's degree in public administration, 2002)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Michael Baumgartner was born on December 13, 1975, in Pullman, to a kindergarten teacher and a professor of forestry and natural resource sciences.
After graduating from Pullman High School he attended Washington State University on a scholarship, receiving a Thomas Foley scholarship and recognition as a Stephenson scholar, and graduated in 1999 with a degree in economics and minors in French and mathematics.
He earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University in 2002, then volunteered on a Gonzaga Jesuit mission to Mozambique and studied forests in Siberia.
During the Iraq War he served as an economics officer in the Office of Joint Strategic Planning & Assessment at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and he later worked as a civilian contractor in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, where he met his wife, Eleanor Mayne.
The couple married in 2010 and have three sons and two daughters.
Career
Baumgartner won a Washington State Senate seat in 2010 by defeating Democratic incumbent Chris Marr in the 6th legislative district with 54% of the vote, and he served from 2011 to 2019.
In the Senate he became vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in 2013, led the successful 2015 effort to repeal a law that had blocked a Washington State University medical school in Spokane, and led efforts to reduce public university tuition by 20% in 2015.
He challenged U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell in 2012 and lost the general election. In 2018 he ran for Spokane County treasurer, taking office in January 2019 and serving until 2025, and he was unopposed for reelection in 2022.
After Cathy McMorris Rodgers announced she would leave the 5th district seat, Baumgartner entered the 2024 race and won the general election on November 5, 2024. In the 119th Congress he serves on the committees on Education and Workforce, Foreign Affairs, and the Judiciary, and in 2025 he founded the bipartisan Congressional College Sports Caucus.
2026 race
Michael Baumgartner is seeking re-election in Washington's 5th congressional district, which encompasses much of eastern Washington, including Spokane, Pullman and Walla Walla. He won the seat in 2024 with 60.6% of the vote.
In the twelve-candidate top-two primary, Baumgartner placed first with 96,791 votes, or 47.4%, and Democrat Carmela Conroy, a former chair of the Spokane County Democratic Party and the district's runner-up in 2024, finished second with 18.8%, ahead of independent Nate Powell at 16.4%.
The two face each other again in the general election on November 3, 2026.