Culp refuses to say whether he'll endorse GOP incumbent who voted to impeach Trump

In the primary election for Washington’s 4th Congressional District, Donald Trump’s pick, Loren Culp, has lost. And so far Culp is not endorsing anyone for the general election.

Incumbent Republican Dan Newhouse’s vote to impeach Trump drew several Republican challengers, including Culp, a former gubernatorial candidate and police chief. Now Newhouse faces Democrat Doug White in the general election.

In an email Monday, Culp refused to tell KUOW if he will endorse Newhouse. That “no comment” comes after Culp spent months calling Newhouse names like “swamp monster” and “RINO” (short for “Republican in name only”) over the incumbent’s vote to impeach Trump.

In 2020, Culp falsely blamed a stolen election for his loss in the Washington gubernatorial race against Democrat Jay Inslee.

This time Culp told KUOW he blamed four other Republicans for his primary loss: state lawmaker Brad Klippert, businessmen Jerrod Sessler, marketer Corey Gibson, and army vet Benancio "Benny" Garcia III.

Culp called the four “spoilers” for failing to get out of the way after Trump endorsed him.

“The biggest headwind was from spoiler candidates who claim to be America First and yet stayed in the race after the endorsement by President Trump — the de facto leader of the Republican Party," the Culp campaign wrote in an email.