SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Ahead of the midterm elections, two candidates vying for Washington’s 5th Congressional District seat debated in downtown Spokane on affordability, trade policy and global affairs.
Congressman Michael Baumgartner and challenger Carmela Conroy both acknowledged that affordability remains the primary concern for voters in the district, but they presented starkly different approaches to addressing rising costs.
Conroy connected rising prices directly to international conflicts and trade policies. “We’ve got the war in Ukraine, we’ve got the tariffs, we’ve got the war in Iran that are all raising our prices,” Conroy said…