Amanda McKinney and John Duresky used a recent candidate forum to make their case to voters in Washington’s 4th Congressional District, turning the race for an open Central Washington seat into a blunt argument over what is driving higher costs. With Dan Newhouse not running for reelection, the contest is now about who can convince farmers, workers and rural families that they understand why daily expenses keep rising.
The forum put McKinney, a Yakima County Commissioner for six years, and Duresky, an Air Force veteran who worked at the Hanford Field Office overseeing tank waste cleanup, in the same room before voters in a district that reaches across most of Central Washington and into Douglas, Okanogan, Grant, Yakima, Benton, Klickitat, Adams and Franklin counties. It also gave them a chance to answer the question that is animating the race now: who can speak most credibly about the squeeze on household budgets, farm operations and medical access in a district that is big, rural and expensive to live in.
Duresky, a Democrat, framed the issue as one of national policy and blamed tariffs and trade wars for adding to the pressure on prices. He said trade rules should be set by Congress rather than the executive branch, and he linked higher fuel costs to the war in Iran. McKinney rejected that explanation. She said fuel prices were already inflated after the Obama and Biden administrations and argued that state policies aimed at restricting natural gas while pushing carbon-free energy development have limited prosperity.
That split was the sharpest line of the forum because both candidates were speaking to the same people and using different causes for the same pain. Farmers from the district have complained about diesel prices, labor costs and crops left unpicked, and Duresky leaned into that anxiety by saying affordability is not a slogan and that people in rural America are working two jobs and side hustles while grocery prices keep climbing. McKinney said costs are rising because of overregulation from the state government and added that she would like to continue the Trump administration’s energy policies, including the expansion of nuclear power.
McKinney’s posture fits the politics surrounding the race. Donald Trump endorsed her early in the contest in a Truth Social post, calling her a very successful Business Executive, Civic Leader and Highly Respected Yakima County Commissioner. Duresky, who has not held elected office, is trying to turn his background in the Air Force and at the Hanford Field Office into proof that he can manage complex problems without the baggage of a partisan insider. The forum, hosted by Northwest Public Broadcasting, AARP Washington, the League of Women Voters of Benton-Franklin counties and the League of Women Voters of Yakima County, offered voters a direct comparison before the campaign moves to the ballot box. The unresolved question is not whether prices are high; it is whose diagnosis of that cost pressure voters believe enough to hand an open congressional seat.
