Garcia challenges seasoned incumbent Cantwell for US Senate

By John Stang / CascadePBS

The fentanyl crisis is personal for Raul Garcia.

His oldest son was once addicted to the drug, but broke that habit about six years ago. The experience left its mark on the Toppenish emergency room doctor and is a major reason he is running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate against the longtime Democratic incumbent, Sen. Maria Cantwell.

“I see so much of it in the ER and then to have it in our home,” Garcia said.

Another reason for running: Garcia’s wife Jessica told him years ago that if he really wants change in a Democrat-dominated state, he needs to run for office to make it happen.

Moderate Washington Republicans — facing a multitude of likely unelectable right-wing candidates — recruited Garcia to run for governor in 2020. He came in fourth among seven Republicans in the 2020 primary, with 5.4% of the vote. He made progress in this August’s Senate primary, coming in first of five GOP candidates with 21.3%. When all five Republicans’ primary votes are added together, they total 38.6% of the vote compared to Cantwell’s 57.9%.

The campaign war chests are more lopsided — Cantwell has $10.7 million to spend compared to Garcia’s $539,882, according to the Federal Election Commission.

“I’m the David against the Goliath,” Garcia said.

Goliath – aka Cantwell – was first elected to the Senate in 2000. In the most recent contest, Cantwell defeated TV personality Susan Hutchinson, who had great name recognition around Puget Sound, with 58% of the vote.

Garcia, 53, lives in Yakima and has been a physician for 26 years. Born in Cuba, he graduated from the University of Miami and the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. He has been the medical director of two hospitals, and is currently the medical director of Astria Toppenish Hospital. He founded Opportunity for Washington, a nonprofit promoting education, and helped found the Partnership for Food & Community Security in 2020 to promote COVID-19 education.

He wants to introduce a federal bill to charge fentanyl dealers with manslaughter if any of their sales can be linked to a death. “If a plane with 300 people crashes in the Cascades, the government would shut down those planes,” Garcia said.

Another aim of his campaign is to have outside auditors inspect every federal agency for inefficiencies.

Cantwell also believes fentanyl is a major problem nationally and within Washington, agreeing the state’s numbers are too high. She wants to find out why they are so huge and wants to send more money to intercept fentanyl imports across the Mexican border.

Washington’s fentanyl death numbers have been increasing — from 1,033 in 2022 to 1,984 in 2023, according to University of Washington research. In 2022, Washington ranked 24th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in the rate of fentanyl deaths per 100,000 people at 33.7, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cantwell noted that Congress has addressed the issue with several bills, including legislation targeting the financial assets of foreign fentanyl manufacturers and cartels, plus requiring U.S. Customs officials to update policies and procedures for intercepting drugs at the borders.

A bill currently before the Senate would permanently label fentanyl-related substances as Schedule 1 drugs. Schedule I means a drug has no current accepted medical use in the United States, which would make it impossible to prescribe. Schedule I drugs include marijuana, heroin, GHB (one of the so-called “date-rape drugs”) and LSD. Fentanyl, a powerful and heavily controlled opioid used to deal with intense pain, is currently a Schedule 2 drug.

Cantwell, 65, lives in Edmonds. Born in Indianapolis, she graduated from Miami University in Ohio, moved to Washington in 1983 and served three terms in the Washington House from 1986 to 1992. She moved to the U.S. House in 1992, but lost her re-election bid in 1994. She also built a successful technology career, including work for Real Networks in Seattle. Cantwell defeated Republican Slade Gorton in 2000 and has been in the Senate ever since.

As chair of the Senate Commerce, Science & Technology Committee, Cantwell points to her work shepherding the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and infrastructure appropriations through Congress. “We’re about bringing jobs back to the United States,” Cantwell said.

Cantwell was one of the main architects of the CHIPS Act, which allocated almost $250 billion over five years for high-tech research and manufacturing. That includes roughly $50 billion for developing a semiconductor industry. The United States seriously lags behind semiconductor competitors around the world. The act earmarks money for four semiconductor projects in the Pacific Northwest, which would create an estimated 2,880 jobs. The University of Washington is receiving $10 million from that fund to train semiconductor workers.

Washington also gets several benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act, including rebates for installing energy-efficient measures, tax credits to cover 30% of the cost of installing solar panels and battery storage facilities, tax credits to help create clean energy jobs and measures to help farmers reduce carbon emissions.

In 2025, Cantwell wants to revive a couple programs that died during tussles between Democrats and Republicans. One would provide more apprenticeships for girls and women in science, technology, engineering and math education. The other would aim to increase low-income housing through the use of tax credits.

She also pointed to her help in obtaining money to replace the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River.

Both Garcia and Cantwell want to protect Washington’s current abortion laws.

Garcia contends Cantwell holds some responsibility for inflation, tying pandemic recovery dollars to inflation. He also blamed the federal government’s increasing debt as a factor in inflation. Calling for cuts in unspecified programs, Garcia is really pushing for government audits.

Meanwhile, Cantwell notes, the financial injections from the Inflation Reduction Act, coupled with capping Medicare insulin cost at $35 per month, have decreased inflation.

Garcia is a strong Second Amendment advocate and is reluctant to tinker with gun-control laws, citing communist Cuba’s gun confiscations.

Meanwhile, Cantwell voted for a 2022 law that provides grants for states to set up red-flag laws for gun-permit applicants with psychological issues. The same federal law enhanced background checks for gun-permit applicants younger than 21 and closed a legal loophole that allowed domestic abusers to possess firearms.

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