GOP's only woman leader in Congress might lose her job this November

Four years ago, rising star Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) gave the Republican Party’s high-profile State of the Union response to President Barack Obama. Last night, McMorris Rodgers wasn’t even able to muster 50 percent of the vote in the primary election, a result CNN describes as “another bad sign for Republicans.”

While much of the nation focused on the too-close-to-call special congressional election in Ohio, voters in and around Spokane went to the polls to send a message to the seven-term congresswoman.

McMorris Rodgers garnered only 47.5 percent of the vote, while Democrat Lisa Brown took 47 percent (some votes are outstanding, so these numbers may change slightly in the coming days).

Washington has an open primary system, meaning all candidates running for a position appear on the ballot. The two candidates with the most votes, regardless of party, move on to the general election in November.

The Seattle Times called the result of McMorris Rodgers and other Republicans in Washington “a thrashing,” noting the results point to a “monster” blue wave in November.

“Democrats dramatically outperformed the norm in many of their districts up and down the ballot,” the Seattle Times continued, noting, “Donald Trump is now officially hanging around the necks of Republicans.”

McMorris Rodgers has closely and publicly aligned herself with the Trump administration. As a member of the Republican House leadership, she has played a pivotal role advancing and promoting the Trump agenda.

Her voting record reflects this staunch loyalty to the man she voted for in both the 2016 primary and general election: McMorris Rodgers supports the Trump agenda 98 percent of the time in Congress.

She voted for the unpopular Republican tax scam, which has been a boon for millionaires and wealthy Wall Street executives. Workers, however, have seen wages go down, after adjusting for inflation, since the tax scam became law.

McMorris Rodgers also voted to repeal the popular Affordable Care Act, including life-saving provisions like protections against discrimination for individuals with pre-existing conditions. If she had her way, cancer survivors, those struggling with depression, and even pregnant women could be charged thousands more by health insurance companies.

As recently as June, Republicans dismissed Democratic hopes of ousting McMorris Rodgers as “little more than blind optimism.”

Yet historically, Democrats perform better in the general election than in the primary contest, according to CNN.

If those trends hold, Democrats have every reason to be optimistic.