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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Jerrod Sessler

Jerrod Sessler (born August 26, 1969) is an American far-right political candidate and former NASCAR driver. He drove the #4 Ford Taurus in the Whelen All-American Series and the now-defunct NASCAR Northwest Series, which also had Greg Biffle and Kevin Hamlin as drivers.

From 1987 to 1989, Sessler was a Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class on the USS Constellation (CV-64). He is a Stage IV cancer survivor who maintains a vegan, raw foods diet.

He moved to Burien, Washington in 1974 and was recognized as Burien's 1st Gold Member by Discover Burien in 2015.

He is the founder of HomeTask.com. One subsidiary, Yellow Van Handyman, was recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as a "Franchise 500" firm in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013.

Sessler lived in King County until he ran for public office in 2022, promptly buying a ranch in Yakima. After losing the primary, he moved back to King County. In 2024, he moved back to Yakima to run for office.

Political positions

Sessler was in Washington, D.C. when the attack on the Capitol occurred, and subsequently stated that he did not breach into the Capitol. Sessler has made unsubstantiated claims that the riot was a "setup" perpetrated by paid "agitators" and the FBI meant to discredit Donald Trump and his supporters. He has made false and discredited claims of election fraud in regard to the 2020 presidential election, including claims that Trump won.

Sessler has made white supremacist comments, including his belief that Muslims should not be allowed to serve in Congress. On an X post, he doubled down on these claims, responding that "[w]hat I said is true...it is nonsensical for people who love and appreciate all that it is to be American to vote for a Muslim, especially a radical one. Just because it is legal doesn’t mean it is helpful to the country, to our kids or to our future."

Sessler supports implementing a federal 30% sales tax nationwide on all goods in an effort to contribute to reducing the deficit and paying down the national debt. This was previously a major part of Sessler's platform, however after receiving criticism over his support of such a policy, all mentions of have now been deleted from his campaign website, although he has not explicitly retracted his support from the policy.

Tax issues

In 2022, The Tri-City Herald newspaper reported that taxes were past due on Sessler's Benton County property.

Accusation of threats

In 2022, Sessler was accused of making threats towards a Benton County code enforcement officer when he visited Sessler's property to investigate a claim that someone on his property was living in a house under construction. As reported by the Tri-City Herald, Sessler told the officer that he would get his gun and "deal with him" if the officer returned to the property.

Electoral history

Sessler ran for the United States House of Representatives in 2022 as a member of the Republican Party in Washington's 4th congressional district against incumbent Dan Newhouse, but lost in the primary.

Sessler announced a second bid for Washington's 4th congressional district in 2024, once again challenging Newhouse. His campaign received the endorsement of former president Trump. In the blanket primary on August 6, Sessler came in first and advanced to the general election against Newhouse. Sessler announced a series of seven debates against Newhouse, whose campaign had not agreed to participate on those specific dates.

References

  1. ^ Rod, Marc (October 16, 2024). "Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse faces isolationist Jerrod Sessler in intra-GOP fight". Jewish Insider.
  2. ^ ROSANE, ERIC (September 4, 2024). "Moderate Republicans may have courted MAGA voters to save Newhouse in Central WA race". Tri-City Herald.
  3. ^ "Washington State Election Forecast: Part II". October 29, 2024.
  4. ^ Hoang, Mai. "In Central WA, 4th District race heats up in conservative showdown | Cascade PBS". www.cascadepbs.org.
  5. ^ "Jerrod Sessler Motorsports bio's page". Jerrodsessler.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "Korum Ford and Sessler Motorsports". RacingWest.com. November 29, 2001. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  7. ^ Zwahlen, Cyndia (November 1, 2006). "Franchises lure military veterans". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  8. ^ McHatton, R. J. "Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, Veterans History Project, Jerrod Sessler Collection". Library of Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  9. ^ "Korum Ford and Sessler Motorsports". RacingWest.com. January 18, 2005. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  10. ^ Bier, A. Tracy (February 7, 2006). "Who's the NASCAR Driver Chomping on a Red Pepper?". Raw Foods News Magazine. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  11. ^ "Discover Burien announces first 'Gold Member' – Jerrod Sessler of HomeTask". The B Town Blog. March 7, 2015.
  12. ^ Duvall, Gary (August 2005). "Electronic UFOC Disclosure". Franchising World. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  13. ^ "Home Repairs: Yellow Van Handyman". Entrepreneur. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  14. ^ "Central Washington voters to choose between two very different Republicans in House race between Jerrod Sessler, Dan Newhouse | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com.
  15. ^ Cary, Annette (June 29, 2022). "WA 4th District candidate Sessler denounces Jan. 6 hearing. 'I was there'". The Tri-City Herald. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  16. ^ "Here's why some Republicans keep pushing big election lies". The Seattle Times. January 8, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  17. ^ Herald-Republic, JASPER KENZO SUNDEEN Yakima (October 14, 2024). "How Dan Newhouse and Jerrod Sessler would lead in D.C." Yakima Herald-Republic.
  18. ^ @Sessler (October 16, 2024). "What I said is true. What you have turned it into is journalistic malfeasance (aka: editorializing). As divisive as it is in America, Muslims may legally take the oath of office. Some even place their hand on the Quran which unequivocally calls for the killing of anyone that is not Muslim. {Please read that sentence again if needed.} It is nonsensical for people who love and appreciate all that it is to be American to vote for a Muslim, especially a radical one. Just because it is legal doesn't mean it is helpful to the country, to our kids or to our future..." Twitter.
  19. ^ "The FAIR Tax". www.jerrodforcongress.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023.
  20. ^ "WA congressional candidate Sessler's land has taxes due". The Tri-City Herald. June 23, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  21. ^ Cary, Annette (February 10, 2023). "WA congressional candidate accused of threats to pull a gun on a Tri-Cities inspector". AOL. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  22. ^ "Jerrod Sessler for Congress". Jerrodforcongress.com. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  23. ^ Ward, Myah (August 5, 2022). "GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse advances through primary after voting to impeach Trump". POLITICO. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  24. ^ Gorman, Reese (April 12, 2024). "Vengeful Trump Takes Aim at Pro-Impeachment GOP Congressman". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  25. ^ "Spin Control: Expect to hear about RINOs and DINOs through Aug. 6 primary". The Spokesman-Review. May 10, 2024.
  26. ^ Rosane, Eric (September 6, 2024). "Newhouse campaign 'shocked' by opponent's news release that they will debate 7 times". Tri-City Herald. Retrieved September 7, 2024.