Northwest senators denounce political violence, Republican VP pick

At an energy summit on Seattle’s waterfront on Monday, Democratic U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell from Washington and Ron Wyden of Oregon condemned political violence following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump over the weekend.

The two also voiced their concerns over Trump's pick for vice president, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance from Ohio.

Cantwell and Wyden had strong opinions about the Trump-Vance Republican presidential ticket just hours after the announcement.

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"You could not have a more clear example of the stakes than what Donald Trump did today with that nomination," Wyden said at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle on Monday.

Wyden highlighted Vance's policies on abortion and women's access to health care. Vance opposes abortion and praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

"I just so appreciate Sen. Cantwell's leadership on making sure that women's health care is something that women get to decide," Wyden said, "not government and not Sen. J.D. Vance."

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Asked about her relatively new colleague in the Senate — Vance has represented Ohio since January 2023 — possibly becoming the vice president, Cantwell again pointed to their differences on the matter of reproductive rights.

"Sen. Vance and I don't agree on women's right to choice, and it's definitely a very big issue we're going to hear a lot about in the campaign," she said. "It's very important our state codified that law."

Despite sharply disagreeing with Vance’s politics, both senators denounced any form of political violence following the attempted assassination of Trump over the weekend while he was holding a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

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"It's such a tragic day," Cantwell said. "People should be able to go to a political rally and express their opinions and not lose their life."

Heated discourse is part of the American political process, she said, but all candidates should be safe while out on the campaign trail.

"Our nation is about that," she said. "We have free and fair elections... and we move forward, and that's what we need to keep doing as a nation to preserve that."

Cantwell said all politicians can tone down their language now and be less divisive heading into the November election, especially by focusing on policies instead of attacking peoples’ character.

In a separate statement earlier Monday, Cantwell's fellow Washingtonian in the Senate also decried political violence. Sen. Patty Murray argued that leaders should not only condemn the attack on Trump, but also the "political violence that has been incited or condoned by Trump and his allies."