Tax hikes loom over this WA state Senate race. Can incumbent retain her seat?
Money is on the mind of many watching the state Senate race heat up in the 26th Legislative District.
For one thing, the competition between Democratic state Sen. Deb Krishnadasan and Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier is proving to be the most expensive legislative race this cycle.
For another, political events in the lead-up to the Nov. 4 election have been haunted by the specter of taxes.
Earlier this year, majority-party Democrats passed the largest tax hike in state history. That’s proving to be a tricky fact for Krishnadasan to dodge, even though she voted against her party’s major revenue proposals underpinning the operating budget.
Caldier has a shadow to escape, too, even if he’s at the federal level: President Donald Trump, whom she says is an unpopular figure in her district that mobilized Democrats in the August primary for LD 26, which covers parts of Pierce and Kitsap counties. The Republican fell behind Krishnadasan by 1,158 votes.
Today the state Senate is composed of 30 Democrats and 19 Republicans, giving the majority party a sizable advantage in passing bills over any dissent.
The two lawmakers’ voting records differ on certain hot-button policies, including when it comes to capping annual rent increases and extending unemployment benefits to striking workers. Krishnadasan supported both; Caldier did not.
They each have placed education funding as a main budget priority. They’ve adopted seemingly congruous stances on the federal government’s cuts to Medicaid dollars. One theme has shone through in particular: They’ve both insisted that they want to attain balance in Olympia.
At an Oct. 14 debate at the Roxy Theater in Bremerton, Krishnadasan said she went against her colleagues’ budget that “raised taxes on struggling families.”
“I promise I will continue to bring a balanced voice,” she said, “working with both Democrats and Republicans to get things done.”
Caldier accused Democratic leadership of letting Krishnadasan off the hook on those tax votes to buoy her chances in the race.
“If it comes down to it, and they did need her vote, I guarantee you: They would squeeze her like a little grape, and they would squish those votes out of her,” she said in an interview.
Krishnadasan pushes for ‘common sense’ in Olympia
Krishnadasan was appointed to the role last December after fellow Democrat and former state Sen. Emily Randall won her bid for U.S. Congress.
The state senator grew up on a Puyallup farm and earned her bachelor’s degree at Western Washington University, her legislative biography states. She started a career in communications and human resources for corporations such as Microsoft and nonprofits including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Krishnadasan served on the Peninsula School Board for two terms, ultimately acting as its president, and founded the Stand Up for Peninsula Schools advocacy group. She spearheaded five levy and bond campaigns, with success, as noted on her bio.
At a July 1 community meet-and-greet at the Victory Memorial Masonic Temple in Bremerton, Krishnadasan was backed up by Democratic colleagues such as state Reps. Greg Nance, Tarra Simmons and Adison Richards.
Krishnadasan told her audience that she hit the ground running after getting appointed. It’s been rewarding to go back to the district and see a child care center open and talk to “ferry workers about safer working environments” because of bills that she passed, she said.
“In my first session, I did really focus on just practical solutions,” she told the room. “I just wanted to bring common sense. I wanted to bring reasonable discussions to the table.”
Krishnadasan spoke of her frustration with the hyperpolarized political environment. The world is too divided, splitting families apart, and she’s hoping to help restore civility, she said.
In an interview after the event, she said she’s in Olympia not for a political agenda — but to work for the people. Still, she has been hearing from constituents with concerns about federal-level goings-on and how they’re affecting the state.
Another big worry among voters: cost of living and tax increases.
“We’ve had the same kind of tax system for 80 years,” Krishnadasan said. “And I think we need to try to move that in a different direction, where it’s not continually hitting our … small businesses and working families.”
Randy Spitzer came out to support Krishnadasan at the event. He’d launched an unsuccessful bid to topple Caldier in the 2016 election for the state House.
Spitzer said he’s been engaged politically, but it’s discouraging how many folks don’t pay attention.
“If we pay attention to what Deb’s doing, she’s getting results. She’s passed six bills in her first term,” he said before questioning Caldier’s efficacy during her time in the House.
The way Spitzer sees it, Democrats are pushing the state forward, making progress, while Republicans roundly reject anything having to do with taxes. But, he said: “Guess what? You can’t get anything done without money,” including educating kids.
Krishnadasan touts her relative legislative inexperience as valuable. She said she can bring a new perspective to Olympia, looking at all angles of a bill with fresh eyes.
The Democrat notably didn’t slam her opponent at the events, keeping true to her above-partisan-attacks mantra. She did point out certain differences between the two in a July email to McClatchy. Krishnadasan highlighted her own willingness to work across the aisle to pass bipartisan legislation, noting that she’s a “strong advocate for reproductive freedom.”
Caldier, on the other hand, has proven far more willing to pounce.
Caldier aims to bring balance back to Senate
Caldier is a six-term representative who’s hoping to switch to the upper chamber.
The Republican was born and raised in Kitsap County and earned her associate’s degree at Olympic College, as well as her bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, her legislative biography says. She then received a doctor of dental surgery degree from UW’s School of Dentistry.
Before her time in Olympia, Caldier dedicated her dental practice to “serving nursing home residents around Puget Sound,” her bio says. She also worked as an affiliate professor at her alma mater’s dentistry school.
During the Oct. 14 debate at the Roxy, Caldier likened one of Krishnadasan’s answers to a “word salad.” She also drew contrast between their backgrounds — her, a product of the foster-care system who’s “fought for everything I have”; Krishnadasan, the wife of a successful surgeon making good money — before being cut off by the moderator for engaging in a “personal attack.” Caldier apologized, saying she didn’t mean it as a personal jab.
To Caldier, winning the race would mean changing the Senate’s makeup for the better. During an Oct. 11 interview ahead of a door-knocking campaign in Port Orchard, she referenced a controversial move by House Democrats last session to end a long-standing rule, effectively letting them shut down debate with a simple majority vote.
If balance isn’t restored, Caldier warned, voters can expect Dems to ram through a state income tax. The state’s budget issues will get worse, she said.
“They will become even more emboldened, and we’re not going to fix any of the spending problems,” she said.
Caldier declined to say whom she’d prefer to fill her current seat should she ascend to the Senate, opting instead to stay out of the process. She said she’d help whoever prevails hold onto the position moving forward.
As for personal priorities: Caldier said she’ll work to reform the state’s Keeping Families Together Act — a law her party has criticized as keeping kids in unsafe homes. She also chided Democrats for their position on crime, accusing them of letting serious offenders out into communities.
Outside a Port Orchard Starbucks, Caldier coordinated a team of door-knockers — some of whom had traveled from across the state. Included in a bundle that they could drop off at homes: a Michelle4Senate flyer and complimentary toothbrush.
Robert Griffioen stopped by to say hi to Caldier, whom he said has his support.
“Why? Because she scratched my itch,” the conservative said. “You’ve got to vote for the person who scratches your itch.”
Griffioen wants to see smarter spending in Olympia. When Democrats come up with a new plan, his first question is: How are they going to pay for it?
Caldier emphasized that she’s made herself accessible to voters. She said she’ll answer their calls, sometimes even chatting with supporters who don’t live in her district.
The Republican said when she was first elected to the legislature, she, too, was frustrated. So one of her main commitments after getting elected was to have an open-door policy.
“I think a lot of voters have seen that I have stood up to both my leadership and my party,” she said, “and put people first.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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