Election filing begins Monday. Here are the races that could make a difference this fall
The window for election filings begins Monday and will be open for hopeful contenders to declare their candidacies through next Friday.
With more than two dozen Washington state legislators retiring or not seeking re-election, those House and Senate seats are wide open for the upcoming August primary and November general election.
Some current Representatives such as Noel Frame, D-Seattle, Jesse Young, R-Gig Harbor, and Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, are seeking seats in the Senate, leaving their positions in the House open, while other lawmakers are leaving the legislature altogether.
While some districts are dominated by one party or another, some of this year’s upcoming races could potentially see certain seats flipping.
For example, Sen. Mona Das, D-Kent, announced in March that she will not seek re-election to her seat in the 47th District. When Das was elected to the position in 2018, she had only a slight edge over her opponent with 50.8 percent of the vote. Incumbent Joe Fain, a Republican, had 49.03 percent of votes for that election.
So far, there are two challengers for her position: Kent City Council President Bill Boyce, a Republican, and Kent City Council member Satwinder Kaur, a Democrat.
Bayley Burgess, the communications director for the Washington Senate Democratic Campaign, told McClatchy they would “be happy with any Democrat who wins that seat to keep in blue, but members of WSDC leadership have endorsed Kent City Councilwoman Satwinder Kaur.”
RJ Elliot, communications director for the Washington State Republican Campaign, told McClatchy they would be watching the race closely, and have endorsed Boyce.
Additionally, conservative Democrat and longest-serving Washington Senator Tim Sheldon announced he would not seek re-election to his seat in the 35th District, which includes parts of Thurston and Mason counties. Sheldon, who ran as a Democrat, began caucusing with Republicans nearly a decade ago.
A Democratic candidate, Julianne Gale from Shelton, has already announced her candidacy for the position against current House Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, who is also vying for the position.
Senate Republicans need to flip just four seats to gain a majority, noted Sen. Chris Gildon, a Republican from Puyallup. Gildon said that MacEwen so far is “putting up impressive numbers” and he believes the House member is “well-set on a path to victory.”
Burgess said the WSDC is keeping its eye on five races and told McClatchy that Democrats “are in a defensive year” and are aware that it will be a “tough political climate” for them.
Washington state Senators are elected to four-year terms, while Representatives are elected to two-year terms.
Congressional seats could be hard fought too.
Longtime incumbent U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, is facing Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley for her seat. Although Murray has held firm in her position since 1993, a recent Crosscut/Elway poll showed only a slightly higher margin for her approval over Smiley, with 42 percent of polled voters saying they would vote for Murray. The Republican challenger polled at 39 percent.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier also could be at risk for losing her seat in her former swing district after redistricting plans drawn out last year changed the boundaries of the 8th District. In 2018 she won the general election with a 52 percent vote, and became the first Democrat to serve the district. Republican challenger Jesse Jensen, a “patriot” and former Army Ranger, has already announced his decision to run against her, as has five-term Republican King County Council incumbent Reagan Dunn.
The primary election will be on Aug. 2. The general election will be held Nov. 8.
This story was originally published May 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
