Who’s ahead in the WA state legislative races? Early returns show leads
Washington voters: Meet your likely legislators.
Tuesday was Election Day, which saw several lawmakers and political hopefuls vying for seats in the Washington state Legislature.
The Senate race in the 26th Legislative District has been a tight one, with Democratic state Sen. Deb Krishnadasan ultimately pulling ahead of Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier by 1,158 votes in the August primary.
The evening of Nov. 4, early returns showed that Krishnadasan was leading with 17,827 votes to Caldier’s 16,001.
The 26th District covers parts of Pierce and Kitsap counties, and the race made for one of the top elections to watch this cycle — another being the Senate competition in the 5th District.
Earlier this year, Krishnadasan was spotlighted by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the national Democratic Party arm for state races. The DLCC also highlighted the Senate race in the 5th Legislative District, which saw Democratic Sen. Victoria Hunt fight to fend off Republican challenger Chad Magendanz, a former state representative. Hunt earned 54.1% of the vote in the August primary while Magendanz won 45.75%.
As of Tuesday night, Hunt was in the lead for the 5th District — spanning Issaquah, Covington, Black Diamond and part of Snoqualmie — with 12,541 votes, while Magendanz had counted 10,424.
Krishnadasan was appointed to her seat last December to replace now-U.S. Rep. Emily Randall. Hunt, who’d previously served in the state House, was appointed to the upper chamber following the sudden death of then-state Sen. Bill Ramos.
Both of their Republican challengers had said they wanted to restore balance to Olympia, with Democrats controlling the Senate 30-19. Caldier and Magendanz were also critical of the new taxes and hiked fees that the state’s Democratic majority adopted last session as lawmakers sought to close a multi-billion-dollar budget gap.
Hunt and Krishnadasan, meanwhile, have each broadcast their vision of ensuring a less regressive, fairer tax system.
Krishnadasan said in a Tuesday night statement emailed to McClatchy that she expects her lead to stick.
“We will be closely monitoring additional results over the coming days, but for now we are optimistic that our campaign has beaten back one of the most expensive onslaughts of corporate-funded attack ads in state history,” she said. “I am committed to bipartisan, sensible solutions to the biggest issues facing our region.”
Caldier thinks that voters have been turned off by what’s happening at the federal level with the government shutdown and ensuing blame game. Many seem to not know the difference between state and federal politics, she said in a Tuesday night call.
The Republican believes that the election results will embolden Democrats to continue spiking taxes. She said she’s worried for Washington state and its economy.
“And we’ll see over the next couple days as to whether or not that changes,” Caldier continued. “But quite honestly if the public knew what was happening in Olympia, this race should have never been close.”
The races for the 5th and 26th could be viewed as a referendum on whether voters want the state to continue in the same direction. They could also be seen as a measure of just how much Democrats despise President Donald Trump.
All nine appointed Democratic state lawmakers up for election won in the August primary.
One difference between Krishnadasan and Hunt: The latter voted with her party last session on its major tax proposals. While Krishnadasan voted against those taxes, Hunt has defended her “vote for a budget that balanced billions in difficult cuts with key investments in education and health care.”
Washington State Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh said the races in the 5th and 26th districts came in a bit low on the range of the party’s projections. He expected to see Caldier’s numbers improve, but the “question is how much.” Same for Magendanz, although that candidate has a higher hill to climb.
Walsh thinks the early results say more about voter turnout than so-called Never Trumpers mobilizing.
“I think the low turnout is the factor,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the partisan drive.”
Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, disagreed. She said in a call that Tuesday was a “resounding repudiation of the Republican Party” and the direction that MAGA Republicans and Trump have been steering the country in.
Conrad noted in a news release that Washington voters maintained or increased the Democratic caucus in the state Legislature for six consecutive election cycles. Democrats performed well Nov. 4, she said, both locally and nationwide.
“It’s been a real night of a Democratic resurgence,” Conrad told McClatchy. “So we’re really thrilled.”
Other legislative results
Other legislative races went before voters this cycle, too.
In the 33rd Legislative District, state Sen. Tina Orwall, a Des Moines Democrat, ran unopposed. And state Rep. Edwin Obras, a SeaTac Democrat, faced off against moderate Kevin Schilling, who’s the Burien mayor.
As of Tuesday evening, Schilling was ahead with 6,136 votes and Obras had received 5,778 votes.
State Sen. Emily Alvarado and state Rep. Brianna Thomas, both West Seattle Democrats, also ran unopposed in the 34th District.
Democratic state Rep. Janice Zahn of Bellevue squared off in the 41st District against Republican John Whitney.
Zahn counted more support on Tuesday evening with 14,923 votes. Whitney had received 6,542 votes.
In the 48th District, Democratic state Sen. Vandana Slatter of Bellevue sought to hold onto her seat against a more moderate challenger from the House, state Rep. Amy Walen of Kirkland.
On Tuesday, Slatter was ahead with 8,452 votes to Walen’s 6,394.
Same district, different chamber. State Rep. Osman Salahuddin, a Redmond Democrat, was leading in his bid to keep his position against Republican Dennis Ellis. Salahuddin logged 10,974 votes to Ellis’ 5,078.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 10:15 PM.
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