RESULTS RECAP
Since late Tuesday, Democrats have held strong in races across the state, at all levels of office — from Congress to legislature. The threat of a red wave turned out to be little more than a droplet (and that’s being generous), as this was the best primary we’ve had in almost two decades. All of our hard work over the last six years to organize communities, train candidates and volunteers, hire top-notch staff, and invest in our data and modeling operation paid off. The GOP wasn’t able to gain a foothold anywhere in Washington state, despite spending millions on blatantly false digital and TV ads, as well as horribly outrageous and inaccurate mailers (up to 10 in a single district).
Even with the involvement of Donald Trump and various dark money PACs, Sen. Patty Murray leads Republican Tiffany Smiley 53.18% to 33.06% as of 6 p.m. Thursday. Regardless of those vote totals, Smiley — the best-funded GOP challenger in the country, apart from Herschel Walker — has spent $1 million in attack ads against Murray in the last two weeks alone. And starting Wednesday, Rick Scott’s National Republican Senate Committee is spending nearly $700,000 on TV and digital ads statewide, marking the first time in more than a decade that the NRSC has invested in a race here.
We can’t afford to get complacent for even a moment in this race, or any. It’s full steam ahead, and fortunately for us, we’ve got a great slate of Democrats to uplift and support in 2022.
For the U.S. House, we’re so proud to have a candidate running in every district, with seven terrific incumbents fighting to retain their seat, and three hard-working challengers working to flip one blue.
★ District 1: Rep. Suzan DelBene leads with 62.3%, and will likely face Republican Vincent Cavaleri.
★ District 2: Rep. Rick Larsen leads 46.65%, and will likely face Republican Dan Matthews.
★ District 3: Candidate Marie Perez leads with 31.05%, and will likely face Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler.
★ District 4: Candidate Doug White sits in second place with 25.36%, and will likely face Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse.
★ District 5: Candidate Natasha Hill sits in second place with 30.94%, and will likely face Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
★ District 6: Rep. Derek Kilmer leads with 51.1%, and will likely face Republican Elizabeth Kreiselmaier.
★ District 7: Rep. Pramila Jayapal leads with 84.25%, and will face Republican Cliff Moon.
★ District 8: Rep. Kim Schrier leads with 47.67%, and will likely face Republican Matt Larkin.
★ District 9: Rep. Adam Smith leads with 55.85%, and will likely face Republican Doug Basler.
★ District 10: Rep. Marilyn Strickland leads with 55.01%, and will likely face Republican Keith Swank.
The 8th Congressional District remains one of the most competitive in the nation, and while the results there are incredibly promising, it’s up to us to put in the hard work to ensure Schrier is reelected, especially when her likely opponent is the antithesis of our Democratic values. Matt Larkin is not only out of touch with Washington families, like on the issue of abortion, but holds extremist beliefs and has peddled dangerous MAGA conspiracy theories at every stop along the campaign trail. These primary results are promising, but we know the National Republican Congressional Campaign is committed to spending millions here, which means we have to work harder than ever.
In the Secretary of State race, Steve Hobbs leads by a stark margin, carrying 40.25% of the vote. Julie Anderson — a so-called “nonpartisan” candidate — appears to be Hobbs’ challenger in November, with 13.08%. As Pierce County auditor, Anderson has consistently worked against Democratic voting innovations, which seek to increase access to the ballot box. She also has aggressively supported a number of Republican auditor candidates throughout the state, and even donated money to former GOP Secretary of State Kim Wyman.
Anderson’s campaign is being run by Republican consultants loyal to House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox as well. This is just a small sampling. We can’t allow misinformation about Anderson’s supposed “nonpartisanship” cause Hobbs’ Democratic support to waiver. More to come on this and Hobbs’ work to protect voting rights in future updates.
Our legislative races also attracted the attention of national, out-of-state Republicans. Over $2 million has been spent attacking Democratic state lawmakers to no avail.
Here is where Democrats in ALL of those races stand:
District 1
House – Position 1: Rep. Davina Duerr leads with 70.69% over Republican John Peeples. Position 2: Rep. Shelley Kloba leads with 71.1% over Republican Jerry Buccola.
District 3
House – Position 1: Rep. Marcus Riccelli leads with 64.6% over Republican Scotty Nicol. Position 2: Rep. Timm Ornsby leads with 60.92% over Republican Natalie Poulson.
District 4
House – Position 1 (Open): Candidate Ted Cummings leads with 38.65% over Republican Suzanne Schmidt.
District 5
House – Position 1: Rep. Bill Ramos leads with 58.18% over Republican Ken Moninski. Position 2: Rep. Lisa Callan leads with 54.49% over Republican Chad Magendanz.
District 6
House – Position 2: Michaela Kelso sits in second with 39.91%, and will face Republican Rep. Jenny Graham.
District 10
House – Position 1: Candidate Clyde Shavers leads with 52.21% over Republican Rep. Greg Gilday. Position 2: Rep. Dave Paul leads with 54.6% over Republican Karen Lesetmoe.
District 11
House – Position 1: Rep. David Hackney leads with 69.15% over Republican Stephanie Peters. Position 2: Rep. Steve Bergquist leads with 68.06% over Republican Jeanette Burrage.
District 16
House – Position 1: Candidate Jeff Strickler sits in second with 28.72%, and will face Republican Rep. Mark Klicker. Position 2: Candidate Jan Corn sits in second with 28.16%, and will face Republican Rep. Skyler Rude.
District 17
House – Position 1 (Open): Candidate Terr Niles leads with 44.05% over Republican Kevin Waters. Position 2: Candidate Joe Kear leads with 45.24% over Republican Rep. Paul Harris.
District 18
House – Position 1 (Open): Candidate John Zingale sits in second with 48.33%, and will face Republican Stephanie McClintock. Position 2 (Open): Candidate Duncan Camacho leads with 45.59% over Republican Greg Cheney.
District 19
House – Position 1: Candidate Kelli Hughes-Ham sits in second with 39.01%, and will face Republican Rep. Jim Walsh. Position 2: Candidate Cara Cusack sits in second with 31.14%, and will face Republican Rep. Joel McEntire.
District 21
Senate – Sen. Marko Liias leads with 63.07% over Republican Janelle Cass.
House – Position 1: Rep. Strom Peterson leads with 67.62% over Republican Amy Schaper. Position 2: Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self leads with 66.14% over Republican Petra Bigea.
District 22
House – Position 1 (Open): Candidate Beth Doglio leads with 51.16% over Republican Loretta Byrnes. Position 2: Rep. Jessica Batemen leads with 62.59% over Republican Kate Plager.
District 23
House – Position 1: Rep. Tarra Simmons leads with 64.73% over Republican Janell Hulst. Position 2: Rep. Drew Hansen leads with 66.49% over Republican Paige Jarquin.
District 24
House – Position 1: Rep. Mike Chapman leads with 57.87% over Republican Sue Forde. Position 2: Rep. Steve Tharinger leads with 51.87% over Republican Brian Pruiett.
District 25
House – Position 1: Candidate Jamie Smith sits in second with 44.81%, and will face Republican Rep. Kelly Chambers.
District 26
Senate – Sen. Emily Randall leads with 51.99% over Republican Jesse Young.
House – Position 1 (Open): Candidate Adison Richards narrowly leads with 50.49%, and will face Republican Spencer Hutchins. Position 2 (Open): Candidate Matt Macklin sits in second with 45.25%, and will face Republican Michelle Caldier.
District 27
Senate – Sen. Yasmin Trudeau leads with 70.29% over Republican Ashley Ray.
House – Position 1: Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins leads with 70.98% over Republican Jalonnie Givens Jackson. Position 2: Rep. Jake Fey leads with 69.1% over Republican Janet Large.
District 28
House – Position 1: Rep. Mari Leavitt leads with 57.34% over Republican Gabe Sachwitz. Position 2: Rep. Dan Bronoske leads with 54.22% over Republican Susanna Keilman.
District 29
Senate – Sen. Steve Conway leads with 58.59% over Republican Terry Harder.
House – Position 1: Rep. Melanie Morgan leads with 47.93% over Republican Brett Johnson. Position 2 (Open): Candidate Sharlett Mena narrowly leads with 42.48% over Republican David Figuracion.
District 30
Senate – Sen. Claire Wilson leads with 54.16% over Republican Linda Kochmar.
House – Position 1: Rep. Jamila Taylor leads with 54.08% over Republican Casey Jones. Position 2 (Open): Candidate Kristine Reeves leads with 43.14% over Republican Ashli Tagoai.
District 31
House – Position 1: Candidate Holly Stanton narrowly leads with 38.42% over Republican Rep. Drew Stokesbary.
District 32
Senate – Sen. Jesse Salomon leads with 64.98% over Democrat Patricia Weber.
House – Position 1: Rep. Cindy Ryu leads with 82.04% over Election Integrity Party candidate Lori Theis. Position 2: Rep. Lauren Davis leads with 79.98% over Republican Anthony Hubbard.
District 33
Senate – Sen. Karen Keiser leads with 92.2%.
House – Position 1: Rep. Tina Orwall leads with 93.61%. Position 2: Rep. Mia Su-Ling Gregerson leads with 93.3%.
District 34
Senate – Sen. Joe Nguyen leads with 82.82% over Republican John Potter.
House – Position 1 (Open): Candidate Emily Alvarado leads with 52.73% over Democrat Leah Griffin. Position 2: Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon leads with 83.18% over Republican Andrew Pilloud.
District 35
Senate (Open) – Candidate Julianne Gail sits in second with 45.43%, and will face Republican Drew MacEwen.
House – Position 1: Candidate James DeHart sits in second with 43.11%, and will face Republican Rep. Daniel Griffey. Position 2 (Open): Sandy Kaiser leads with 45.8% over Republican Travis Couture.
District 36
Senate (Open) – Rep. Noel Frame leads in her bid for the Senate with 81.8% over Democrat Kate Martin.
House – Position 1 (Open): Candidate Julia Reed leads with 54.32% over Democrat Jeff Manson. Position 2: Rep. Liz Berry leads with 97.37%.
District 37
Senate – Sen. Rebecca Saldaña leads with 97.64%.
House – Position 1: Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos leads with 91.11% over Republican John Dickinson. Position 2 (Open): Candidate Chipalo Street leads with 40.78% over Democrat Emijah Smith.
District 38
Senate – Sen. June Robinson leads with 58.17% over Republican Bernard Moody.
House – Position 1 (Open): Candidate Julio Cortes leads with 39.37% over Republican Gary Kemp. Position 2 (Open): Candidate Mary Fosse leads with 56.26% over Republican Mark James.
District 39
House – Position 2: Candidate Jessica Wadhams sits in second with 37.73%, and will likely face Republican Rep. Carolyn Eslick.
District 40
House – Position 1: Rep. Debra Lekanoff leads with 94.65%. Position 2: Rep. Alex Ramel leads with 74.7% over Democrat Trevor Smith.
District 41
House – Position 1: Rep. Tana Senn leads with 78.9% over Election Integrity Party candidate Mike Nykreim. Position 2: Rep. My-Linh Thai leads with 69.63% over Republican Al Rosenthal.
District 42
Senate – Rep. Sharon Shewmake leads in her bid for the Senate with 47.03% over Republican Sen. Simon Sefzik.
House – Position 1: Rep. Alicia Rule leads with 48.65% over Republican Tawsha Thompson. Position 2 (Open): Candidate Joe Timmons narrowly leads with 28.81% over Republican Dan Johnson.
District 43
Senate – Sen. Jamie Pedersen leads with 97.89%.
House – Position 1: Rep. Nicole Macri leads with 98.08%. Position 2: Rep. Frank Chopp leads with 97.64%.
District 44
Senate – Sen. John Lovick leads with 58.76% over Republican Jeb Brewer.
House – Position 1: Rep. Brandy Donaghy leads with 53.86% over Republican Mark Harmsworth. Position 2: Rep. April Berg leads with 57.03% over Republican Ryne Rohla.
District 45
Senate – Sen. Manka Dhingra leads with 65.63% over Republican Ryika Hooshangi.
House – Position 1: Rep. Roger Goodman leads with 70.05% over Republican Cherese Bourgoin. Position 2: Rep. Larry Springer leads with 72.34% over Republican John Gibbons.
District 46
Senate – Rep. Javier Valdez leads in his bid for the Senate with 82.8% over Democrat Matthew Gross.
House – Position 1: Rep. Gerry Pollet leads with 83.58% over Democrat Hadeel Jeanne. Position 2 (Open): Candidate Darya Farivar narrowly leads with 29.59% over Democrat Lelach Rave.
District 47
Senate (Open) – Candidate Claudia Kauffman sits in second with 27.29%, and will likely face Republican Bill Boyce.
House – Position 1: Rep. Debra Entenman leads with 55.41% over Republican Kyle Lyebyeyev. Position 2 (Open): Candidate Chris Sterns leads with 34.72% over Democrat Shukri Olow.
District 48
Senate – Sen. Patty Kuderer leads with 71.32% over Republican Michelle Darnell.
House – Position 1: Rep. Vandana Slatter leads with 94.26%. Position 2: Rep. Amy Walen leads with 94.13%.
District 49
House – Position 1: Rep. Sharon Wylie leads with 62.57% over Republican Park Llafet. Position 2: Rep. Monica Jurado Stonier leads with 60.59% over Republican Jeremy Baker.
It’s critical we not only retain our majorities in Olympia, but we also expand our numbers. Right now, there’s a chance to pick up seats in the House and in the Senate; we can’t afford to squander that.
We have the chance to do just that in LDs 10 and 42 — historically tight districts, where Democrats, both candidates and incumbents, are standing strong. Investments must continue to be made there, as well as in LDs 26, 30, and 44.
There are also enormous opportunities in LDs 17, 18, and 35, where we have a lineup of dedicated candidates committed to flipping areas from red to blue. We see that same opportunity in the Spokane County Council races, and Democrats could potentially win a seat for the first time in a decade. The message here is loud and clear: Washingtonians know Democrats deliver and fight for the values we all hold dear.
Being the chair of the Washington State Democratic Party has been one of the greatest honors of my life. All of the sleepless nights and long days are worth it when this is the end result. But as we’ve said, now is not the time to get complacent — now is the time to work.
The primary was just the warm up for what’s ahead. Nov. 8 is 95 days away, and we must seize every moment from now until then to garner support for our incredible Democrats up and down the ticket, like Sen. Patty Murray, Rep. Kim Schrier, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, and so many more.
We must continue this momentum at the ballot box in November, and get our candidates across the finish line, shutting down MAGA Republicans in Washington state once and for all.
Together, we can do this. Together, we WILL do this.
Thank you for being such a steadfast member of our team!
With gratitude,
Washington State Democratic Party
Washington State Democrats PO Box 4027 Seattle, WA 98194 United States