Deborah "Deb" Krishnadasan is running to retain her seat as the state Senator representing the 26th Legislative District. Krishnadasan was appointed in 2024 to replace Emily Randall, who was elected to Congress. Prior to her appointment, Krishnadasan was an active member of the Peninsula School Board, first serving as a full-time public school volunteer. She was later elected to the Peninsula School District Board of Directors and eventually served as the president. While on the board, Krishnadasan led efforts to increase school funding, including forming an advocacy group and campaigning for school levies and bonds. For her work in public service, Krishnadasan has received many awards, including Citizen of the Year and the Hugh McMillan and Community Leadership awards.

In our interview, Krishnadasan's commitment to improving public education was evident. Since assuming her Senate position, she has remained true to her progressive values, such as voting to establish anti-discrimination protections for students. She also voted to increase education funding and expand access to special education across the state.

Additionally, Krishnadasan has supported other progressive bills addressing health care and workers' rights. In 2025, she introduced legislation that required hospitals to perform abortions when necessary to protect the safety or health of a pregnant patient.

During her tenure, there have been some votes on which we have disagreed with the senator. For example, Krishnadasan was among only two Democrats who voted against a new excise tax on short-term rental properties that would have funded affordable housing. We also disagreed with her vote against creating a uniform recycling system for the state and solutions to reduce waste going into landfills. Nevertheless, she has been supportive of most progressive priorities in Olympia.

Deborah Krishnadasan has long been involved in her community and is a strong advocate for education and other progressive values. She is the clear choice for Senate from the 26th Legislative District.

Debra Strawhun is a long-time educator, working as a speech-language pathologist in public schools. Throughout her career, she has held numerous positions in the district. She is running to give back to the community that gave so much to her and her family.

Strawhun expressed concern about the current administration's attacks on public education, particularly the budget, book bans, and the erosion of the separation of church and state. Being an educator in the district, she is familiar with the increasing mental health and behavioral challenges facing students. If elected, she hopes to address the teacher shortage in the district, ensuring reasonable class sizes and workloads as well as adequate compensation.

In her interview with the League of Women Voters, she supported reintroducing a bond proposal in 2026 to fix the aging infrastructure of several schools in the district. Strawhun also expressed support for trauma-informed training to help students experiencing bullying and/or emotional difficulties. When asked about reaching marginalized families in her community, she encouraged community celebrations and printing district materials in multiple languages to further connect with the community.

Although we lean towards voting for Dr. Leighton Thomas in this race, we do appreciate Debra Strawhun's campaign and decades of educational experience.