48th Legislative District

Sen. Patty Murray has been a consistent and strong progressive voice in the U.S. Senate. She's seeking re-election to continue fighting for our basic rights and a better quality of life in Washington and beyond.

Murray was first elected in 1992 and has been a champion for veterans, working families, women, and economic opportunities for all. Before her tenure in the Senate, Murray worked as a preschool teacher, on the Shoreline School Board, and in the Washington state Senate.

During her time in Congress, Sen. Murray has worked hard to keep our communities safe from gun violence, protect abortion access at the federal level so that everyone has reproductive freedom, and expand access to affordable childcare. This year, she voted in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, and a slate of other progressive bills that invest in working communities so that our country is a place where everyone can thrive. Murray has earned an impressive and diverse coalition of endorsements from local and national organizations, elected leaders, and unions.

Sen. Murray faces Tiffany Smiley, a triage nurse running on a MAGA Republican platform. Smiley has never held public office but she previously worked on Capitol Hill. Her Trump-inspired agenda aims to divide us while she seeks to cut funding from our most essential services and repurpose it for a needless border wall and more militarized police forces. Working Washingtonians need real solutions so that we can access the basics like gas, groceries, rent, and prescription medicine – not MAGA rhetoric and tax breaks for the wealthy.

Sen. Patty Murray is a national leader on many of the most important issues facing our country. She has earned your vote for re-election.

Rep. Suzan DelBene is running for re-election to the U.S. House representing Washington’s 1st Congressional District. Since first being elected in 2012, DelBene has been a champion for working families, small businesses, and data privacy and consumer protections. This year, she served as the chair of the moderate New Democrat Coalition, a 98-member congressional caucus that seeks to find solutions that bring Democrats and Republicans together. She brings private sector experience from her background in tech, working at Microsoft early on and then leading a number of local startups.

DelBene has been a staunch advocate for bills to help Washingtonians and the rest of our country afford stable housing, find family-wage jobs, and access quality health care. She has leveraged her tech background to balance consumer rights with innovation to create protections that benefit us all. DelBene played a key role in passing the Child Tax Credit and is leading efforts to expand it going forward in order to reduce child poverty across the country. She also recently supported the bipartisan infrastructure law which sent federal funding to Washington to upgrade public roads, ports, broadband, and more. Now, she is running to keep protecting Social Security, Medicare, reproductive freedom, and community investments that help Americans afford the basics.

Mill Creek City Council member and sheriff deputy Vincent Cavaleri is challenging DelBene in this race. He wants to expand militarized police forces and send more people to Washington’s expensive and overpopulated prisons. Instead of Cavaleri's failed positions, we need greater investments in community solutions that compassionately address addiction, housing insecurity, and mental health so that we can all thrive.

DelBene is a pragmatic and hardworking Democratic leader who will continue to make progress at the federal level if she is re-elected. She deserves your vote to represent Washington’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Democrat Adam Smith is running for a 13th term representing Washington's 9th Congressional District. Prior to running for Congress, Smith worked as a lawyer, a prosecutor in the City of Seattle, and as a state senator. He represents Washington's most diverse district, which is home to 30 percent foreign-born residents and large Asian, Latino, and Black communities.

In Congress last year, Smith supported Biden's more ambitious effort to fund clean energy, child tax credits, and other progressive priorities. Unlike some of his moderate colleagues, he also sponsored both the Green New Deal and the Medicare for All Act. He previously supported the pandemic relief package and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to dramatically increase accountability and transparency. However, some progressives have criticized Smith for his more hawkish foreign policy stances. Now, he is focused on creating living-wage jobs, fighting for Medicare for All, and both protecting and expanding Social Security.

Also in this race is Republican Doug Basler, who has tried and failed to unseat Smith in every election since 2014. Basler is a Trump Republican who opposes reproductive freedom and the public health measures taken to fight the coronavirus. He's now promoting some of the far-right conspiracy theories that seek to deny our kids a comprehensive and accurate education.

Smith's seniority and experience make him an influential voice for us in the other Washington. He is the clear choice in this race and deserves your vote for another term in Congress.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson is running as an independent to bring a non-partisan voice to the secretary of state's office. Anderson served on the Tacoma City Council before running for county auditor in 2009 and winning re-election three times. As Pierce County auditor, which is a nonpartisan position, she has administered dozens of elections while also overseeing licensing and public record-keeping.

Anderson is running because she believes political parties shouldn't be involved in running elections they are simultaneously trying to win. Her campaign priorities include supporting more local races becoming non-partisan, increasing access to voting and election information, and improving election security. She wants to translate the voters' pamphlet into 10 languages, going beyond what is mandated by the Voting Rights Act. She also wants to conduct risk-limiting audits in all 39 Washington counties and "pre-bunk" rumors to increase confidence in our state's election systems.

During our interview, Anderson expressed support for ranked choice voting because she believes it will allow candidates to break through our two-party political system. This is one of the biggest points of difference between Anderson and Hobbs.

Anderson offers voters an experienced option if they are looking for a nonpartisan administrator to manage our state's elections and support ranked choice voting.

Sen. Patty Kuderer is one of the state's most active sponsors of progressive legislation. She was first appointed to the state House in 2015, won her seat in the 2016 election, and was then appointed unanimously to the Senate in 2017.

She has been a powerhouse for reducing gun violence, voting rights, health care reform, and affordable housing. This year, she sponsored successful bills to limit high-capacity gun magazines and pass a transportation package, as well as bills aimed at flipping the state's upside-down tax code. She also sponsored the missing middle housing legislation that would reduce housing costs by allowing more housing options near transit.

Kuderer faces a challenge from Michelle Darnell, a paralegal and perennial candidate who alternates between running as Libertarian and Republican. Darnell's divisive agenda attempts to pit parts of the state against each other and whip up voter fear. She argues against investing in public transportation, which gets tens of thousands of people to work, school, and play safely, and even alleviates the traffic congestion that Darnell complains of. Though she notes that Washington has one of the most regressive tax codes in the nation, Darnell makes no mention of the many efforts Kuderer has made to make the wealthiest in our state finally pay their share. Finally, Darnell acknowledges the housing crisis but only promises to reduce regulations on builders, while Kuderer introduced the bill this year that will make a historic effort to address the root cause of the problem.

As our communities begin recovering from the pandemic, we need serious and experienced leadership, not more political rhetoric that seeks to divide us. Patty Kuderer is by far the best choice for Senate from the 48th Legislative District.

Rep. Vandana Slatter is running unopposed for re-election to the 48th Legislative District, House Position 1. Prior to running for the Legislature, Slatter was Bellevue's first Indian-American city council member.

Slatter has served on the boards of several organizations and nonprofits, including the Children's Institute for Learning Differences, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, Global Social Business Partners, and the Cancer Center at Overlake Hospital Foundation.

In the Legislature, Slatter has focused on education and equity issues, working on legislation benefiting homeless youth, fully funding schools, and providing health care access. This year, Slatter sponsored legislation restricting ghost guns and improving public safety by banning the carrying of guns in places like school board meetings. She was also a sponsor of the missing middle housing bill, which would have expanded housing options near transit.

Rep. Slatter has earned another term in the House.

Rep. Amy Walen is running unopposed for re-election to the 48th District, House Position 2. Walen previously served five years on the Kirkland City Council before becoming the mayor from 2014 to 2019.

In the House, Walen has promoted gun responsibility, affordable housing, and small businesses. This session, Walen sponsored bills to improve community safety by restricting ghost guns and banning carrying guns in public places like school board meetings. She was also a sponsor of the wealth tax, which if passed would have finally made the extraordinarily wealthy in our state pay for the resources that everyone needs and uses, like education, transportation, and more.

Walen is running to continue working to fix Washington's upside-down tax code to ensure that families with lower incomes don't pay more than the wealthy, as well as build communities where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. She has earned your vote for another term in the state House.

Leesa Manion has worked as the chief of staff of the King County prosecuting attorney’s office for the last 15 years. She is now running for King County prosecutor to provide consistent leadership to the office and support important reforms to the criminal legal system. If elected, she would be the first woman and the first person of color in this role. Outside of the prosecutor's office, Manion has served several leadership roles, including on the boards of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, and as co-founding partner of Choose 180, which offers coaching and diversion programs to keep youth out of the juvenile justice system.

Manion's top priorities include tackling the backlog of 4,500 cases filed during the pandemic's work halt, increasing funding for reforms like mental health court, and intervening in gun violence before people become victims or offenders. High on her agenda is continuing to prosecute violent crimes while addressing racial disparities and providing culturally responsive care to victims.

In our interview with Manion, she offered compelling insights about the prosecuting attorney's office and how she would manage it if elected. She spoke of her experience building a well-functioning team and solid working relationships throughout the legal system, as evidenced by the fact that she earned the endorsement of SEIU 925, the union that includes public defenders. She also spoke about the need to apply racial justice principles to better reflect the values of the community, and invite the community to public listening sessions or possibly convene community advisory boards. Finally, Manion committed to spending more time going to monthly police and sheriff meetings to build relationships throughout the county.

We recommend Manion for her impressive platform and extensive track record of results, as well as the broad support of many progressive and Democratic organizations.

Justice Mary Yu is running unopposed to continue serving on the state Supreme Court. Yu was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2014, elected by voters to the seat later that year, and re-elected in 2016. Before joining Washington’s highest court, she spent 14 years as a trial court judge in King County Superior Court and earlier as the deputy chief of staff to former King County prosecutor Norm Maleng.

Yu has an unimpeachable reputation and has been rated “exceptionally well qualified” by a number of key bar associations. On the court, she has been a voice for equal justice and upholding the rights of all. Now, she is running with endorsements from all of her fellow justices as well as a number of retired justices from the court.

Justice Yu deserves your vote to continue serving as one of Washington’s state Supreme Court justices.

Justice Barbara Madsen has served on the state Supreme Court for 30 years and is running unopposed for re-election this year. She was only the third woman to serve on the court when she was first elected in 1992. During her time on the court, her fellow justices elected her the 55th chief justice of the court – a position she held for 7 years.

Having spent her career in both prosecution and public defense, Madsen has extensive knowledge of the criminal legal system and a passion for serving her community. Her re-election has been endorsed by each of her fellow justices and a wide range of other judicial leaders and community organizations.

Justice Madsen has served the state with fair and equal justice. She deserves your vote to remain in her seat on Washington’s Supreme Court.

Justice G. Helen Whitener is running unopposed for re-election to Position 6 on Washington’s Supreme Court. Whitener became the first Black woman to serve on the state’s Supreme Court in April 2020 when she was appointed to fill a vacancy by Gov. Inslee. Later that year, she won her election to fill the remainder of the term. Prior to joining the Washington Supreme Court, Whitener served on the Pierce County Superior Court and worked as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney before becoming a judge.

Justice Whitener is both a Trinidadian immigrant and openly gay, and has worked to be a representative voice for justice for all in the state’s highest court. In this race, she has earned the endorsement of each one of her fellow justices as well as some retired justices. Whitener has been rated as "exceptionally well-qualified" by a number of bar associations and has done an exceptional job since joining the court.

Whitener is an important voice on the State Supreme Court and deserves your voice to continue serving as a justice in Position 6.

Incumbent Judge Michael Finkle is running for re-election to Position 6 on the King County Northeast Electoral District Court. Finkle has served on the district court since 2010, and he is widely respected for his judicial leadership and his accomplishments since joining the bench. Outside of court, he volunteers with the YMCA Mock Trial Program and a handful of other community projects.

Finkle is running to continue his work building up alternative courts, like the landmark mental health, veterans, youth, and community courts he worked to establish. He wants to work towards social justice through fair treatment in court and diversions to keep non-felony offenders out of prison so they can have a second chance. Finkle has received the highest ranking possible from six key bar associations and has earned widespread, bipartisan support in this race.

Joshua Schaer, an assistant attorney general in the state office, is the other candidate in this race. Schaer has worked in trial law and serves as a pro tem judge. He has yet to share campaign priorities as of early October and lacks the experience and recommendations of his opponent.

Judge Finkle has done an impressive job on the court and deserves your vote for another term serving on the King County Northeast Electoral District Court bench in Judge Position 6.