Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment (APACE) Endorsements

Emily Randall is one of the Legislature's strongest advocates for expanding access to health care. Prior to running for public office in 2018, Randall worked at Planned Parenthood, where she advocated for improving health outcomes for local underserved populations.

Randall has been a productive legislator responsible for writing and passing a host of bills during her four years in office. Her accomplishments include raising the minimum wage for people with disabilities, eliminating disparities in medical training, and extending postpartum health care coverage. She also sponsored legislation that would have protected health care access for families in rural areas.

Randall is running for re-election to reduce the cost of higher education and expand job training programs for graduating high school seniors. She also wants to expand access to affordable health care for Washington families.

In stark contrast to Randall's record of building consensus to pass legislation, her opponent, Rep. Jesse Young, is one of the most extreme MAGA Republicans in Olympia. Young sponsored several bills aimed at eliminating reproductive freedom long before the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. After the 2020 election, Young traveled to Arizona to promote Trump's election conspiracy that sought to overturn the will of the people. During the height of the pandemic, he promoted dangerous, anti-science lies that put lives at risk.

Beyond his radical policy positions, Young also displayed serious lapses in judgment and character while in office. In 2017, Young was banned from managing legislative staff because of "a pattern of hostile and intimidating behavior" in his office. If elected to the Senate, Young can be expected to continue pushing a radical agenda that's far out of step with the people of the 26th Legislative District.

The other candidate, David Crissman, filed late for the position, and as of mid-July has no website or campaign priorities available. His official voter's guide statement says that he is an Army veteran with no community or political experience, but "anything's got to be better than my current job."

As abortion and health care come under attack by conservatives both federally and at the state level, it is imperative that senators continue to expand coverage and make sure that health care is accessible for all. We strongly recommend a vote for Sen. Emily Randall in the 26th Legislative District.

Sen. Yasmin Trudeau was unanimously selected by the Pierce County Council in late 2021 to replace Sen. Jeannie Darnielle when she resigned to take a role in the state Department of Corrections. Trudeau is now running to complete the remainder of the Senate term representing the 27th Legislative District.

In her brief time in office so far, Trudeau has sponsored a large and ambitious slate of bills aimed at supporting youth, health care, and keeping people in stable housing. Some of her passed legislation include allowing unaccompanied, homeless youth to provide their own consent for health care, requiring landlords to accept both electronic and non-electronic payment for rent, and requiring insurance to cover donor breast milk. If re-elected, Trudeau has pledged to continue working hard to make life more secure for working families. She believes the Senate should continue making investments in behavioral health, housing, climate, and transportation policies, and she hopes to lead the charge.

Trudeau faces two challengers from the right. Mike Stewart refers to himself as a bohemian capitalist and states that he wants voters to be their best selves. As of mid-July, he has only shared a long list of issues without concrete solutions or policy ideas other than blaming Washington Democrats.

Republican precinct committee officer and administrative manager Ashley Ray has a bullet point list of priorities on her site that outline her conservative agenda. Some priorities offer little information about her actual policy goals, such as "policing and justice system." She also repeats common talking points from MAGA Republicans this year who want to deny students an honest and accurate education. Overall, she does not appear to support a progressive agenda that would help the district recover from the pandemic and make it a safe and thriving place for all.

Neither Republican challenge is offering a detailed or thoughtful agenda about how to improve life for all in the community. Trudeau is the clear choice in this race for her experience and strong leadership in the Senate.

Sen. Claire Wilson was elected to the Senate in 2018 and serves as the assistant majority whip. Prior to her election, she spent 25 years as an administrator of early childhood education at the Puget Sound Educational Services District and has served in many community leadership roles, including on the PTA, Citizens for Federal Way Schools, and the Building Better Futures Board, among others.

This year, Wilson sponsored bills to invest in transportation, including ferry upgrades and free rides for kids on transit, as well as the successful gun safety measure of limiting high-capacity magazines. She also sponsored the wealth tax, an effort to make Washington's extraordinarily wealthy residents finally pay their share of the resources we all use. As an expert in education and youth, Wilson also sponsored a bill that will expand accessible and affordable childcare and early education programs.

Wilson faces two challengers from the right: Linda Kochmar and Mark Christie. Former state representative and Federal Way Council President Linda Kochmar's bullet point agenda provides little detail on what she plans to do if elected, but she has opposed making the wealthy pay what their owe our communities and her legislative record received a "D" grade from Pro-Choice Washington. Kochmar is one of the more conservative members of the Federal Way City Council, going so far as to oppose hazard pay for grocery workers at the height of the pandemic.

Christie also ran for this seat in 2020. His MAGA agenda and website disparage some of the core components of strong communities, such as free and accessible education and healthcare for everyone. His "solution" for the district is to make cities Republican strongholds.

Wilson has been a solid legislator and a mover of progressive policies in the Senate, especially for kids and families. She deserves your vote in the 30th Legislative District.

Incumbent Sen. Joe Nguyen is running to continue bringing strong progressive leadership to the state Senate from the 34th Legislative District, where he has served since 2018. Outside of the Legislature, he has spent almost a decade at Microsoft as a senior program manager. He is running to put people over politics and keep helping Washingtonians access the resources they need to thrive.

This year, Nguyen sponsored a bill to prohibit the sale of high-capacity firearm magazines and keep our communities safe from gun violence. He also supported Move Ahead Washington, a historic policy package that will upgrade the state’s public transportation while making it more accessible for all and reducing our environmental impact. Throughout his first term, Nguyen’s priorities have included working toward environmental justice, balancing our state’s upside-down tax code, reforming our broken criminal justice system, and making sure all Washingtonians have equitable opportunities.

Nguyen faces a challenge from four candidates in this race. Republican John Potter is a paraeducator with the Highline School District and a member of the Teamsters Local 763. Potter would bring extremely conservative views to office if elected. He has a transphobic opinion of gender affirming health services and wants to revoke our freedom to decide whether and when to grow our families by trying to ban safe, legal abortion. Potter’s approach to the housing crisis is to vilify our neighbors struggling to secure stable housing while cutting funding for the community services so many of us rely on.

Tony Mitchum, who has worked in the restaurant and insurance industries, is running without stating a party preference. He lacks community leadership experience and does not have a campaign website as of mid-July. However, if elected, he says he wants to bring some health care services to residents, privatize employment agencies, and offer free breakfast and lunches to kids.

Local cafe owner Amber Bennett is also in this race as an Independent. Though she is running on a platform to put community first, she has opposed raising the minimum wage so that, as living costs rise, working families can afford the basics like rent, health care, groceries, and gas. Bennett would prioritize business owners and said she wants to work with cell phone companies to disallow students from accessing the internet while at school. She is not a progressive candidate.

Goodspaceguy is a perennial candidate who runs with empty, conservative platforms to oppose progressive incumbents in King County. He is not a serious candidate and his campaign ideas are obstacles to making our communities safer, healthier, more affordable, and equitable.

Joe Nguyen has fought to make our state a place where all families and communities can thrive. He deserves to be re-elected and is the clear choice in this race.

Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is running unopposed for re-election to continue representing Legislative District 37 in the state Senate. Previously, Saldaña worked as an organizer with several unions and served as the executive director of a progressive nonprofit. As a Chicana legislator, she co-chairs the Senate Members of Color Caucus in addition to serving as the vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.

Saldaña’s legislative priorities include working towards social equity and racial justice, strengthening workers’ rights, and making sure everyone can access their right to vote. She also wants to invest in public infrastructure like improved transit options and sustainable community development. This past session, she voted for a progressive slate of bills including legislation to prohibit the sale of high-capacity firearm magazines and bills to update our state’s climate goals.

Saldaña has earned your support for state Senate.

Sen. Manka Dhingra is running for re-election in the 45th Legislative District. Dhingra was first elected to the seat in 2017 and she now serves as the deputy majority floor leader. She is a senior prosecuting attorney in King County, and she has worked in crisis intervention training for law enforcement and worked with an array of diversion courts. Dhingra also helped start API Chaya, a well-respected resource for people experiencing gender-based violence in our community.

Dhingra has worked to foster justice, healing, and community safety while in office. Recently, she co-sponsored climate action legislation and voted for three key gun safety bills: banning ghost guns, banning firearms in certain locations like schools and government events, and prohibiting the sale of high-capacity firearm magazines. In this election, she is campaigning to fight for reproductive freedom and strengthen law enforcement training and accountability resources.

Republican Ryika Hooshangi is challenging Dhingra on a reactionary platform. Hooshangi is an attorney and former state diplomat who works as an elected commissioner for the Sammamish Plateau Water District. She is running to pour more funding into militarizing and expanding police forces while stripping away accountability measures that keep our communities safer. If elected, Hooshangi would oppose efforts by progressive leaders to expand health care access and rebalance our tax code.

Sen. Dhingra deserves your vote for re-election to represent the 45th Legislative District to keep working for resilient and healthy communities.

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 on 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 alleviates the traffic congestion 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.