City of Bonney Lake

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

Dr. Kim Schrier is seeking re-election to her seat in the U.S. House representing Washington’s 8th Congressional District. Before serving two terms in Congress, she worked as a pediatrician and ran a local pediatric practice in Issaquah caring for kids and families across the region.

Elected in 2018 as the first Democrat to hold the seat, Schrier has consistently brought her community values and professional health expertise to Congress. Unlike her Republican opponents, Schrier would support a federal law protecting reproductive freedom for all Americans. This term, Schrier supported the bipartisan infrastructure bill that will provide essential funding to improve local roads and bridges, as well as $19 million dollars for pedestrian safety projects in the 8th District alone. She also voted for Build Back Better, which would provide funding for early education, extend the child tax credit, reduce the cost of child care, and combat climate change. If re-elected, Schrier wants to prioritize the everyday needs of working families as well as be a compelling changemaker on public health issues like affordable prescriptions, gun violence prevention, clean air, and fresh groceries.

Schrier has been a standout member of Congress working across party lines to get things done for her district. She has earned your vote for re-election.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson is running as a nonpartisan candidate to bring an independent 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 as a nonpartisan candidate 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 nonpartisan, 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.

While Hobbs spoke more about using cybersecurity to protect our elections, Anderson leaned on her professional expertise to describe ways to expand our democracy. She believes, for example, that the state should redouble its efforts to reach voters with disabilities. By using a secure, expert-vetted electronic ballot similar to those used for overseas military voters, Anderson sees a path forward to reach those who don't always have access to vote.

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. She supports grants for local jurisdictions that are interested in trying ranked choice voting so that it's not unduly expensive for local governments, and so that auditors can learn more about how to manage and implement it.

Anderson offers voters an experienced option if they are looking for an independent to administer our state's elections.

Chris Vance is challenging MAGA Republican incumbent Sen. Phil Fortunato as an Independent. Vance has previously served in elected office both in the state Legislature and as a member of the Metropolitan King County Council. He was the former chair of the state’s Republican party and now works for King County in communications and serves as a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, a Libertarian think tank.

Vance is an outspoken voice against the MAGA Republican trend in the local party he used to lead. His campaign priorities include making sure all public schools have the resources they need for students to thrive and improving our transit system. Unfortunately, he also wants to direct resources away from the things that make our communities safe and strong like affordable housing, accessible health care, and clean parks, and instead use those funds to expand and militarize police forces.

Fortunato typifies the extreme Republicans Vance opposes. On the first day of the legislative session this year, Fortunato was escorted off the legislative campus for refusing to follow basic COVID-19 protections. Later, he falsely told constituents that COVID safety guidelines have caused more deaths than the virus itself, which has claimed 1 million lives. Fortunato has also promoted far-right conspiracies that seek to overturn the will of the people in the 2020 election and he recently said that the state’s equity efforts were racial “segregation.”

Also in this race is fringe candidate Clifford Knopik, a far-right candidate running without a party preference for the Senate seat. Knopik seems to be campaigning on the single conspiracy theory that the pandemic was a governmental lie. 

Residents of the 31st Legislative District deserve a representative who will put community needs above extremist ideologies and conspiracy beliefs. Though he is not a progressive, Chris Vance is the best choice in this race for state senator.

Holly Stanton is an attorney and small business owner running in the 31st Legislative District for Position 1. Stanton is a moderate Democrat and a first-time candidate who wants to strengthen community services so that we can all put food on our tables, access health care, housing, and quality education. She would also prioritize environmental protections to build a sustainable future for generations to come. Unfortunately, Stanton also supports some more conservative policies around increasing policing instead of expanding public services and infrastructure to keep our communities safe.

Stanton is challenging Republican Rep. Drew Stokesbary, a practicing attorney at his own law firm. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Stokesbary and a few of his GOP colleagues sued Gov. Inslee over the Stay-At-Home order. While many Washington families are struggling to afford the basics like health care, medicine, housing, child care, and education, Stokesbary has opposed investments in our communities in favor of tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. Though he claims to be interested in public safety, he recently voted against a bill to keep our communities safe from high-capacity firearms and wrongly believes that sending militarized police forces into our neighborhoods will make us safer. Stokesbary has taken some good votes, however, including supporting the Working Families Tax Credit.

Also in this race is Brandon Beynon, a commercial construction business owner and Republican precinct committee officer. Beynon is running on a vague, typically conservative platform to block policies that invest in our communities while prioritizing the interests of big businesses and the wealthy few.

Though there are no progressive candidates in this race, Holly Stanton is the best candidate to advocate for community needs in Legislative District 31, Position 1.

Lakewood City Council member Linda Farmer is running for Pierce County auditor. Outside city council work, Farmer is the chief communications officer for the state’s Department of Enterprise Services and previously worked for the county library system. She is an active community leader serving on the South Sound Housing Affordability Partners board and Washington’s Sex Offender Policy board.

Farmer is running to make sure the auditor’s office operates as efficiently and transparently as possible. She wants to expand voter access through increased drop box availability, multi-language services, and civic engagement education. Farmer also wants to modernize the office so that records and license services can be as quick and efficient as possible for residents.

Also in this race is Deryl McCarty, the former deputy county auditor. He is a conservative who the county Republican Party backs in this nonpartisan race. McCarty’s platform is influenced by MAGA conspiracies of election fraud and dangerously stokes mistrust in our democratic institutions.

The final candidate in this race is Damon Townsend. He is the president of the Rapids Park Association and has worked in elections administration in the county for the last 8 years. On July 29, the Tacoma News Tribune reported that Townsend resigned from the Pierce County auditor's office in 2019 "after being put on notice he was to be suspended for conduct unbecoming a county employee."

We recommend Linda Farmer in this race because of her experience in public service and her support from elected leaders.