Yakima County

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.

Doug White is the sole Democrat running for U.S. Representative for the 4th Congressional District. His platform is focused on protecting the local environment and expanding rural health care. He has worked for multinational businesses and comes from several generations of Central Washington farmers. 

White's focus would be a huge change from incumbent Dan Newhouse's conservative policies as well as the proposals of the MAGA Republicans in this race. He believes that climate change needs to be mitigated by local energy from solar and wind. White believes immigrants need a path forward to citizenship and that more must be done to secure affordable housing for all, provide a safety net for seniors and the vulnerable, and that infrastructure from waterways to broadband internet need to be modernized and rebuilt. Unlike most of his opponents, White also supports passing a law to protect reproductive freedom for all Americans.

White is broadly endorsed by many Democratic organizations, unions, and more. For his willingness to take on the district's and nation's biggest issues, like protecting water and building up communities more equitably, we recommend Doug White for Congress for the 4th District.

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.

Former Green party candidate Liz Hallock is a small business owner and attorney running for the 14th Legislative District, House Position 2. Hallock ran for governor in 2020 on a platform to invest in small businesses, fight climate change, put people first, and safeguard our democracy from big money interests. Now, she is running as a “Women’s Reproductive Justice Party candidate” to lead with science, improve accessible child care, and pass a Green New Deal in Washington to bring economic security to working families while fighting climate change. A chosen delegate for Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016, Hallock has ideas for big, structural change in Washington to require corporations and the wealthy to pay their share. If elected, she also wants to address the housing crisis, mass incarceration due to the war on drugs, and attacks on recent reproductive freedom.

Hallock is challenging Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, a staunch conservative seeking re-election for her fifth term in the Legislature. Outside of elected office, she works in the hotel industry. Recently, Mosbrucker voted with her Republican colleagues to oppose bills to keep our communities safe from high-capacity firearms and to improve our state’s climate response. She also voted against a ban on chokeholds and publicly critiqued the basic requirement that officers exhaust alternatives before using force.

Family physician and yoga instructor Chris Faison is running for office as an Independent. Faison does not have a detailed campaign platform available as of mid-July but he talks about wanting to connect our communities as a healer and improve health care, child care, and public education.

Hallock is the most progressive candidate in this race. We recommend her for Position 2 in the 14th Legislative District to invest in our communities.

Dulce Gutierrez is running for the open District 2 seat on the Yakima County Commission. This year, all three seats are open with new maps due to a lawsuit that alleged Latinos are disenfranchised by Yakima County's voting system. Gutierrez, a former Yakima City Council member, wants to deliver more economic opportunity, safety, and affordable housing. She worked for seven years for the Washington State Labor Council and volunteers for the boards of the YWCA of Yakima, Planned Parenthood, and other organizations.

Her vision of the county is one in which residents' quality of life keeps up with economic change. Gutierrez wants to invest in roads and renewable energy like solar to boost business and make sure that new housing can be built. She also wants to improve water access for farmers and the environment. Gutierrez also believes that new zoning changes, like allowing homeowners to add housing units to their properties, will help alleviate the housing crunch and provide income to families.

Gutierrez has two opponents in this race. Democrat Tony Sandoval is the former owner of a bouncy house business. He has unsuccessfully run for several offices over the years, including for Yakima City Council in 2015, 2017, and 2021, and for U.S. House in 2014. As in previous years, he does not yet have a detailed campaign platform available as of mid-July, but says he will reduce crime.

Republican Kyle Curtis is running as a moderate compared with Gutierrez's more progressive policies. While both candidates say that a countywide emergency response radio system and a regional crime lab should be supported, Gutierrez goes a step further and wants to see more funding for crime prevention efforts, including recreational programs for youth. While Curtis says that the county should focus on mental health and substance abuse in working with its homeless residents, Gutierrez says that service providers are already giving assistance and more affordable housing will be crucial for helping people find permanent residences.

Gutierrez's strong experience on the city council and progressive credentials make her the best choice in this race.