40th Legislative District

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Federal

U.S. Senator

  • Patty Murray photo
    Democrat

    Patty Murray

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  • 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.

    Patty Murray

    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.

    Patty Murray

    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.

Other Candidates

Other Candidates - Tiffany Smiley

Sen. Murray faces more than a dozen challengers this year. The most prominent among them is Tiffany Smiley, a triage nurse running on a MAGA Republican platform. Smiley has never held public office but she previously worked on Capitol Hill.

Other Candidates - Tiffany Smiley

Sen. Murray faces more than a dozen challengers this year. The most prominent among them is Tiffany Smiley, a triage nurse running on a MAGA Republican platform. Smiley has never held public office but she previously worked on Capitol Hill.

2nd Congressional District

U.S. Representative

  • Rick Larsen photo
    Democrat

    Rick Larsen

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  • Rep. Rick Larsen is a moderate Democrat who is seeking his eleventh term representing Washington's 2nd Congressional District. Before serving in Congress, he served on the Snohomish County Council and worked on economic development for the City of Everett.

    Larsen has been a reliable vote on House Democrats' legislation. Since his last election, he voted for both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Build Back Better, President Biden's more ambitious effort to fund clean energy, child tax credits, and other progressive priorities. In past years, Larsen supported the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to give Medicare the power to negotiate directly with the drug companies and pass on the lower drug prices to all Americans. He also voted for the Voting Rights Advancement Act, supported the coronavirus pandemic relief packages, and sought to reform student loans.

    Larsen has faced criticism from some on the left, including Jason Call, for not supporting more ambitious policies and legislation. Larsen declined to sponsor Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal and Rep. Jayapal's Medicare for All Act, which earned the support of more than half of the House Democrats. Larsen also continues to raise significant amounts of money from corporate PACs, including the oil and gas industries, according to OpenSecrets.org.

    Larsen is a reliable Democratic vote and has earned the support of all our progressive partner organizations who chose to endorse in this race. Larsen is a good choice if you're looking for a steady, moderate voice in Congress.

    Rick Larsen

    Rep. Rick Larsen is a moderate Democrat who is seeking his eleventh term representing Washington's 2nd Congressional District. Before serving in Congress, he served on the Snohomish County Council and worked on economic development for the City of Everett.

    Rick Larsen

    Rep. Rick Larsen is a moderate Democrat who is seeking his eleventh term representing Washington's 2nd Congressional District. Before serving in Congress, he served on the Snohomish County Council and worked on economic development for the City of Everett.

  • Jason Call photo
    Democrat

    Jason Call

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  • Progressive Jason Call is challenging Larsen for Congress in Washington's 2nd District. He is a high school math teacher who serves on the board of Whole Washington, which seeks to provide universal health care to everyone in the state. Call got his start in activism by protesting the first Iraq War and worked his way up to running for Congress. In 2020, he came up just 1 percent short of qualifying for the top two general election contest with Larsen in this relatively safe Democratic district.

    Call is running on a sweeping platform that includes Medicare for All, free college, ending student debt, a Green New Deal, and a housing guarantee to help end our housing insecurity crisis. When it comes to public safety, Call supports banning assault rifles and wants to end the transfer of military equipment to police forces. He was proud to be named a Green New Deal champion and refuses to take any money from corporate PACs.

    Beyond Larsen's failure to sponsor key legislation, Call is quite critical of the way Larsen has led the Aviation Subcommittee of the Transportation Committee. Rather than prioritizing aviation, Call believes we need to transition rapidly to using more high-speed rail and transit to fight climate change.

    During our interview, Call acknowledged that many of his policies would require substantial structural changes to become law. He told us that he wants to use his candidacy - and if elected, office - as a platform to build grassroots support for progressive policies. His long-term goal is to build support for electing enough progressive senators to eliminate the filibuster and expand the Supreme Court.

    While Call faces a challenging race against a longtime incumbent, he provides an alternative for those looking for bolder progressive leadership than Larsen.

    Jason Call

    Progressive Jason Call is challenging Larsen for Congress in Washington's 2nd District. He is a high school math teacher who serves on the board of Whole Washington, which seeks to provide universal health care to everyone in the state.

    Jason Call

    Progressive Jason Call is challenging Larsen for Congress in Washington's 2nd District. He is a high school math teacher who serves on the board of Whole Washington, which seeks to provide universal health care to everyone in the state.

Other Candidates

There are a host of other candidates running for the 2nd Congressional District seat.

Republican Dan Matthews is a veteran and commercial airline pilot. He lists dozens of "areas of concern" on his website with an invitation to "let the dialogue begin" but does not list any actual policy positions. However, some of the topics he lists as concerns are consistent with the MAGA Republican agenda we see across the country this year.

Cody Hart is actually on the ballot as a MAGA Republican and his policy priorities reflect it. He echoes many extreme talking points and conspiracy theories, including overturning the will of the people in the 2020 election.

Republican Leif Johnson is a lead manufacturing engineer running a deeply fear-based campaign. He states that he would vote no on legislation that would responsibly limit access to firearms, stating that we need them to fight terrorists. Johnson also wants to complete Trump's failed border wall project and provide faith-based addiction counseling to those in need of it.

Statewide

Secretary of State

  • Steve Hobbs photo
    Democrat

    Steve Hobbs

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  • Democrat Steve Hobbs is running to retain his position as secretary of state for the remainder of the two-year term. He is a first-generation Japanese American and 30-year member of the military, serving tours in Kosovo and Iraq before becoming a lieutenant colonel in the Washington Army National Guard.

    Hobbs was appointed as secretary of state in November of last year after Kim Wyman resigned to join the Biden administration. Prior to his appointment, he served four terms in the Washington state Senate representing the 44th Legislative District. His voting record was consistently progressive on social issues and more conservative on taxes, environmental issues, and workers' rights.

    During his first eight months in office, Hobbs has been laser-focused on protecting our electoral systems from attacks. He has used his background in national security to partner closely with the Department of Homeland Security to stop digital threats to our voting systems, both foreign and domestic. Hobbs also understands the challenge misinformation poses to the integrity of our elections. He has been working to set up a division within his office specifically to combat misinformation and wants to work closely with social media companies to ensure they take down dangerous conspiracy theories.

    As many things re-open from the pandemic, Hobbs is committed to restarting his office's voter outreach program. He is very enthusiastic about a trusted messenger program he's launching to utilize community leaders to talk about the importance of voting. He also wants to improve outreach to reduce the racial disparities in rejected ballots because of signature mismatches.

    The only issue of concern with Hobbs is his personal opposition to ranked choice voting. During our interview, he shared that he's concerned about implementing a complicated new voting system at a moment of low trust in our elections. He is particularly concerned that voters like his mother, who speaks English as a second language, will have a difficult time learning and participating in the new system.

    Hobbs made a compelling case that the secretary of state must adapt to the new and complex challenges of running modern elections. Hobbs is a good choice if you're looking for someone with national security experience to safeguard and rebuild trust in our electoral system.

    Steve Hobbs

    Democrat Steve Hobbs is running to retain his position as secretary of state for the remainder of the two-year term.

    Steve Hobbs

    Democrat Steve Hobbs is running to retain his position as secretary of state for the remainder of the two-year term.

  • Julie Anderson photo
    Non-Partisan

    Julie Anderson

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  • 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.

    Julie Anderson

    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.

    Julie Anderson

    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.

    • Endorsed By: Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility

40th Legislative District

State Representative, Position #1

  • Debra Lekanoff photo
    Democrat

    Debra Lekanoff

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    Evergreen Future
    Evergreen Future

  • Rep. Debra Lekanoff is running unopposed for re-election to Legislative District 40, Position 1. Lekanoff is currently the only Native American woman in the Washington Legislature. She formerly worked for the Swinomish Tribe as the governmental affairs director and now serves as vice chair of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee.

    Lekanoff is running to keep fighting to protect our ecosystems for future generations while advocating for investments in public infrastructure and economic recovery. This session, she was the prime sponsor of historic legislation that created the country’s first alert system for missing Indigenous women. Lekanoff also supported the historic Move Ahead Washington transportation bill that will make public transit in Washington more accessible and environmentally friendly.

    She is a strong progressive who will prioritize the environment, tribal representation, and community economic security. Lekanoff deserves re-election so she can continue building a future where all Washingtonians can prosper.

    Debra Lekanoff

    Rep. Debra Lekanoff is running unopposed for re-election to Legislative District 40, Position 1. Lekanoff is currently the only Native American woman in the Washington Legislature.

    Debra Lekanoff

    Rep. Debra Lekanoff is running unopposed for re-election to Legislative District 40, Position 1. Lekanoff is currently the only Native American woman in the Washington Legislature.

State Representative, Position #2

  • Alex Ramel photo
    Democrat

    Alex Ramel

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  • Rep. Alex Ramel is running for re-election to Position 2 in Legislative District 40. Ramel has been a strong progressive leader in the Legislature. The incumbent and environmental organizer previously served on the board of the Whatcom chapter Washington Conservation Voters and now works as a climate policy advisor for an environmental nonprofit.

    Ramel’s top legislative priorities include fighting climate change, making housing more affordable, preventing gun violence, investing in community-first economic recovery, and making sure all Washingtonians can afford the health care they need. One of his environmental accomplishments this session was helping to pass the Move Ahead Washington transportation package that will invest in accessible and climate-friendly transit infrastructure like electric vehicle charging stations and zero-emissions ferry technology.

    Beyond the transportation package, Ramel prioritized keeping our communities safe by restricting ghost guns, banning carrying guns in places like school board meetings, and creating an alert system for missing Indigenous people. He also sponsored important policies that we hope will move forward in the years to come, including a wealth tax on extraordinarily high earners and expanding housing options near transit.

    Ramel faces a challenge from Trevor Smith, a moderate Democratic and the political director of a labor union whose workers install and manage natural gas infrastructure. Unfortunately, Smith's challenge represents a push by conservative corporations and fossil fuel interests to stop Ramel from fighting carbon pollution by promoting alternatives to natural gas like electrification. So far, corporate and conservative PACs and people have spent $150,000 backing Smith's campaign to oust Ramel.

    Ramel has been a champion for fighting climate change and protecting our clean air and water. We hope the Legislature follows his lead and continues to fund training for workers to pivot to cleaner sources of fuel. But with a conservative Supreme Court hobbling the EPA's ability to regulate pollution, this is no time to stop climate action. 

    Ramel has been an outstanding advocate for progressive causes and is the clear choice to continue serving the 40th Legislative District.

    Alex Ramel

    Rep. Alex Ramel is running for re-election to Position 2 in Legislative District 40. Ramel has been a strong progressive leader in the Legislature.

    Alex Ramel

    Rep. Alex Ramel is running for re-election to Position 2 in Legislative District 40. Ramel has been a strong progressive leader in the Legislature.

Skagit County

Depending on where you live, you may have the below county races on your ballot.

Skagit County Auditor

  • Sandy Perkins photo
    Democrat

    Sandy Perkins

    Website

  • Democrat Sandy Perkins is running for re-election for Skagit County auditor, a position she has held for six years. Before that, Perkins spent two decades as a certified fraud examiner. She also formerly chaired the Skagit Elder Alliance and offers community education about fraud protection.

    Perkins is running to strengthen public trust in local election proceedings and to build on her successes in making the office run more efficiently. She will leverage her knowledge of the office, her 15 years of cyber security experience, and her community leadership to make our elections safer while discrediting misinformation about election fraud coming from MAGA Republicans like her opponent. She is by far the more qualified candidate in this race and her candidacy has support from local elected progressives.

    Eric Hull is a former Boeing engineer and scientist for Hitachi who is running on a vague conservative platform. Hull has never held public office and says he learned about the county auditor’s responsibilities during this campaign.

    Sandy Perkins has done an impressive job in the county auditor’s office and she deserves your vote for another term serving Skagit County.

    Sandy Perkins

    Democrat Sandy Perkins is running for re-election for Skagit County auditor, a position she has held for six years. Before that, Perkins spent two decades as a certified fraud examiner.

    Sandy Perkins

    Democrat Sandy Perkins is running for re-election for Skagit County auditor, a position she has held for six years. Before that, Perkins spent two decades as a certified fraud examiner.