8th Legislative District

In this pivotal election, Vice President Kamala Harris embodies a hopeful vision of unity, freedom, and progress for our country’s future. Harris has worked closely with President Biden to implement a broad and impressive agenda. Before that, she had a strong track record, ranging from leading the nation on recidivism reduction as San Francisco district attorney to fighting for marriage equality as California’s first woman attorney general to her hard-fought progressive victories in the U.S. Senate.

Throughout her public service career, Harris has demonstrated integrity, leadership, and tenacity in fighting for regular Americans. Her 2024 campaign priorities include ensuring American billionaires pay what they owe in taxes while alleviating the burden on middle-class families, strengthening the Affordable Care Act, restoring and protecting reproductive health care across the country, defending civil rights against the authoritarian vision of MAGA Project 2025, making housing, childcare, and education more affordable for all Americans, and more.

Joining Harris as a running mate on the Democratic ticket is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a champion of working families and former high school teacher. Walz’s community leadership experience ranges from serving as a local football coach to representing a primarily Republican district as a Democrat in the U.S. House. Walz’s priorities are firmly rooted in his Midwestern upbringing, union membership, and Army veteran background. He worked to lower the prescription cost of insulin to $35 for many Minnesotans. Walz believes in responsible gun ownership, uplifting rural farmers, and protecting LGBTQ+ kids.

While we can continue to push Kamala Harris’ platform towards even more progressive goals, it is clear that she is the best choice to make history as our next president of the United States.

Democrat Maria Cantwell is running for another term in the U.S. Senate, where she has served the state of Washington since 2001. Before that, she served in the state Legislature and had a successful career in the private sector, leading marketing efforts for a large tech company.

In Congress, Cantwell has been a strong advocate for environmental protections and clean energy. She recently sponsored bills to protect waterways while promoting clean energy and strengthening tribal involvement in matters relating to conservation and land management. This spring, Cantwell partnered with Sen. Patty Murray to secure $28 million in funding to replace lead pipes in Washington and ensure safe drinking water across the state. In this race, she is running on a broad and detailed platform to address Washington’s most pressing issues, including protecting and restoring reproductive health access, increasing funding for K-12 and student loans, and expanding the affordable housing tax credit and other housing solutions.

Dr. Raul Garcia is the Republican challenger for the U.S. Senate seat. After initially announcing a campaign for governor, he is now running to install conservative leadership in one of Washington’s senate seats. Dr. Garcia is a Yakima-based doctor and hospital medical director who previously ran for governor in 2020. He has served in leadership positions across medical institutions, nonprofits, and small businesses. Garcia has received support from some of Washington’s most prominent conservatives.

Cantwell has been a thoughtful and hard-working advocate for the people of Washington. She has earned your vote for another term in the U.S. Senate.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson is running for governor on his impressive record as an advocate for all Washingtonians. He has served as attorney general since 2012 and has won some of the biggest and most consequential legal cases in Washington's history during that time.

Ferguson has a record of success in litigating against the Trump administration and greedy corporations. When Donald Trump attacked access to contraception, Ferguson took him to court and won. Ferguson has sued the federal government to clean up the Hanford nuclear facility more quickly and has defended the Affordable Care Act from the Trump Administration, helping preserve care for 825,000 Washingtonians. Other wins include protecting statewide water quality from Trump's pro-pollution environmental policies, securing over $1 billion from opioid manufacturers to fund treatment, and fighting back against child detention laws.

All of these wins echo Ferguson's priorities in running for governor: to continue fighting to improve health care access, protect consumers, and strengthen the rights of working families in Washington. If elected, he plans to scale up behavioral health care. Recognizing that currently "our jails are collectively our largest mental health provider," he is committed to a large number of interventions in our communities including prevention, adding more health providers, and more peer service support. He's also committed to breaking up corporate monopolies and reducing the cost of living, establishing Washington as a clean energy hub, and exploring high-speed rail infrastructure.

Republican and former U.S. Representative Dave Reichert is running against Ferguson. Reichert served Washington’s 8th Congressional District in the House for 14 years. During that time, he took some bad votes against climate protections and health care affordability and voted for a national abortion ban, among other anti-abortion votes. He also previously served as the elected King County sheriff, and worked on the prominent Green River Killer case.

While Reichert is adept at sounding more moderate than some of his MAGA colleagues, his policy positions tell the truth, particularly when speaking to friendly crowds of Republicans behind closed doors. Earlier this year, Reichert said that he opposes marriage equality, which Washington voters passed in 2012 and became the law nationwide in 2015. More recently, Reichert finally admitted that he plans to vote for Trump this November and cited his signed MAGA hat as evidence of his Republican credentials. Finally, Reichert questioned humans' impact on climate change, despite the overwhelming scientific consensus. Reichert is clearly out of step with the values of most Washingtonians.

Bob Ferguson is an accomplished progressive who leads with integrity and grit. He is the best choice to be the next governor of Washington.

Democrat Denny Heck is running for a second term as Washington’s lieutenant governor. Heck is a former representative who served the 10th Congressional District from 2013 until 2021. His professional background also includes serving five terms representing Legislative District 17 in the state House, starting small businesses in his community, serving as the chief of staff to Gov. Booth Gardner, and founding one of the nation’s largest statewide public affairs networks.

Heck has fought for a number of Democratic priorities, including rebalancing our upside-down tax code, investing in public infrastructure, reducing health care costs, increasing workforce development and employment opportunities, and making college more affordable. He's running to continue fighting for affordability, health and safety, and opportunity for all Washingtonians.

Heck is running against Republican Dan Matthews, a veteran and former school board member running to deprioritize public schools in favor of private education, cut spending on social services, and roll back laws that hold corporations accountable. He is not a progressive choice and doesn't represent the needs of our communities.

We recommend Denny Heck for another term as the state’s lieutenant governor.

Democrat Steve Hobbs is running for another term as Washington's secretary of state. He first joined the office when he was appointed in 2021 and was retained by voters in 2022. Hobbs, a first-generation Japanese American, previously served as a lieutenant colonel in the Washington Army National Guard and a four-term state senator for the 44th Legislative District.

In office, Hobbs has pursued a progressive set of priorities to ensure Washington’s election integrity, making the state safe from attacks and accessible to all Washington voters. He has worked on strengthening digital security, preventing the spread of misinformation, and promoting voter outreach. Unfortunately, in the last election, he expressed concerns about implementing ranked-choice voting for fear of the fragility of public trust and the accessibility of it to non-English-speaking voters.

In this race, Hobbs’ top two priorities are to ensure our elections remain both secure and accessible for every eligible voter. While he has and will continue to pursue security measures – such as cybersecurity investments and improvement grants, Hobbs also believes it’s his job to restore community trust in him and his office. He has also taken great strides to reach eligible voters from historically disenfranchised communities, including formerly incarcerated voters.

Republican Dale Whitaker, who owns a small tax business, is also in this race. Whitaker serves as the executive director of We Believe We Vote, which claims to educate Christian voters by supporting conservatives with some of the most extreme views in the state, including strong anti-abortion stances, homophobic positions, and a belief that the Christian Bible should be the ultimate guiding text for leaders. In this race, Whitaker’s top priority is election transparency and security. Unfortunately, the greatest threat to our democratic, electoral processes has been incursions from the far-right, of which Whitaker is affiliated. Washington voters deserve a secretary of state who is above divisive, conspiracy-based politics.

Hobbs is the best choice for Washington's secretary of state.

Democratic incumbent Mike Pellicciotti is running for re-election to Washington state treasurer. Pellicciotti was first elected to the position in 2020. Before that, Pellicciotti served as a representative for Legislative District 30 in the state House, an assistant state attorney general, and a deputy prosecuting attorney for King County.

In public office, he has advocated for transparency and public accountability. He has never accepted corporate campaign donations and previously worked to make the Legislature’s records open for public view. As a treasurer, he has prioritized economic security and prosperity for all, especially working families and retirees. In office, he has worked to strengthen budget reserves, increase pension funds, and manage debt costs.

Republican Sharon Hanek is challenging Pellicciotti in this race. Hanek is a certified public accountant and serves as the vice chair of the Pierce County Planning Commission. Hanek has run for office unsuccessfully several times before, including losing by more than 17% statewide in her 2012 run for state Treasurer. Hanek is the founder of My Family My Choice, a far-right group aligned with Moms for Liberty that wants to ban books and promotes conspiracy theories about public schools. We can't afford to give Hanek a statewide platform for her dangerous, far-right agenda.

Pellicciotti has been a reliable Democratic leader in the Washington state treasurer’s office and he has earned your vote for another term.

Incumbent Democrat Pat McCarthy is running for a third term as Washington state auditor. McCarthy made history as the state’s first woman auditor when she took office in 2017. Before that, she served Pierce County in the elected roles of both executive and auditor and was previously a member of the Tacoma School Board, including as board president. She serves in multiple community leadership positions including on the Asian Pacific Cultural Center Advisory Board and with the Pierce County Sexual Assault Center.

In her first two terms, McCarthy has worked hard to bring accountability and transparency to the auditor’s office. She previously launched important investigations into both white-collar crime and unemployment benefit cases and even oversaw the largest fraud case in state history pertaining to misappropriated local housing funds. Looking towards another term, McCarthy wants to prioritize public and private sector integrity, responsible resource use, and advancing the office’s technology infrastructure to serve the public better.

Spokane County Republican Party leader Matt Hawkins is challenging incumbent McCarthy in this race. Hawkins created the We The People interactive calendar, which details events in U.S. history that he deems important. He has run for elected office before including vying for the top Republican Party job in the state last year, as well as the Washington state Senate in 2018. In this race, Hawkins boasts a typically conservative platform which includes continuing to cast doubt on the security of our local elections and worsening the imbalance in our state’s tax code.

McCarthy has earned your vote for another term as Washington's state auditor.

Nick Brown is a former U.S. attorney for Western Washington running to protect the climate, our democracy, and Washingtonians' civil rights. Before his appointment by the Biden Administration in 2021, Brown worked as the general counsel for Gov. Jay Inslee. He also served in the US Army as a judge advocate general (JAG) officer, where he represented soldiers and the Army in legal matters, followed by working as a prosecutor. Brown has also served as chair of the attorney general’s Advisory Subcommittee on Civil Rights.

As the first Black U.S. attorney in the state's history, Brown notes that Washington is experiencing the highest number of hate crimes in 20 years. He wants to use the attorney general's office to implement laws that prosecute domestic terrorists, especially the burgeoning white supremacist movements that have threatened local leaders and committed violent hate crimes.

In our interview with Brown, he identified his top three priorities as strengthening the operations of the office, holding local jurisdictions accountable for upholding the law, and enforcing environmental protections. He emphasized his work with the attorney general's office as a special assistant attorney general and said that he would strive to build a more representative office and ensure they resolve problems with legal standards that led to the office receiving a fine last year. One of Brown's biggest accomplishments as an attorney was helping write Initiative 1639, Safe Schools and Safe Communities, which makes it illegal for anyone under 21 to own a semi-automatic rifle. He later defended the law against the NRA. Building on that success, Brown wants to continue to enforce laws against deadly weapons and defend the state against voter suppression, wage theft, and more. Brown also wants to enforce environmental laws strictly and uphold strong consumer protections by, for example, pursuing the ongoing investigation on monopolistic practices by landlords and rental companies to keep prices inflated.

Republican and Pasco attorney Pete Serrano is running to bring a conservative agenda to the attorney general's office. Serrano is the board president and general counsel of an organization that fights commonsense gun laws and public health mandates, and he was recently elected mayor of Pasco. He states that while he disagrees with these laws he will follow the state Constitution, but the Seattle Times also reported that he intended to remain "actively engaged" with the organization in a Facebook video on the organization's page. If elected he promises to "Make Washington Safe Again" and make the office more transparent. Serrano is not a progressive choice in this race.

Brown is the clear choice in the race to be Washington's next attorney general.

King County Council chair Dave Upthegrove is running for commissioner of public lands to fill the vacancy left by Hilary Franz. Upthegrove previously served in the Legislature for five terms, where he made history as the first openly gay representative from outside of Seattle. He joined the King County Council in 2013, where he has been a strong advocate for climate concerns and environmental protections. 

Upthegrove has an inclusive vision for using the office to improve the quality of life for all Washingtonians. Upthegrove wants to mitigate the damage of wildfire seasons, bring good jobs and services to rural Washington, preserve mature legacy forests, expand recreational opportunities on public lands, and center the idea of environmental justice to guide policy. While he lauds the incumbent Franz for her work on wildfire prevention, Upthegrove wants to be more ambitious when it comes to reforming forestry policies. He believes the department needs a more honest accounting of the carbon impacts of forestry and timber work, which he is well positioned to lead having managed King County's forest carbon program. Upthegrove also wants to use his experience and relationships in the Legislature to help pass laws and increase funding for the department's conservation work.

Former congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler is back on the ballot this election. In 2022, she lost her re-election primary to ultra-conservative Joe Kent and current Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. In Congress, Herrera Beutler voted with Trump more than 80% of the time, though she has received criticism from her party after voting to impeach Donald Trump following the January 6th insurrection. Herrera Beutler has overwhelmingly opposed bills that protect our environment including the 2021 Build Back Better Act and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, both of which contained bold policies to alleviate the climate crisis. She lacks a detailed campaign platform in this race but mentions wildfire mitigation, habitat preservation, and public land use as top issues.

The race for this open seat will determine whether our state will be a leader in fighting climate change, protecting our forests, and preventing forest fires or bow to the demands of big timber companies. Upthegrove's environmental track record in office and endorsements from Washington Conservation Action, the Sierra Club, and other environmental champions make him the clear choice in this race.

Incumbent Chris Reykdal is running for a third term in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Reykdal has been a strong champion for public education as superintendent, during his six years in the Legislature, and in 14 years on local school boards and leadership positions at educational institutions.

The superintendent's office provides resources and guidance on language access, student safety, school district budgeting, and student needs to Washington's 295 public school districts and six state-tribal education compact schools. In office, Reykdal has worked to reduce learning gaps, raise educator salaries, increase free meal access, and expand dual and tribal language learning programs.

In our interview, Reykdal acknowledged that the pandemic and declining birth rates have affected enrollment rates in public schools. Despite this challenge, he was proud that districts have made gains in other areas like retaining teachers of color. He identified the decrease in state funding, relative to inflation, as a fundamental challenge facing public schools. He reiterated his commitment to advocating for the Legislature to increase funding per student and allow districts to fund special education. He also expressed his commitment to keeping schools public, rejecting vouchers, and improving mental health support for students. This year, OSPI offered legislation to increase paraeducator pay to attract and retain these critical classroom supports. Finally, he cited his experience running a large state agency for the last eight years as a key strength compared to his less experienced opponent.

Gig Harbor School Board member David Olson is challenging Reykdal on a reactionary right-wing platform. Like many conservative school board directors, he welcomes conservative, politically motivated censorship that would block access to books and multicultural programming. Olson also wants to employ strict guidelines in our schools that penalize students who are struggling the most. According to The Seattle Times, he told the Washington Republican Party convention "that if every high school graduate opted for the skilled trades instead of pursuing a four-year degree, universities 'could all go bankrupt and that would save America.'" Olson's extremism and conspiracy theories are completely disqualifying for someone looking to lead our state's public education system.

Reykdal has strong support from educators across the state and has earned your vote for re-election.

State senator and attorney Patty Kuderer is running for Washington insurance commissioner. She has served the 48th Legislative District since 2015 when she was appointed to the state House before being appointed to fill the Senate seat vacancy in 2017.

Kuderer has been one of the most active sponsors of progressive bills in the Legislature. This year, she was the primary sponsor of a successful bill to ensure Narcan is available in Washington schools. As a secondary sponsor, she helped to pass a slate of progressive bills, including ensuring that valid ballots are not unduly rejected, limiting the ability to bring firearms to public places like zoos, transit stations, and libraries, and aligning state and federal financial aid programs. Kuderer is now campaigning for insurance commissioner on a progressive platform that includes exploring universal health care, reducing auto insurance costs, expanding cancer screening for firefighters, and improving access to climate change insurance for homeowners and businesses.

Republican state Senator Phil Fortunato is also running for the commissioner position. Fortunato was first elected to serve the 31st Legislative District in Olympia in 2016 as a representative before being immediately appointed to an open Senate seat. Outside public service, his professional background is in erosion control and stormwater management. In the Legislature, Fortunato was the primary sponsor of many far-right bills, including legislation to strip abortion rights for some Washingtonians and to oppose commonsense gun safety policy. If he's elected insurance commissioner, Fortunato wants to remove regulations that keep health care costs lower. He is vehemently opposed to universal health care policies that would allow all Washingtonians, regardless of income status, to access the care and medicine they need.

We recommend Patty Kuderer for Washington insurance commissioner because of her strong background in public service and clear vision for the office.

Democrat John Christenson is challenging Republican incumbent April Connors for House Position 2 representing Legislative District 8. Christenson is a former commissioner for the Benton County Fire District #1 and an Army veteran, and he previously served as the chair of the 8th Legislative District Democrats. Christenson’s professional background is in civil engineering and he was a founding member of the Environmental Information Network of Southeast Washington.

Christenson has earned a reputation for reaching across the aisle to get things done for working people. He worked hard to bring the Affordable Care Act to fruition for all Washingtonians and was an active local volunteer during the coronavirus pandemic to keep our communities safe and healthy. While he lacks a campaign website, Christenson strongly believes that the Legislature should advance Democratic priorities, particularly in the face of rising extremism on the right.

Rep. Connors previously ran on a conservative platform to repeal comprehensive sexual health education, prioritize the corporate interests of the energy sector, and divert public funding from key areas like housing and health care. In office, she recently opposed bills to provide assistance for working families and to expand access to reproductive health care. It is clear she represents far-right MAGA priorities that would drag our communities backward.

Christenson is the best choice in this low-information race for Legislative District 8.

Sal Mungia is an awarded and experienced local attorney running for retiring Justice Susan Owens’ Position 2 on the state Supreme Court. Mungia is a partner at a Tacoma- and Seattle-based firm where he works in trial and appellate law primarily focused on injury law and medical malpractice. He has a long history of leadership and service including, among other experiences, as the former president of the Washington State Bar Association, former chair of the Equal Justice Coalition, and a cooperating attorney with the ACLU of Washington.

Mungia’s career has been strongly community-oriented. He has done significant pro bono legal work while working to improve our criminal legal system. Now, he has earned wide and impressive support in his bid for the court including from sitting Supreme Court Justice Yu and Chief Justice González.

Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Dave Larson is also in this race. Before joining the Municipal Court, Larson worked as a trial attorney. Larson is the endorsed candidate by Washington state's MAGA Republican Party, known for its far-right positions and aggressive opposition to abortion access. Progressives are backing Mungia in this race.

We recommend Sal Mungia in this race to bring trusted, just, and community-minded leadership to Washington’s Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Steven González is running unopposed for re-election to Position 8 on the Washington Supreme Court. González was first appointed to the bench in 2012 and was chosen by his peers to serve in the chief justice position in 2021, making him Washington’s first chief justice of color. Before becoming a judge, González’s law career ranged from international business law and terrorism prosecution to civil rights pro bono work. He serves on the board of the Washington Leadership Institute to provide opportunities and support for legal professionals from backgrounds and identities that have previously been excluded from legal spaces.

In his leadership role on the state’s top court, González has sought to make the legal system a place for justice and dignity for all Washingtonians. He worked to make our courts more accessible to non-English speakers. González has received bipartisan support in past races but consistently received support from some of the state’s top progressive leaders. González has been ranked highly by some of the state’s most progressive bar associations including QLaw, Latina/o Bar Association of Washington, Washington Women Lawyers, and more.

We recommend Justice Steven González for another term in Position 8 on Washington's Supreme Court to continue bringing just and experienced judicial leadership to our top court.

Justice Sheryl McCloud is running unopposed for re-election to Position 9 on the Washington Supreme Court. McCloud is a former public defender who has served on Washington’s top court since 2013. She co-chairs the court’s Gender & Justice Commission and serves as the liaison to the state bar's Council on Public Defense. On the bench, Justice McCloud’s top areas of attention include constitutional and individual rights, and she authored the 2017 opinion barring a private business open to the general public from refusing to serve a gay couple. She was the founding member of the Washington Appellate Lawyers Association.

In this election, her focus is on protecting constitutional rights. She has been rated “Exceptionally Well Qualified” by a number of the state’s top bar associations, including the King County Bar Association, QLaw, and the Washington Women Lawyers. These organizations ensure that our justices are treating all Washingtonians fairly and protecting constitutionally outlined civil rights.

Justice McCloud deserves your vote to continue bringing fair and experienced leadership to the state Supreme Court.

Bronson Brown is running for Judge Position 5 on the Benton & Franklin Counties Superior Court. Brown is a commissioner for the Benton County Superior Court and works as a pro tem judge on the Franklin County Superior Court. Brown is incredibly involved in community leadership, serving as general counsel for Kennewick’s school district, a member of the Benton County Clean Air Agency, and the former president of Benton Franklin Legal Aid. Before his current roles, he served as a prosecutor and city attorney of Richland. 

Brown is extremely qualified and ready for a judge position on the court. His experiences as a commissioner and pro tem judge have allowed him to practice many of the responsibilities of a superior court judge while serving the community. Brown has earned widespread support from the local judicial community due to his impartial, competent, and fair leadership on the county courts. His candidacy has been endorsed by a number of sitting Benton & Franklin Counties Superior Court judges and commissioners, Benton County District Court judges, local attorneys, and elected municipal leaders.

Also in this race is Shawn Sant, an elected Franklin County prosecuting attorney and former police officer. Sant has experience in civil and criminal disputes from his combined background in prosecution, public defense, and law enforcement, though he lacks comparative judicial experience. While Sant has some good qualifications and supports alternative, therapeutic courts, he has not earned the same progressive support as Brown in this race.

We recommend Bronson Brown for Benton & Franklin Counties Superior Court, Position 5 to draw on his vast community leadership experience and bring balanced judicial leadership to the court.

Pedro Torres Jr is challenging incumbent commissioner Stu Nelson for the District 3 seat on the Franklin County Public Utility District (PUD) commission. Torres owns Movement Athletics, a local Pasco gym. He also works to make Pasco a thriving, safe place for everyone through his work with the city’s homeless shelter, clean-up task force, and Cinco-de-Mayo Festival planning. He has a background in business management and has also worked in hospital administration, which requires a strong grasp of community leadership, institutional budgets, and efficient service.

Torres is running to bring community-mindful leadership and a fresh perspective to the PUD. His top priorities are reliability and affordability so that all Franklin residents can access the resources they need. His candidacy has earned the support of one of our local partner organizations.

Stu Nelson has been the PUD commissioner in District 3 since 2003. He previously owned his own small business in Pasco and previously served on both the Pasco City Planning Commission and the Northwest Public Power Association board. Now, he is running for yet another term with a vision of affordability and modernization for the district.

We recommend Pedro Torres Jr for fresh leadership for the Franklin County PUD, Commissioner District 3.