The Washington state Capitol on Feb. 6, 2026. (Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
With roughly 20 state lawmakers vacating seats in the Washington Legislature, many new faces will soon arrive in Olympia.
Some outgoing legislators are retiring, others are seeking different elected offices.
Now that the primary is in the books, some races are more or less decided, as Democrats and Republicans replace partymates in safe districts. Some races are more competitive and will come down to who wins in November.
Many of those positioned to score seats are political rookies, while others are moving up from local office.
It’s not the first election in recent memory that saw notable turnover in the statehouse. At the beginning of 2025, 29 members took new seats, either through their first election to the Legislature or a promotion from the state House to the Senate.
King County
Several Seattle-area seats are up for grabs.
In south Seattle’s 37th Legislative District, Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is running for a spot on the Metropolitan King County Council. Rep. Chipalo Street, D-Seattle, is poised to move from the House to the Senate to take her seat.
This leaves Street’s House seat open. Jaelynn Scott, a Black trans activist, is set to win it, facing only a college student running as an independent. She would be Washington’s first openly transgender legislator, and the first openly Black trans lawmaker in the country.
The 32nd District represents a bit of north Seattle, as well as Shoreline, Lynnwood and Edmonds. Rep. Cindy Ryu, D-Shoreline, is vacating her House seat to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Jesse Salomon.
The position drew six hopefuls, including five Democrats in the safely blue district. Intellectual property lawyer and Shoreline City Councilmember Keith Scully and consumer protection attorney Danica Noble advanced through the gauntlet and will face off in November.
Across Lake Washington from Seattle, Rep. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland, is calling it quits after 21 years in the Legislature.
Redmond City Councilmember Vanessa Kritzer is likely to take over Springer’s seat in the 45th District, after sailing through the primary. Kritzer is also executive director of the Washington Association of Land Trusts. John Gibbons, the Republican in the race, secured 21% of the primary vote to Kritzer’s nearly 63%. A second Democrat in the primary took home 16%.
Elsewhere in western Washington
In Whatcom County’s 42nd District, it’s still TBD who will advance to November, as just four votes separated two Democrats in the primary.
Michael Shepard, a Bellingham port commissioner, and teacher Eamonn Collins, are awaiting a hand recount starting Tuesday. Whoever comes out of that will face Republican psychologist and Blaine school board member Erika Creydt. The district has shifted to the left in recent years, so the Democrat is favored to win in November and replace Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, who isn’t seeking reelection.
Perhaps the most competitive open race coming into this election year was in the 26th District. Rep. Michelle Valdez, R-Gig Harbor, decided not to run for reelection after six terms, leaving the seat open in the purple district representing parts of Kitsap and Pierce counties.
But Democrats are hopeful they’ll add to their House majority here. Katy Cornell, a Republican nonprofit leader, won the primary, with Democrat Renee Hernandez Greenfield, who works with children with developmental needs, in second. Hernandez Greenfield has an edge going into November as she and another Democrat combined for over 50% of the primary vote.
Further west, on the Olympic Peninsula, the 24th District has an opening as longtime Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend, is retiring after missing much of the 2026 legislative session due to illness.
Former Sequim high school teacher and legislative aide Kaylee Kuehn is well positioned to replace Tharinger after getting through a crowded primary. Republican-turned-independent Marcia Kelbon won the primary easily, but the district votes reliably Democratic, so Kelbon faces tough odds in November.
Sen. Steve Conway’s retirement after more than three decades in the House and Senate means Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, is on track for a Senate seat. This leaves her House position in the 29th District, representing Pierce County.
After a six-candidate primary, it’ll be a Democrat-on-Democrat clash in November, with Tacoma Deputy Mayor Joe Bushnell and state Office of Equity adviser Patrick Stickney advancing. Bushnell led the primary.
In the 39th District in rural Skagit and Snohomish counties, former Lake Stevens City Councilmember Steve Ewing hopes to keep the position with the GOP after the retirement of Rep. Carolyn Eslick, R-Sultan. He’ll need to hold off Ida Keeley, a longtime child and family advocate from Lake Stevens who bills herself as an “Independent Democrat.”
Former Rep. Robert Sutherland, a conservative firebrand, hoped to return to the Legislature but finished third in the primary for this seat.
Rep. Sharon Wylie, D-Vancouver, decided to forgo reelection to run for Clark County auditor, after 15 years in the Legislature. She finished fourth in that local primary race.
Vancouver City Councilmember Kim Harless is poised to replace her in Olympia after running away with the primary in the 49th District. Harless, who is Mexican-American with Indigenous Mexican heritage, says she’ll bring to the Legislature her experience as a young mother who had to navigate public assistance and work multiple jobs while getting her college degree. The lone Republican in the primary, Sarah Mittelman, captured 28.5% of the August vote, enough to advance to November.
The district includes most of Vancouver and parts of Ridgefield and Camas.
Central and eastern Washington
On the other side of the mountains, one of the most influential Democrats is retiring from the state House.
Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, was his caucus’ lead budget writer. Since 2003, he has represented the 3rd District, a rare Democrat stronghold in GOP-faithful eastern Washington.
He’s likely to be replaced by Luc Jasmin III, a regional rep for Govs. Jay Inslee and Bob Ferguson. Jasmin, who is Haitian-American, also founded an organization advocating for child care centers.
Jasmin finished second in the primary, but the three Democratic candidates took more than 65% of the vote, setting himself up well for November. He’ll face Natalie Poulson, a Republican who said she lost her job after not following a mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic. She won nearly 33% of the primary vote, as the only Republican on the ballot.
The other open races in eastern Washington provide opportunities for new Republican blood in the Legislature.
After two terms, Rep. Suzanne Schmidt is leaving her 4th District position to run for Spokane County commissioner. Two Republicans are vying to replace her. Hillary Pham, former legislative assistant for Rep. Rob Chase, her potential House seatmate, is facing Trent Maier, who runs a local cidery.
Spokane County’s 6th District is set for two new House lawmakers as Reps. Mike Volz and Jenny Graham aren’t running to return to Olympia.
For one, Mead school board director Alan Nolan, a Republican, is the presumed successor after a crowded primary. He’ll face Army veteran Michaela Kelso in November.
And for the other seat, former Spokane City Councilmember Jonathan Bingle, a Republican, is poised to take over.
Sen. Judy Warnick’s retirement in the 13th District allows Rep. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, to move to the Senate unopposed.
This means his House seat is open. Three Republicans ran, with former Moses Lake City Councilmember Deanna Martinez and current Ellensburg City Councilmember Joshua Thompson making it through to November. Martinez won the primary by three percentage points.
A similar situation is playing out in the 15th District, where Sen. Nikki Torres is moving districts, letting Rep. Jeremie Dufault, R-Selah, cruise to the open Senate seat. Teacher and Yakima City Councilmember Reedy Berg, a Republican, is favored to replace Dufault, as he runs against Yakima business owner and attorney Liz Hallock, who is running under the “No Kings Party.”
A few more possibilities
There could be even more new legislators, as a few Democrats seek to hold off progressive challengers.
Three Democratic lawmakers lost their primaries but will advance to the general election.
In the 48th District on King County’s Eastside, Redmond City Council member and nonprofit leader Jessica Forsythe won the primary by just 17 votes over moderate Rep. Amy Walen, of Kirkland.
The longest-active House member, Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, lost by nearly 1,400 votes to teacher Kelabe Tewolde in the 37th District.
And in Pierce County’s 29th District, Krista Perez led Rep. Melanie Morgan, D-Parkland, by over two percentage points, though Perez now faces a drunk driving charge on allegations she crashed her truck into several parked cars days after the primary.
Democrats are also hoping to widen their majority in the state House by wresting seats from Republicans in southwest Washington.
Source: Washington State Standard
This article was originally published by Washington State Standard.
