Washington primary election: State legislative races to watch

Washington has 49 state legislative districts, with each home to one senator and two representatives.​

The 2026 election cycle comes just months after Democrats passed a new income tax, ignoring nearly a century of precedent from the Washington Supreme Court.

The top two candidates for each race in Tuesday’s primary will advance to the General Election on Nov. 4.

All results are preliminary as of Tuesday night.

42nd Legislative District - Senate

The 42nd district includes Bellingham up to the Canadian border and is represented entirely by Democrats.

Sen. Sharon Shewmake decided not to run for reelection last year before voting in favor of the income tax this spring. Reps. Alicia Rule and Joe Timmons both voted against the tax and advanced to the general election against two Republicans, Misty Flowers challenging Rule and Justin Pike challenging Timmons.

Republican Erika Creydt appeared as the frontrunner for the Senate race on Tuesday with 46% of the vote. The two Democratic candidates, Michael Alvarez Shepard and Eamonn Collins, were too close to call after ballot boxes closed on Tuesday, with Shepard leading at 27% by a margin of 760 or so votes.

Ryan Bowman, who states no party preference, did not advance with less than 3% of Tuesday’s vote.

The Washington State Republican Party had set its sights on the district and appeared to prevail so far.

26th Legislative District - House & Senate

WAGOP’s list of priorities also included the 26th district, which includes Gig Harbor, and is represented by both parties. Democratic Sen. Deb Krishnadasan currently occupies the Senate, while Rep. Addison Richards represents the state majority party in the House, with Rep. Michelle Valdez as the Republican.

Addison was one of seven House Democrats to vote against the income tax, and Valdez plans to retire.

Krishnadasan automatically advanced to the General Election on Tuesday after only facing Republican Gary Parker on the primary ballot. She secured 56% of the initial vote, with Parker coming in second with 43%, appearing to put Republicans in a good position to take over the Senate seat in November.

Addison, who won in 2024 with 51.8% of the vote, advanced on Tuesday with Republican David Olson, knocking Democrat Natalie Bornfleth out of the race. The incumbent secured 35% of the primary vote, with Olson, who lost a bid in 2024 to become the superintendent of public instruction, securing 43%.

For Valdez’ House seat, Republican Katy Cornell advanced on Tuesday with Democrat Renee Hernandez Greenfield, knocking out Democrat Tedd Wetherbee and Randy Phillips, who states no party preference.

Cornell secured 44% of the initial primary vote, with Greenfield securing 40% of the vote on Tuesday.

5th Legislative District - House Positions 1 & 2

The 5th legislative district, another WAGOP priority, encompasses Enumclaw and rural King County and is represented entirely by Democrats who voted for the income tax. Sen. Victoria Hunt isn’t on the ballot this year, but Reps. Zach Hall and Lisa Callan both advanced to the general election with Republicans.

Callan automatically advanced to November after only facing Republican Patrick Peacock on the August ballot, with Callan securing 57% of the initial votes counted Tuesday night and Peacock securing 42%.

Hall and Republican Michelle Bennett both advanced for the other seat, knocking out Democrat Aimee Warmerdam and Topher Leritz, who states no party preference. Hall secured 45% of Tuesday’s initial ballot count, positioning him ahead of Bennett, who came in second with 43% of the primary vote.

Tuesday’s initial ballot count positions the 5th district for a conventional partisan race this November.

Democratic Caucus Fights - 43rd, 32nd, 3rd Legislative Districts

Another race to watch is in the 43rd Legislative District, which encompasses Capitol Hill and Belltown in Seattle, as Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen seeks another term after leading the income tax effort. He will face Democratic Socialist Hannah Sabio-Howell, who says the tax didn’t go far enough.

Both advanced on Tuesday, knocking Heather-Marie Wilson, who states no party preference, out of the Senate race, with Pedersen securing 71% of the initial ballot count and Sabio-Howell securing 18%.

The race highlights an emerging shift around Seattle, as some voters appear to lean further to the left.

Attention is also on the 32nd Legislative District, as Sen. Jesse Saloman defends his seat against Rep. Cindy Ryu, a fellow Democrat hoping to join the Senate. Both lawmakers advanced to November with Saloman receiving 38% of Tuesday's vote and Ryu receiving 41%, knocking out Republican Ira McBee.

With longtime budget writer Rep. Timm Ormsby of Spokane retiring this year, voters are also honing in on the 3rd Legislative District. Four Democrats filed to run for his House seat, though it appeared too close to call on Tuesday between the frontrunners, Natalie Poulson, Luc Jasmin III and Pam Kohlmeier.​

Poulson led with 33% of the vote, Kohlmeier at 32% and Jasmin at 30%, knocking out Donovan Arnold DeLeon, who had just 4% of the vote on Tuesday night.

Republican Control - 6th, 7th, 12th Legislative Districts

When it comes to Republican controlled-districts, voters are watching central and eastern Washington.

There are two open House seats in the Republican-controlled 6th Legislative District after Reps. Jenny Graham and Mike Volz both decided to retire from the statehouse. Four Republicans and two Democrats sought to replace Volz, while a Republican, an independent and a Democrat each filed for Graham’s position.

Republican Alan Nolan and Democrat Michaela Kelso advanced in the race for Volz’s House seat. Nolan secured 26% of Tuesday’s initial ballot count, with Kelso seeing 29% of the primary vote.​

They eliminated Republicans Sueann Davis, Jennifer Morton and Isaiah Paine and Democrat Nicollete Ochletree, unless any of those four pick up more votes in the ballot counts over the next few days.

Republican Jonathan Bingle was in the lead in the race for Graham’s seat with 51% of the initial ballot count, but the race was too close to call between Democrat Julia Payne and independent Aaron Croft. Payne had 25% of the vote on Tuesday night, with Croft at 23%, and a margin of roughly 500 votes between them.

In the 7th Legislative District, Senate Republican Floor Leader Shelly Short faced two Republicans and one independent to retain her seat as Rep. Andrew Engell and Hunter Abell both advanced unopposed.

Short will face independent Ronald McCoy in November after they eliminated Republicans David Swoap and Brandon Ray Medina. Short got 58% of Tuesday’s initial ballot count with McCoy securing 28%.​

In the 12th Legislative District, Republican budget writer Rep. Mike Steele advanced with Democrat Maggie Adams, knocking fellow Republican Adam James out of the race.​

Steele secured 42% of the initial ballot count, with James seeing 33% of Tuesday’s primary vote.

Results are from the Washington Secretary of State and are subject to change as election officials process the remaining ballots in the next several days before certifying the final results by Aug. 21.