A procrastinator’s guide to the 2018 midterm election

Attempts to rein in carbon producers have not been successful in Washington state. Governor Jay Inslee has urged the legislature to push through legislation in 2014 and then again earlier this year, to no avail. In 2016, a carbon tax made its way to the ballot, but was handily defeated. Now comes I-1631, a carbon “fee” that would be applied to most businesses that emit carbon, though some industries and employers are left off the list. Those impacted would pay $15 per ton starting in 2020, a fee that would increase by $2 each year until reduction goals are met. The bulk of revenue would be invested in clean energy, with the remainder going to protect natural resources and assist communities overburdened by pollution.

I-1634 would prevent cities and towns throughout Washington from enacting new taxes or fees or raising existing ones on food or beverage “grocery items.” No municipality in the state taxes the sale of food at grocery stores currently, but Seattle passed a “sweetened beverage” tax in 2017. I-1634’s proponents say Seattle’s tax showed there was a loophole that would allow cities to pass taxes on food. Opponents say it is an effort by the soda industry to block local municipalities from following Seattle’s lead on soda and sweetened beverage taxation. Of the $20.2 million in Yes on 1634 campaign contributions, more than $19.9 million comes from Coca Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper and Snapple.

For the third election in a row, Washington voters will decide whether to expand gun regulation in the state. Voters overwhelmingly approved measures in 2014 and 2016, but this year’s is the most significant suite of changes. If passed, the law would raise the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21 and expand background checks while imposing a 10-day waiting period for the same firearms. The measure would also require gun owners to securely store their firearms and increase penalties up to a felony if a weapon is allowed into the hands of someone not authorized to possess one. Gun sellers would also be required to inform a buyer of the risks of a firearm. The measure nearly didn’t make the ballot after a Thurston County judge deemed the language unclear. But the Washington State Supreme Court reinstated it.

What rules should govern how the police use deadly force? Initiative 940 seeks to lower the standard by which officers can be convicted of unjustified shootings. As the law is written now, “malice” must be demonstrated by the officer, a bar so high that some prosecutors say it’s virtually impossible to successfully bring negligent shooting charges against an officer. The initiative proposes removing the “malice” language and stipulates officer de-escalation and mental health training, officer-administered first aid following the shooting of a victim, and independent investigations of deadly force incidents. How the initiative made it to the ballot is a bit of a head-spinner, and what hand the legislature may have in modifying or amending this or another version of the law is worth reading up on.

Advisory Vote No. 19 asks the electorate to repeal or maintain an expenditure that would strengthen oil transportation safety. The taxes in question provide money for oil-spill prevention and cleanup preparedness. (Note: Advisory Votes are non-binding expressions of voter approval or disapproval of certain taxes. Read more about their history here.)

Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, is facing a challenge from Susan Hutchison, the former Republican Party state chair. Cantwell is seeking her fourth term representing the state in the Senate, where she is the ranking minority member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Generally considered willing to work across party lines, she has opposed drilling and mining expansions proposed by the Trump administration while advocating for money to fight forest fires. Hutchison, a former KIRO 7 news anchor, was an early supporter of Donald Trump among state Republicans and has criticized Cantwell’s opposition to tax cuts. She says she will support the appointment of conservative Supreme Court justices and a strong military.

The Democrat Suzan DelBene is seeking her fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. DelBene has focused on job creation throughout her tenure, like in her 2017 bill to boost veteran employment or her support for the passage of a 2014 farm bill that sought to aid farming families through investments and funding. Her Republican challenger, a longtime small business owner named Jeffrey Beeler, has been re-elected three times to the Sultan City Council. Beeler has said he supports the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and believes government should not impede the free market.

A rising star in the Democratic party, Rep. Pramila Jayapal quickly found a comfortable stride in the U.S. House of Representatives after being elected in 2016. She was one of the first Democrats to support abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and made national news after visiting with asylum-seekers at a federal immigration detention center in Tacoma and learning of the Trump administration's policy of separating children from their families at the U.S. border. Her Republican opponent, Craig Keller, is the founder of Respect Washington, a group opposed to Burien’s sanctuary city policy that critics have called an anti-immigrant hate group. Keller is from West Seattle.

The race for the 8th is by far the most hotly anticipated contest in the state. The district has sent only Republican representatives to Washington D.C., but voters have sided with the Democratic nominee for president every year since 1992. After seven-term incumbent Dave Reichert announced his retirement, Democrats began targeting the district as flippable. The task for Democrats will not be easy, however. Republican candidate Dino Rossi has the name recognition of an incumbent, having served in the State Legislature and run three statewide races. Although he lost all three, he consistently won in the 8th. By contrast, Democrat Dr. Kim Schrier is a newcomer. The race has attracted an enormous amount of money — around $25 million at last count, making it the most expensive in the state’s history. While the national Democrats could take the House without it, for Republicans it’s a must-win.

Thanks to Washington’s top-two primary system, this battle for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives has no bearing on the balance of power in the other Washington. Rather the two candidates here — who happen to share a surname, as well as a political party — are fighting for the direction of the Democratic party. Adam Smith is a veteran lawmaker who has represented this district, which currently stretches from Tacoma to Bellevue, for more than two decades. In that time he has firmed up support in the district and in his party while leaning left on immigration, taxation and health care. Sarah Smith is a progressive and a newcomer to politics, who volunteered for the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016 and is highly critical of the other Smith’s hawkish record on defense and his vote for the bill that created Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Federal Way’s Mark Miloscia, a fierce government accountability advocate and Democrat-turned-Republican, has been involved in state politics since 1998, first as a member of the House of Representatives and later of the state Senate. He’s been critiqued by liberals for his views on social issues — he’s avidly pro-life and voted for an anti-trans bathroom bill — and officially switching parties in 2014. His Democratic challenger, Claire Wilson, is the president of the Federal Way School Board and a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ community.

Mike Pellicciotti, a Federal Way Democrat, is up for re-election for the first time. A former deputy prosecuting attorney in South King County, Pellicciotti has made a name for himself advocating for the rights of low-income people to receive legal aid. He is also a strong supporter of government transparency and has fought to limit the flow of dark money into politics. His opponent, Republican Linda Kochmar, served in the state Legislature from 2013 to 2017. She considers herself a fiscal conservative and has fought to keep taxes low.

Kristine Reeves, a Federal Way Democrat and full-time economist for the state, was elected to the House of Representative two years ago. She has made her mark since then by sponsoring bills that support veteran families, advocating for paid family and medical leave, and securing money for both small businesses and local infrastructure. Her opponent, Republican Mark Greene, is a Marine Corp. veteran who believes the “radical left” is “changing the mores of our country.” Greene supports protecting the state’s environment and incentivizing private developers to build “YMCA-style” buildings throughout the state of Washington.

In a race that has splintered the Democratic party, incumbent state Senator Maralyn Chase, of Edmonds, is running for her third term against Shoreline’s deputy mayor and former King County public defender, Jesse Salomon. Both are advocates for doing away with tax exemptions, reducing property taxes, and finding other ways to get money into the state’s coffers. This year, Chase championed a task force aimed at providing workers with skills to compete in a tech-heavy, globalized world. Salomon has worked to increase investments for early-childhood education. In the primary, Salomon edged Chase by a percentage point.

Democratic incumbent Cindy Ryu, the former mayor of Shoreline, is facing off against Diodato Boucsieguez, a recent graduate of University of Washington. Boucsieguez was active in conservative campus politics and is a first-time candidate for public office.

Democratic candidate Lauren Davis has made a name for herself as a fierce advocate for those suffering with substance-abuse and mental health problems. She championed the so-called “Ricky’s Law,” which allows for involuntary treatment of people who are a danger to themselves or others. Her opponent is Frank Deisler, a former New York paramedic and Republican who opposes tax increases and safe-injection sites, and would like to end “sanctuary city type policies” across the state.

Longtime Democratic incumbent Karen Keiser has championed efforts in the state Senate to expand workplace protections for women and to help prevent sexual harassment. Her opponent, Kun Wang, runs a family business and opposes higher taxes. He identifies as an “independent Republican” and has vowed to “get tough” on the homelessness crisis.

Rep. Mia Su-Ling Gregerson is a transportation advocate from SeaTac, where she has served as both a city council member and mayor. She was elected to the state Legislature in 2013. Her opponent, first-time candidate and Republican Anthony Lamb, opposes Sound Transit light-rail and believes in providing private school vouchers for students looking to exit the public school system.

The 34th District — an interesting political battleground comprised of Vashon Island, West Seattle, White Center and Burien — is exposing rifts in the local left. Shannon Braddock and Joe Nguyen are running to replace retiring state Senate Majority Leader Sharon Nelson, the Democrat from Maury Island. Braddock, currently the deputy chief of staff for King County Executive Dow Constantine, has worked in local politics for years and holds center-left views on many issues. She is a single mother of three and has been endorsed by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Nguyen — a senior manager at Microsoft, member of King County law enforcement’s community advisory committee, and son of a Vietnamese immigrant mother — leans further left. Both candidates support a capital gains tax.

Longtime state Senator Reuven Carlyle — representing Queen Anne, Magnolia, and Ballard — won 89 percent of the vote in the August primary. His opponent, the libertarian Bryan Simonson, ran unsuccessfully for the 41st District Senate Senate two years ago. He is a senior consultant at Campfire Analytics.

A progressive incumbent Democrat from Seattle, Noel Frame is vying for her second term in the state Legislature. Her libertarian opponent, Sydney Gillman Wissel, is from Magnolia and runs an online clothing store.

Gael Tarleton, a Ballard Democrat, is vying for her fourth term in the state Legislature. Tarleton has served as a port commissioner, and, before that, worked as a senior defense analyst specializing in port security. She’s also been a strong advocate for expanding access to higher education. Her opponent, Matt Dubin, is a libertarian personal-injury lawyer from Magnolia. A first-time candidate, he’s fed up with two-party politics, a sentiment captured in his campaign slogan: “There is no them.”

In 2016, Rebecca Saldaña took up a vacant seat in the state Senate left by Pramila Jayapal, who won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Now, the incumbent is facing off against Hebrew teacher Beth Broadway, a first-time candidate. Saldaña won the August primary with 90 percent of the vote.

Democratic Rep. ErIc Pettigrew has represented South Seattle for 16 years. His opponent, a longtime realtor named Tamra Smilanich, has run against Pettigrew unsuccessfully three times. Pettigrew garnered almost 90 percent of the vote in the August primary.

Rep. Tana Senn, a Democrat incumbent from Mercer Island, is an advocate for women, families, and children. She’s championed pay equity legislation, worked to end the state’s rape kit backlog, and advocated for investments in early childhood education. She is the vice chair of the House Early Learning and Human Services committee. Her Republican opponent, retired U.S. Navy Seal Tim Cruikshank, considers himself a fiscally responsible conservative. He opposes new taxes and advocates for government transparency.

Democrat My-Linh Thai, a first-time candidate who serves as Bellevue School Board president, is facing off against Republican Michael Appleby, a small business owner and second-time candidate for the state Legislature. Thai supports more robust funding for public education, protecting the environment and advocating for equity and affordability. Appleby, too, is concerned with education and believes Washington must spend more to improve special education, hire more middle school counselors, and strengthen schools’ financial reserves.

Incumbent Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat from Puyallup, has served in the state Legislature since 2006, first in the House and then, in 2013, in the Senate. He is vying to become the Senate’s next majority leader. His Republican opponent, Dan Harder, is a Boeing engineer. Pedersen won the primary with 91 percent of the vote.

Rep. Nicole Macri, deputy director of Seattle’s Downtown Emergency Service Center, is running for a second term in the state Legislature. A Democrat, she has pushed for increased spending on homelessness and housing assistance and worked to pass a ban on conversion therapy. She won the primary, against Republican John Peeples, with 91 percent of the vote. Peeples says he supports increasing the state’s “rainy day fund” and advocates for both charter schools and homeschooling.

Rep. Frank Chopp, the state’s Speaker of the House, is a longtime stalwart of Democratic politics in Olympia (but not exactly a lefty darling). His opponent, Claire Torstenbo, is running on a platform aimed at addressing homelessness in Seattle. She says we need to “bolster our mental health system and enforce our drug laws.” Chopp won the primary with 88 percent of the vote.

A county prosecutor from Redmond, Democratic Rep. Manka Dhingra is running for her first full term in the state Senate (after winning a special election last year). Dhingra serves as vice chair of the Senate Law and Justice and Human Service and Corrections committee. Her Republican opponent, Dale Fonk, is a business owner and developer from Woodinville. Fonk advocates for car-tab and property tax relief.

Rep. Roger Goodman, a Kirkland Democrat, has been a member of the state House of Representatives since 2007. Goodman, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, has helped crack down on drunk driving, sponsored legislation to expand access to early childhood education for low-income families, and had a hand in reforming domestic violence laws. He’s known as a highly effective legislator — half the bills he’s introduced have become law. His opponent, Republican Michael Curtis, has worked in the technology sector as a “technical cloud architect.” Curtis has argued for increasing transparency in the legislature and “modernizing the legislative process.”

Rep. Larry Springer, a Democrat from Kirkland, has served the 45th legislative district since 2004. He’s made a name for himself as a moderate Democrat prioritizing education, transportation and housing. Springer was a member of “Sunshine Committee” — the group that reviews exemptions to the Public Records Act — when the Senate rushed through a bill that claimed lawmakers were not subject to the law. (The bill ended up stalling, in part because of massive public outcry). Springer’s Republican opponent is Amber Krabach, a first-time candidate and stay-at-home mom who advocates reigning in taxes and encouraging school choice.

David Frockt is running for a third term in the state Senate. He has given special focus this last year to gun regulations, hoping to make schools safer and mitigate the horrors of mass shootings by raising the legal age to buy semi-automatic rifles, from 18 to 21. He supports a single-payer health care system. His opponent is Beth Daranciang, the current president of the Bothell/North King Republican Women’s Club. She has a background in public health and has criticized the state’s updated surrogacy law.

Rep. Gerry Pollet, a Democrat from North Seattle, is a public interest lawyer and environmental activist. He has worked to increase funding for public higher education and keep funding stable for early childhood education. He supports a capital gains tax and an income tax. His Republican opponent, Jeff Patton, grew up in Lake City. He opposes an income tax and strongly supports the second amendment.

Javier Valdez, son of immigrant farm workers, is vying for his first full-term after taking up a vacant seat left by former Seattle mayoral candidate Jessyn Farrell, in 2017. A longtime Democratic party activist (he founded the King County Young Democrats), Valdez has focused on repealing I-200, the initiative which blocked affirmative action in Washington. He is also an advocate for mass transit. His opponent, Republican Jerry Zeiger-Buccola, is a real estate broker concerned with over-taxation and over-regulation. Valdez won the August primary with 84 percent of the vote.

In September, the 47th Legislative District race for state Senate took a dramatic turn after two-term Republican incumbent Joe Fain was accused of rape by Candace Faber, who has worked as a liaison between the city of Seattle and the tech industry.. Fain has denied the allegation and called for an investigation (which, at the time of this writing, has yet to occur). Fain is considered a centrist and has worked on education policy and family and medical leave, as well as the financial aid needs of undocumented students. His opponent, a Democrat business owner named Mona Das, is somewhat new to politics. Born in India, her family immigrated to the U.S. when she was a child; she currently lives in Covington. Das supports a slate of progressive agenda items, including a capital gains tax and expanding access to affordable housing in the suburbs.

Incumbent Republican Mark Hargrove is a veteran Air Force pilot, running now for his fifth term in the state Legislature. He has long supported fiscal responsibility and small businesses, and holds conservative views on a number of social issues. He supported efforts to roll back the state’s inclusive trans bathroom bill, and he’s earned an ‘F’ rating from NARAL Pro-Choice Washington for his positions on abortion. His opponent, Debra Entenman, is a longtime staffer for U.S. Rep. Adam Smith. From Kent, Entenman grew up in low-income housing, raised a family, went to Seattle University, then entered politics. She supports expanding opportunities from kindergarten through higher education.

The key accomplishment for Pat Sullivan this term came when the House majority leader helped rewrite the way that schools are funded. The reception to that new plan has been mixed, but the former Covington mayor stands by his work and would like to stick around to see it unfold. He is less bullish on his decision to support Senate Bill 6617, which would have exempted some lawmaker communications from state public records law if the governor hadn’t vetoed it. If re-elected, he says he would also like to reform the state Department of Transportation. His opponent Ted Cooke is a software tester, also from Covington, who is opposed to new taxes and wishes to shrink the size of state government. He also would like to end state cooperation with the Affordable Care Act and opposes climate change policies that he believes would put the state at a competitive disadvantage.

Incumbent Democrat Patty Kuderer is running against Rodney Tom, a Democrat trying to make a return to the Senate after deciding to not run for re-election in 2014. Tom was a Democrat before joining with Republicans to pass a GOP-oriented budget in the 2012 session. He then led the Republican-dominated Majority Coalition Caucus as a Democrat. While Tom is positioning himself as a moderate, Kuderer has been backed by mainstream Democratic groups.

Kirkland mayor and Democrat Amy Walen handily won the August primary against a similarly left-leaning candidate Cindi Bright. Walen garnered 76 percent of the vote. Both progressive Democrats, the two diverge on the issue of legalizing homegrown weed, according to the Stranger (Bright is said to be enthusiastic about legalization). Walen has worked as an executive at car dealerships and serves as president of the Sound Cities Association (she also serves on the Puget Sound Regional Council). Walen supports regulating guns and increasing access to affordable housing. She wants to put the breaks on property taxes but supports taxing capital gains. Bright, a radio host and leadership consultant, serves on the board of directors for the Seattle Urban League.

It looked like King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg would have his first challenger in 11 years. But Daron Morris — a public defender — dropped his campaign for unspecified health reasons. His name still appears on the ballot, however, because he didn’t end his campaign in time. By most standards, Satterberg is among the more progressive prosecutors in the country, namely in his work pushing for more diversion programs. But local activists are weary of his support for the construction of a new youth prison. Although Morris is no longer a candidate, his campaign does appear to have had one effect: Satterberg, who once identified as a Republican, officially declared himself a Democrat. The race is non-partisan, so it’s mostly a symbolic declaration, but the Morris campaign has celebrated the change regardless.

Incumbent Supreme Court Justice Steve González has been rated as “exceptionally well qualified” by the King County Bar Association, the Washington Association of Prosecution Attorneys and at least nine other organizations. His opponent is Nathan Choi, a Bellevue attorney who doesn’t appear to have sought ratings from legal organizations. Nevertheless, there is some concern that González could have a close race, because of the state’s history of voting influenced by ethnicity. In the 2012 election, he won — becoming the first candidate with a Latino surname to win election to a statewide office — but saw his opponent, who didn’t campaign or raise any money, get 42 percent of the vote.

Joe Campagna, a trial attorney handling state and federal cases with Schroeter Goldmark Bender, faces Les Ponomarchuk, a county Superior Court commissioner. Both candidates received ratings of “exceptionally well qualified” from the King County Bar Association. Campagna’s endorsements include those of all nine state Supreme Court justices; Ponomarchuk is endorsed by a number of county Superior Court judges.

This race features two attorneys with extensive experience, including service as pro-tem judges for the King County District Court. Marcus Naylor is a supervising attorney in the King County Department of Public Defense and boasts an “exceptionally well qualified” rating from the King County Bar Association. Joshua Schaer is an attorney with Perkins Coie and served eight years on the Issaquah City Council; he has a number of “well qualified” ratings.

The city levy would provide $620 million over seven years to expand preschool for lower-income families, support academic improvements and student health programs in Seattle Public Schools, and provide tuition for two years of community college under the Seattle Promise program. It replaces separate academic and preschool levies that are expiring. Supporters say that the plan will significantly improve equity for lower-income and disadvantaged students while helping all students academically and ensuring students are healthy. Opponents have raised questions about the cost and the eligibility of charter schools for preschool funding.