by Bill Lucia and Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard
May 8, 2026
This is the first of two installments providing an initial look at this year’s legislative races.
With Friday’s 5 p.m. candidate filing deadline, the field is coming into focus for the 2026 Washington state primaries.
This year’s midterms are significant for state government, as all 98 seats in the state House and 24 of 49 state Senate seats are up for grabs. Progressives are trying to unseat more moderate Democrats. Other Democrats are trying to wrest positions from Republican hands to increase their majorities. And Republicans are trying to claw back any seats that they can.
Meanwhile, many new faces will arrive in Olympia next January with a slew of retirements.
Democrats currently hold a 59-39 majority in the state House and 30-19 in the Senate.
Across the state, over 1,000 candidates are running for 600-plus federal, state and local offices.
This year’s primary is Aug. 4, with the top two candidates advancing to the general election. Election Day is Nov. 3. Here’s a look at some of the notable legislative races taking shape.
3rd District
The retirement of Rep. Timm Ormsby, the chief budget writer in the state House, opens up a vacancy to represent Spokane in Olympia. The district is reliably Democratic. Ormsby won in 2024 unopposed.
Three Democrats are running to replace him. Luc Jasmin III, who has done regional outreach in eastern Washington for Govs. Bob Ferguson and Jay Inslee, has the support of Ormsby’s seatmate, Rep. Natasha Hill, D-Senate, and former Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig. Jasmin created a statewide organization advocating for early learning centers and chaired Spokane’s police oversight office.
Physician Pam Kohlmeier brings a focus on expanding access to healthcare, specifically behavioral health and addiction services.
Donovan Arnold DeLeon also filed to run as a Democrat.
Natalie Poulson is the Republican candidate. She ran against Ormsby in 2022.
5th District
State Rep. Zach Hall, D-Issaquah, was appointed to a 5th District House seat last June. The district, which includes parts of Issaquah, Black Diamond, Covington, and part of Snoqualmie, is one that Republicans have eyed as territory where they might make gains in recent years, but Democrats currently hold all three legislative seats there.
Hall replaced now-Sen. Victoria Hunt, who moved to represent the district in the Senate after Sen. Bill Ramos died unexpectedly at the end of the 2025 session. Because Hall was appointed after last year’s candidate filing deadline, he didn’t have to run in 2025. He served six years on the Issaquah City Council and also chaired the Eastside Fire and Rescue Board of Directors.
He faces competition from Michelle Bennett, a Republican with a long career in law enforcement. Bennett is currently Mercer Island’s police chief and has worked in various law enforcement roles in western Washington dating back to 1990. Bennett is highlighting opposition to an income tax as one of her top priorities. (Hall voted this year for the new income tax on millionaire earners.)
There’s also a progressive challenger in the race. Aimee Warmerdam, a Democrat, backs policies such as universal health care, a $26 minimum wage, reducing the standard workweek to 32 hours and imposing a new payroll tax on large companies.
A fourth candidate, Topher Leritz, who does not have any party affiliation, also filed Friday to run for the seat.
11th District
Rep. David Hackney, D-Renton, was first elected to represent the 11th District in 2020. This year, he’s drawn a challenger from within his own party.
Democrat Ashley Fedan is a nurse and Navy veteran who started a business as a certified registered nurse anesthetist. She’s also active in the Democratic Party’s grassroots, serving as a precinct committee officer in the 11th District and previously as chair of the 28th District Democrats. The 11th covers Tukwila, Renton and parts of Kent.
Hackney, an attorney, is vice chair of the Consumer Protection and Business Committee and sits on the Environment and Energy, Transportation, and Legislative Ethics Committees.
A Republican, Christian Rombough, has also filed to run for Hackney’s seat.
26th District
It’s one of the few legislative districts in the state still considered a battleground and it’s seeing some action this year. In 2025, the 26th, which spans parts of Pierce and Kitsap counties, was the site of a hotly contested race between Sen. Deb Krishnadasan, D-Gig Harbor, and state Rep. Michelle Valdez, R-Gig Harbor.
Krishnadasan won and is on the ballot again because she secured a partial term in a special election. She was appointed to the seat after it was vacated when Emily Randall was elected to Congress. Gary Parker, a restaurant owner and philanthropist, is running against Krishnadasan.
Meanwhile, Valdez, whose last name was previously Caldier, isn’t seeking reelection in the House after six terms. Into that void have stepped four contenders — two Democrats, a Republican and a candidate without a party affiliation.
One Democrat is Renee Hernandez Greenfield, who is a speech and language trainer working with children and families. She’s also worked as a child protective services investigator for the Suquamish Tribe. Randall and the Kitsap County Democrats have endorsed Greenfield.
The other Democrat is Tedd Wetherbee, an entrepreneur who highlights his experience in international development. Local officials like Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello and Tacoma Mayor Anders Ibsen have lined up behind him.
The Republican is Katy Cornell, a pastor who co-leads a nonprofit that has focused on projects involving clean water, healthcare and other development issues in West Africa.
Another candidate, Randy Phillips, who lists an address in Gig Harbor, is also running, but without a party affiliation.
But wait, there’s more.
Rep. Adison Richards, D-Gig Harbor, an attorney who has worked on housing law issues and one of the handful of Democrats who voted against the income tax on millionaire earners this year, is facing primary competition from a fellow Democrat. Natalie Bornfleth is an Air Force veteran who is now a public school teacher involved in union leadership.
Also in the mix for Richards’ seat: Republican David Olson, vice president of the Peninsula School District, who ran unsuccessfully to be state superintendent of public instruction in 2024.
29th District
Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, is running to replace longtime Sen. Steve Conway, who is retiring. That opens up a spot in the House that has attracted four Democratic hopefuls and two Republicans.
The Democrats include: Patrick Stickney, a senior policy and legislative affairs advisor at the state’s Office of Equity; Joe Bushnell, who’s deputy mayor of Tacoma; Erin Chapman-Smith, the executive director of ROOTS Young Adult Shelter in Seattle; and Natasha Laitila, who has worked as a legislative assistant for Rep. Jamila Taylor and Sen. Bob Hasegawa and took part in in efforts to unionize legislative staff.
Darek Blum and Sheri Hayes are the Republicans in the race.
The district votes reliably Democratic and Mena ran for the House seat last time unopposed.
Meanwhile, Rep. Melanie Morgan, D-Spanaway, faces a Democratic challenger as she seeks reelection. Krista Perez has been involved in a number of business and nonprofit ventures and is an author of a book on how marginalized groups can implement transformative and healing practices in their communities.
Morgan, is an Army veteran, former school board director and has worked in various housing-related roles. She serves as vice chair of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
Brett Johnson, a Republican who lost to Morgan in 2022, is running again.
32nd District
A crowded race of Democrats has formed in this deep blue district representing north King County and south Snohomish County, with state Rep. Cindy Ryu, D-Shoreline, choosing to challenge fellow Democrat Jesse Salomon for his Senate seat.
Five Democrats and one Republican have filed for Ryu’s seat. They are Edmonds City Councilmembers Jenna Nand and Will Chen, Shoreline City Councilmember Keith Scully, consumer protection attorney Danica Noble and Chris Bloomquist, who runs an environmental- and technology-focused recruiting firm. Noble leads the early fundraising race. Republican Lisa Rezac, who lost to Ryu in 2024, is running again.
Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Seattle, also faces a Democrat-on-Democrat clash, against Imraan Siddiqi, the executive director of the Washington chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. They’re the only two candidates running.
Ryu and Salomon are joined by Republican Ira McBee in the Senate race.
42nd District
This Whatcom County district features one of the few open Senate seats, and a rare opportunity for Republicans, as they held this seat as recently as 2021. Four candidates are seeking the position vacated by Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham.
Shewmake is supporting Bellingham port commissioner Michael Shepard to replace her. He also has Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen’s backing. Republican Erika Creydt, a psychologist, hopes to turn the district red, cutting into the Democrats’ 29-20 majority in the Senate.
Eamonn Collins, a teacher and former U.S. Senate adviser who leads a community land trust, is also running as a Democrat. Ryan Bowman filed to run without listing a party preference.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.