Debra Lekanoff

Debra Lekanoff

Democratic Party

Candidate, Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

6

Compensation

Base salary

$61,997/year

Per diem

$202/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Next election

August 4, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Central Washington University, 2000

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Debra Lekanoff (Democratic Party) is a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing District 40-Position 1. She assumed office on January 14, 2019. Her current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Lekanoff (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Washington House of Representatives to represent District 40-Position 1. She declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on August 4, 2026.^[source]

Biography

Lekanoff earned a bachelor's degree from Central Washington University in 2000 and attended Evergreen College for a master's degree.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Lekanoff was assigned to the following committees:

• Rural Development, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee
• Appropriations Committee
• Environment & Energy Committee
• House Rules Committee
• Joint Water Supply During Drought Committee, Chair
• Economic Development & International Relations Committee

2021-2022

Lekanoff was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations Committee
• Rural Development, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee
• State Government & Tribal Relations Committee, Vice chair
• Economic Development & International Relations Committee

2019-2020

Lekanoff was assigned to the following committees:

• Capital Budget Committee
• Environment & Energy Committee, Vice Chair
• Rural Development, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2026

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Incumbent Debra Lekanoff is running in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
		Debra Lekanoff (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Incumbent Debra Lekanoff won election in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lekanoff (D)	96.1	63,993
		Other/Write-in votes	3.9	2,565

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 66,558
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Incumbent Debra Lekanoff advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lekanoff (D)	95.5	35,225
		Other/Write-in votes	4.5	1,669

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 36,894
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Lekanoff in this election.

2022

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Incumbent Debra Lekanoff defeated Shannon Perkes in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lekanoff (D)	69.6	53,488
	Submit photo	Shannon Perkes (R)	30.2	23,208
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	142

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 76,838
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Incumbent Debra Lekanoff and Shannon Perkes advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lekanoff (D)	93.9	34,261
✔	Submit photo	Shannon Perkes (R) (Write-in)	1.7	615
		Other/Write-in votes	4.4	1,611

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 36,487
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Incumbent Debra Lekanoff won election in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lekanoff (D)	95.7	64,898
		Other/Write-in votes	4.3	2,915

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 67,813
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Incumbent Debra Lekanoff advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lekanoff (D)	94.2	41,704
		Other/Write-in votes	5.8	2,549

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,253
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Lekanoff's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

2018

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

Debra Lekanoff defeated Michael Petrish in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lekanoff (D)	67.0	48,153
	Submit photo	Michael Petrish (R)	33.0	23,692

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 71,845
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

The following candidates ran in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lekanoff (D)	28.2	11,323
✔	Submit photo	Michael Petrish (R)	21.0	8,446
		Alex Ramel (D)	19.1	7,684
	Submit photo	Rud Browne (D)	18.4	7,394
		Daniel Miller (R)	6.7	2,686
	Submit photo	Tom Pasma (D)	6.5	2,629

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,162
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Debra Lekanoff has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Debra Lekanoff asking her to fill out the survey. If you are Debra Lekanoff, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 22,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Debra Lekanoff to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@debralekanoff.com.

2024

Debra Lekanoff did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Debra Lekanoff did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Debra Lekanoff completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lekanoff's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Representative Lekanoff has called Skagit Valley home for over 20 years. She's a working mom who successfully passed a number of bills: protecting natural resources, safety for farmworkers, funding the Housing Trust Fund, and climate change. Today, she is working to ensure families have resources to protect everyone's health and well-being during the pandemic.

Debra will continue to set a broad table for stakeholder input while focusing on economic and community recovery, healthcare, and environmental health. She is proud to represent you and is endorsed by labor organizations including nurses, grocery store workers, and teachers.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Lifting up Washington's Workforce - Washington's Workforce is critical to keeping our local community and economy moving.
• Curbing Effects of Climate Change through Policy - Expanding environmental policy and community changes to curb the effects of climate change.
• Industry Focus with Responsible Sustainability Practice - Supporting our economy through clean energy industries that keep our families and environment safe and healthy, and through green infrastructure projects, jobs and workforce training.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As I stand with salmon eggs in one hand and seeds in the other looking over the Salish Sea, I recognize that we must make early, incremental investments to ensure long term success. We cannot separate affordable housing from healthcare, workers rights, access to clean water, and the right to a healthy environment. I will continue my work with the Growth Management Act and incentivizing cities and counties to incorporate affordable housing into their land use plans so we continue to grow well and grow smart. We must support more policies that grant worker protections like paid family medical leave and a living wage, as well as policies that support basic human rights like universal healthcare and access to affordable housing near jobs, wrap-around services, public transportation, and utility infrastructure. This will mean increased density in some urban centers in the 40th district, which will have the additional benefit of protecting our salmon. Urban sprawl is one of the biggest threats to salmon health, which is a huge indicator of the health of the Salish Sea and Washington State. Policies that address systemic racism will lead to healthier communities, healthier salmon, and a healthier environment.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Debra Lekanoff campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1	Won general	$0	$0
2022	Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1	Won general	$81,660	$165,747
2020	Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1	Won general	$134,641	N/A**
2018	Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1	Won general	$171,642	N/A**
Grand total			$387,944	$165,747
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Washington

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Washington scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 7. Associated General Contractors of Washington: Senate and House Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization. Association of Washington Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community. Building Industry Association of Washington Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies. Washington Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Washington State Labor Council Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].
In 2023, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 23. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies. Washington State Labor Council Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 10 to March 10. Associated General Contractors of Washington: House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization. Building Industry Association of Washington Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies. Washington Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Washington State Labor Council Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 11 to April 25. Associated General Contractors of Washington: House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization. Building Industry Association of Washington Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies. Washington Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Washington State Labor Council Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 13 to March 12. Associated General Contractors of Washington: House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization. Association of Washington Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community. Building Industry Association of Washington Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies. Washington Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Washington State Labor Council Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 14 through April 28. Associated General Contractors of Washington House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization. NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies. Washington State Labor Council Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 8 through March 8. Associated General Contractors of Washington House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization. Association of Washington Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community. Building Industry Association of Washington Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies. Washington Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Washington State Labor Council Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

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Candidate

Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

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Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Washington House of Representatives District 40-Position 1 2019-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Washington House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Laurie Jinkins

Majority Leader:Joe Fitzgibbon

Minority Leader:Drew Stokesbary

Representatives

District 1-Position 1

Davina Duerr (D)

District 1-Position 2

Shelley Kloba (D)

District 2-Position 1

Andrew Barkis (R)

District 2-Position 2

Matt Marshall (R)

District 3-Position 1

Natasha Hill (D)

District 3-Position 2

Timm Ormsby (D)

District 4-Position 1

Suzanne Schmidt (R)

District 4-Position 2

Rob Chase (R)

District 5-Position 1

Zach Hall (D)

District 5-Position 2

Lisa Callan (D)

District 6-Position 1

Mike Volz (R)

District 6-Position 2

Jenny Graham (R)

District 7-Position 1

David Engell (R)

District 7-Position 2

Hunter Abell (R)

District 8-Position 1

Stephanie Barnard (R)

District 8-Position 2

April Connors (R)

District 9-Position 1

Mary Dye (R)

District 9-Position 2

Joe Schmick (R)

District 10-Position 1

Clyde Shavers (D)

District 10-Position 2

Dave Paul (D)

District 11-Position 1

David Hackney (D)

District 11-Position 2

Steve Bergquist (D)

District 12-Position 1

Brian Burnett (R)

District 12-Position 2

Mike Steele (R)

District 13-Position 1

Tom Dent (R)

District 13-Position 2

Alex Ybarra (R)

District 14-Position 1

Gloria Mendoza (R)

District 14-Position 2

Deb Manjarrez (R)

District 15-Position 1

Chris Corry (R)

District 15-Position 2

Jeremie Dufault (R)

District 16-Position 1

Mark Klicker (R)

District 16-Position 2

Skyler Rude (R)

District 17-Position 1

Kevin Waters (R)

District 17-Position 2

David Stuebe (R)

District 18-Position 1

Stephanie McClintock (R)

District 18-Position 2

John Ley (R)

District 19-Position 1

Jim Walsh (R)

District 19-Position 2

Joel McEntire (R)

District 20-Position 1

Peter Abbarno (R)

District 20-Position 2

Ed Orcutt (R)

District 21-Position 1

Strom Peterson (D)

District 21-Position 2

Lillian Ortiz-Self (D)

District 22-Position 1

Beth Doglio (D)

District 22-Position 2

Lisa Parshley (D)

District 23-Position 1

Tarra Simmons (D)

District 23-Position 2

Greg Nance (D)

District 24-Position 1

Adam Bernbaum (D)

District 24-Position 2

Steve Tharinger (D)

District 25-Position 1

Michael Keaton (R)

District 25-Position 2

Cyndy Jacobsen (R)

District 26-Position 1

Adison Richards (D)

District 26-Position 2

Michelle Caldier (R)

District 27-Position 1

Laurie Jinkins (D)

District 27-Position 2

Jake Fey (D)

District 28-Position 1

Mari Leavitt (D)

District 28-Position 2

Dan Bronoske (D)

District 29-Position 1

Melanie Morgan (D)

District 29-Position 2

Sharlett Mena (D)

District 30-Position 1

Jamila Taylor (D)

District 30-Position 2

Kristine Reeves (D)

District 31-Position 1

Drew Stokesbary (R)

District 31-Position 2

Josh Penner (R)

District 32-Position 1

Cindy Ryu (D)

District 32-Position 2

Lauren Davis (D)

District 33-Position 1

Edwin Obras (D)

District 33-Position 2

Mia Gregerson (D)

District 34-Position 1

Brianna Thomas (D)

District 34-Position 2

Joe Fitzgibbon (D)

District 35-Position 1

Dan Griffey (R)

District 35-Position 2

Travis Couture (R)

District 36-Position 1

Julia Reed (D)

District 36-Position 2

Liz Berry (D)

District 37-Position 1

Sharon Santos (D)

District 37-Position 2

Chipalo Street (D)

District 38-Position 1

Julio Cortes (D)

District 38-Position 2

Mary Fosse (D)

District 39-Position 1

Sam Low (R)

District 39-Position 2

Carolyn Eslick (R)

District 40-Position 1

Debra Lekanoff (D)

District 40-Position 2

Alex Ramel (D)

District 41-Position 1

Janice Zahn (D)

District 41-Position 2

My-Linh Thai (D)

District 42-Position 1

Alicia Rule (D)

District 42-Position 2

Joe Timmons (D)

District 43-Position 1

Nicole Macri (D)

District 43-Position 2

Shaun Scott (D)

District 44-Position 1

Brandy Donaghy (D)

District 44-Position 2

April Berg (D)

District 45-Position 1

Roger Goodman (D)

District 45-Position 2

Larry Springer (D)

District 46-Position 1

Gerry Pollet (D)

District 46-Position 2

Darya Farivar (D)

District 47-Position 1

Debra Entenman (D)

District 47-Position 2

Chris Stearns (D)

District 48-Position 1

Osman Salahuddin (D)

District 48-Position 2

Amy Walen (D)

District 49-Position 1

Sharon Wylie (D)

District 49-Position 2

Monica Stonier (D)

Democratic Party (59)

Republican Party (39)