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Joel Kretz

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Joel Kretz
Image of Joel Kretz
Prior offices
Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2
Successor: Hunter Abell

Education

High school

Mercer Island High School

Personal
Profession
Ranch owner
Contact

Joel Kretz (Republican Party) was a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing District 7-Position 2. He assumed office in 2005. He left office on January 13, 2025.

Kretz (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Washington House of Representatives to represent District 7-Position 2. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Biography

Kretz received his diploma from Mercer Island High School. He then attended both Olympic Community College and Green River Community College. Kretz has been a self-employed ranch owner since 1990. Kretz has served as an officer of the 7th District Republican Precinct Committee.[1]

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

Kretz was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Kretz was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Kretz was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Washington committee assignments, 2017
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Rules

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Kretz served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Kretz served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kretz served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kretz served on the following committees:

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

2024

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2024

Joel Kretz did not file to run for re-election.

2022

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2

Incumbent Joel Kretz won election in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joel Kretz
Joel Kretz (R)
 
97.1
 
51,074
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.9
 
1,534

Total votes: 52,608
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2

Incumbent Joel Kretz advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joel Kretz
Joel Kretz (R)
 
96.7
 
33,519
 Other/Write-in votes
 
3.3
 
1,155

Total votes: 34,674
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2

Incumbent Joel Kretz defeated JJ Wandler in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joel Kretz
Joel Kretz (R)
 
74.9
 
62,615
Image of JJ Wandler
JJ Wandler (Independent)
 
24.8
 
20,735
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
288

Total votes: 83,638
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2

Incumbent Joel Kretz and JJ Wandler advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joel Kretz
Joel Kretz (R)
 
76.6
 
41,264
Image of JJ Wandler
JJ Wandler (Independent)
 
22.9
 
12,339
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.5
 
257

Total votes: 53,860
Candidate Connection = 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.

2018

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2

Incumbent Joel Kretz defeated Mike Bell in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joel Kretz
Joel Kretz (R)
 
67.8
 
46,987
Mike Bell (D)
 
32.2
 
22,270

Total votes: 69,257
Candidate Connection = 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 7-Position 2

Incumbent Joel Kretz and Mike Bell defeated Crystal Oliver and Christine Ives in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joel Kretz
Joel Kretz (R)
 
65.5
 
29,650
Mike Bell (D)
 
16.0
 
7,245
Crystal Oliver (D)
 
14.2
 
6,409
Christine Ives (Independent)
 
4.4
 
1,984

Total votes: 45,288
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Washington House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 20, 2016.

Incumbent Joel Kretz defeated Mike Foster in the Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2 general election.[2]

Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Joel Kretz Incumbent 76.86% 49,635
     Libertarian Mike Foster 23.14% 14,946
Total Votes 64,581
Source: Washington Secretary of State


Incumbent Joel Kretz and Mike Foster were unopposed in the Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2 top two primary.[3][4]

Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2 Top Two Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Joel Kretz Incumbent
    Libertarian Green check mark transparent.png Mike Foster
Source: Washington Secretary of State

2014

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Washington House of Representatives took place in 2014. A blanket primary election took place on August 5, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 17, 2014. Incumbent Joel Kretz (R) and Ronnie Rae (Centralist Party) were unopposed in the primary. Kretz defeated Rae in the general election.[5][6][7]

Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJoel Kretz Incumbent 83.1% 38,934
     Centralist Party Ronnie Rae 16.9% 7,932
Total Votes 46,866

2012

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2012

Kretz won re-election in the 2012 election for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2. Kretz was unopposed in the blanket primary on August 7, 2012, and defeated Robert Wilson (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]

Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJoel Kretz Incumbent 64.4% 36,747
     Republican Robert Wilson 35.6% 20,337
Total Votes 57,084

2010

See also: Washington State House of Representatives elections, 2010

Joel Kretz was re-elected to the Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2. He was unopposed in the August 17, 2010, primary and the November 2, 2010, general election.

Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2 Primary (2010)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Joel Kretz (R) 27,477 100 %

2008

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2008

On November 4, 2008, Republican Joel Kretz won re-election to the Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2 receiving 100.0% of the vote (46,486 votes).

Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2 (2008)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Joel Kretz (R) 37,050 52.85%

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joel Kretz did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Joel Kretz did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary


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.


Joel Kretz campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2Won general$134,556 $115,862
2020Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2Won general$104,620 N/A**
2018Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2Won general$106,590 N/A**
2016Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2Won $119,081 N/A**
2014Washington House of Representatives, District 7-Position 2Won $122,298 N/A**
2012Washington State House, District 7Won $126,636 N/A**
2010Washington State House, District 7Won $116,143 N/A**
2008Washington State House, District 7Won $58,881 N/A**
2006Washington State House, District 7Won $48,868 N/A**
2004Washington State House, District 7Won $61,950 N/A**
** 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.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

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

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.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


2012


2011

Missed Votes Report

See also: Washington House of Representatives and Washington State Senate

In March 2014, Washington Votes, a legislative information website, released its annual Missed Votes Report, which provides detailed missed roll call votes on bills for every state legislator during the 2014 legislative session.[13] The 2014 regular session included a total of 515 votes in the State House and 396 in the State Senate, as well as 1,372 bills introduced total in the legislature and 237 bills passed. Out of all roll call votes, 90 individual legislators did not miss any votes. Three individual legislators missed more than 50 votes.[13] Kretz missed 12 votes in a total of 1211 roll calls.

Freedom Foundation

See also: Freedom Foundation's Big Spender List (2012)

The Freedom Foundation releases its Big Spender List annually. The Institute ranks all Washington legislators based on their total proposed tax and fee increases. To find each legislator’s total, the Institute adds up the 10-year tax increases or decreases, as estimated by Washington’s Office of Financial Management, of all bills sponsored or co-sponsored by that legislator.[14]

2012

Kretz proposed a 10-year increase in state taxes and fees of $27.3 million, the 70th highest amount of proposed new taxes and fees of the 93 Washington state representatives on the Freedom Foundation’s 2012 Big Spender List.

See also: Washington Freedom Foundation Legislative Scorecard (2012)

The Freedom Foundation also issued its 2012 Informed Voter Guide for Washington State voters, including a legislative score card documenting how Washington State legislators voted upon bills the Foundation deemed important legislation. The legislation analyzed covered budget, taxation, and pension issues.[15] A Approveda sign indicates a bill more in line with the Foundation's stated goals, and a Defeatedd sign indicates a bill out of step with the Foundation's values. Here's how Kretz voted on the specific pieces of legislation:

2012 House Scorecard - Joel Kretz
Bill #6636 (Balanced budget requirement)Approveda Bill #5967 (House Democrats budget)Defeatedd Bill #6582 (Local transportation tax increases)Defeatedd Bill #6378 (Pension reforms)Approveda
Y N N Y

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Kretz and his wife, Sara, have one child.

See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
-
Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2
2005-2025
Succeeded by
Hunter Abell (R)


Leadership
Speaker of the House:Laurie Jinkins
Majority Leader:Joe Fitzgibbon
Minority Leader:Drew Stokesbary
Representatives
District 1-Position 1
District 1-Position 2
District 2-Position 1
District 2-Position 2
District 3-Position 1
District 3-Position 2
District 4-Position 1
District 4-Position 2
Rob Chase (R)
District 5-Position 1
Zach Hall (D)
District 5-Position 2
District 6-Position 1
Mike Volz (R)
District 6-Position 2
District 7-Position 1
District 7-Position 2
District 8-Position 1
District 8-Position 2
District 9-Position 1
Mary Dye (R)
District 9-Position 2
District 10-Position 1
District 10-Position 2
Dave Paul (D)
District 11-Position 1
District 11-Position 2
District 12-Position 1
District 12-Position 2
District 13-Position 1
Tom Dent (R)
District 13-Position 2
District 14-Position 1
District 14-Position 2
District 15-Position 1
District 15-Position 2
District 16-Position 1
District 16-Position 2
District 17-Position 1
District 17-Position 2
District 18-Position 1
District 18-Position 2
John Ley (R)
District 19-Position 1
Jim Walsh (R)
District 19-Position 2
District 20-Position 1
District 20-Position 2
Ed Orcutt (R)
District 21-Position 1
District 21-Position 2
District 22-Position 1
District 22-Position 2
District 23-Position 1
District 23-Position 2
District 24-Position 1
District 24-Position 2
District 25-Position 1
District 25-Position 2
District 26-Position 1
District 26-Position 2
District 27-Position 1
District 27-Position 2
Jake Fey (D)
District 28-Position 1
District 28-Position 2
District 29-Position 1
District 29-Position 2
District 30-Position 1
District 30-Position 2
District 31-Position 1
District 31-Position 2
District 32-Position 1
Cindy Ryu (D)
District 32-Position 2
District 33-Position 1
District 33-Position 2
District 34-Position 1
District 34-Position 2
District 35-Position 1
District 35-Position 2
District 36-Position 1
District 36-Position 2
Liz Berry (D)
District 37-Position 1
District 37-Position 2
District 38-Position 1
District 38-Position 2
District 39-Position 1
Sam Low (R)
District 39-Position 2
District 40-Position 1
District 40-Position 2
District 41-Position 1
District 41-Position 2
District 42-Position 1
District 42-Position 2
District 43-Position 1
District 43-Position 2
District 44-Position 1
District 44-Position 2
District 45-Position 1
District 45-Position 2
District 46-Position 1
District 46-Position 2
District 47-Position 1
District 47-Position 2
District 48-Position 1
District 48-Position 2
Amy Walen (D)
District 49-Position 1
District 49-Position 2
Democratic Party (59)
Republican Party (39)