Joel Kretz
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
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:
| Washington committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| • Rules |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Kretz served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| • Transportation |
| • Joint Administrative Rules Review |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kretz served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Joint Administrative Rules Review |
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| • Education |
| • Rules |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kretz served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| • Ecology and Parks |
| • Environmental Health |
| • Rules |
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
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 | ||
| ✔ | Joel Kretz (R) | 97.1 | 51,074 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.9 | 1,534 | ||
| Total votes: 52,608 | ||||
= 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 | ||
| ✔ | Joel Kretz (R) | 96.7 | 33,519 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 3.3 | 1,155 | ||
| Total votes: 34,674 | ||||
= 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 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 | ||
| ✔ | Joel Kretz (R) | 74.9 | 62,615 | |
| JJ Wandler (Independent) | 24.8 | 20,735 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 288 | ||
| Total votes: 83,638 | ||||
= 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 JJ Wandler advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Joel Kretz (R) | 76.6 | 41,264 | |
| ✔ | JJ Wandler (Independent) | 22.9 | 12,339 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 257 | ||
| Total votes: 53,860 | ||||
= 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 | ||
| ✔ | Joel Kretz (R) | 67.8 | 46,987 | |
| Mike Bell (D) | 32.2 | 22,270 | ||
| Total votes: 69,257 | ||||
= 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 | ||
| ✔ | 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 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
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 | 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 | ||
| Libertarian | ||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||
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]
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]
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 | ||
| 27,477 | 100 % | |||
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 | ||
| 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.
Scorecards
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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2024.
- Associated General Contractors of Washington — 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2023.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2022.
- Associated General Contractors of Washington — 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2021.
- Associated General Contractors of Washington — 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2020.
- Associated General Contractors of Washington — 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.
- 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 State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2019.
- Associated General Contractors of Washington — Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2018.
- Associated General Contractors of Washington — 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.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2017.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2016.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their stances on small 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2015.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Greater Spokane Incorporated — Legislators from the greater-Spokane area are scored on if they voted for/against funding for projects in the Spokane area.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2014.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Children's Campaign Fund — Legislators are scored on their votes for or against CCF's position.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their stances on small business issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2013.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Children's Campaign Fund — Legislators are scored on their votes for or against CCF's position.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their stances on small business issues.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2012.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Washington Community Action Network — Legislators are scored on their votes on 25 bills identified by WCAN to have "the most direct impact on racial equity."
- Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Washington Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WCU's position.
- Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2011.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- 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.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Kretz and his wife, Sara, have one child.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "General Election Results 2016," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2016 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 23, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 2, 2016 Primary Results," accessed August 25, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2014 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 20, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 5, 2014, Official Primary Results," accessed August 5, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Official general election results, 2014," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ C-SPAN, "AP Election Results - Washington State House of Representatives," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed July 16, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Washington House of Representatives District 7-Position 2 2005-2025 |
Succeeded by Hunter Abell (R) |
= candidate completed the