John Koster
John Koster is a former Republican member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing District 39-Position 2 from January 2017 to August 2017. Koster resigned from the state House in order to run a state agency responsible for distributing gas tax dollars for road projects.[1]
Koster was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of Washington. He lost to Suzan DelBene (D) in the November general election.[2]
Koster has served as a Snohomish County council member.[3]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Capital Budget |
| • Rules |
| • State Government, Elections & Information Technology |
Campaign themes
2016
Koster's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
Funding Schools…without new taxes:
Fix a Broken Transportation System:
Early Prisoner Release Scandal:
|
” |
| —John Koster, [5] | ||
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
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 Elizabeth Scott (R) did not seek re-election.
John Koster defeated Ronda Metcalf in the Washington House of Representatives, District 39-Position 2 general election.[6]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 39-Position 2 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  John Koster |
60.96% | 37,250 | |
| Democratic | Ronda Metcalf | 39.04% | 23,854 | |
| Total Votes | 61,104 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Ronda Metcalf and John Koster defeated Shane Driscoll in the Washington House of Representatives District 39-Position 2 top two primary.[7][8]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 39-Position 2 Top Two Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Ronda Metcalf |
38.21% | 9,920 | |
| Republican | John Koster |
57.09% | 14,821 | |
| Libertarian | Shane Driscoll | 4.70% | 1,220 | |
| Total Votes | 25,961 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
2012
Koster ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Washington's 1st District.[9] He and Suzan DelBene advanced past the blanket primary and faced off in the general election on November 6, 2012.[10] DelBene won.
With incumbent Jay Inslee (D) retiring and redistricting changing the district's boundaries, the 1st had the potential to go from blue to red.[3]
A large field of Democrats competed for the party nod, but Koster was unopposed on the Republican ticket. Early polling put Koster well ahead of Democratic frontrunner Darcy Burner.[3]
As of late July, polling had Republican Koster leading his challengers: five Democrats and an independent. The same data showed Democratic candidate Suzan DelBene overtaking Darcy Burner for the second slot, thanks largely to a TV ad blitz from DelBene.[11]
At a July event, the candidates had an opportunity to name their highest priority. Burner raised concerns about Super PACs and voiced support of the Affordable Care Act. DelBene said she would focus on job creation. Darshan Rauniyar and Steve Hobbs promised to bring a new face to politics. Laura Ruderman stressed greater health care access. The only Republican in the race, Koster emphasized the need for smaller government.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Suzan DelBene |
53.9% | 177,025 | |
| Republican | John Koster | 46.1% | 151,187 | |
| Total Votes | 328,212 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
One month short term special election
Koster also ran in a special election to fill retiring representative Jay Inslee's seat for a one-month term before the 2012-2014 term begins. The special election took place on the same primary and general election dates as the full term. Washington was redistricted in 2012; the short-term replacement was elected by the pre-2012 district, and the representative for 2012-2014 was elected by the newly redrawn district.[13]
Koster joined full-term challengers Suzan DelBene (D), Laura Ruderman (D), Darcy Burner (D), and Darshan Rauniyar (D), along with six candidates running just for the one-month term: J. Byron Holcomb (D), Brian Berry (D), Brian Sullivan (D), Ruth Morrison (D), Steven Gerdes (R), and Bob Champion (I).[14] As in the full-term election, the top two vote-getters in the August 7 primary went on the general election ballot.[15]
DelBene defeated Koster in the special election, as well as in the election for the full next term.[16]
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 Washington scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2017
In 2017, the Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 9 through April 23. There were also special sessions. The first special session was April 24 through May 23. The second special session was May 23 through June 21. The third special session was June 21 through July 20.
- 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 reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative 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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms John Koster Washington House. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Washington House of Representatives
- Washington House of Representatives District 39
- Washington House of Representatives elections, 2016
- Washington State Legislature
- Washington's 1st Congressional District elections, 2012
- Washington's 1st Congressional District
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Herald Net, "Arlington’s Koster stepping down to lead small state agency," July 21, 2017
- ↑ CNN "Washington Districts Race - 2012 Election Center"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Seattle Times, "The race is on to fill new 1st Congressional District," May 12, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Elect John Koster, "Issues," accessed July 11, 2016
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Seattle PI "Watkins out, endorses Koster in the 1st," January 29, 2012
- ↑ AP Primary Results
- ↑ Seattle Times, "Voters face crowded ballots for 1st District," July 31, 2012
- ↑ Seattle Times, "Congressional District 1 candidates stake their ground, as poll shows movement," July 28, 2012
- ↑ Seattle Times, "Special election to replace Inslee for 1 month," April 2, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings," accessed May 18, 2012
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedfaq - ↑ Seattle Times, "2012 Washington Election Results"
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Elizabeth Scott (R) |
Washington House of Representatives District 39-Position 2 January 2017 - August 2017 |
Succeeded by Carolyn Eslick (R) |
