Karen Keiser

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Karen Keiser
Democratic Party
Prior offices:
Washington State Senate District 33
Years in office: 2001 - 2024
Successor: Tina Orwall (D)
Washington House of Representatives
Years in office: 1996 - 2001
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 8, 2022
Education
Bachelor's
University of California, Berkeley, 1969
Graduate
University of California, Berkeley, 1973
Personal
Religion
Christian: Lutheran
Contact
Personal Facebook
Personal LinkedIn

Karen Keiser (Democratic Party) was a member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 33. She assumed office in 2001. She left office on December 10, 2024.

Keiser (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Washington State Senate to represent District 33. She will not appear on the ballot for the primary on August 4, 2026.

Keiser was first elected as the Senate president pro tempore in 2017.[1]

Keiser retired from office before the term end.[2]

Previously, Keiser was appointed to the Washington House of Representatives in 1996 and served there until her appointment to the Senate in 2001. Keiser's first political experience began with her service as Precinct Committee Officer of the 33rd District from 1988 to 1995.[3]

Biography

Keiser earned her B.A. in political science from the University of California-Berkeley in 1969. She went on to earn her MSJ in Journalism from the University of California-Berkeley in 1973. She then graduated from John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Keiser was a reporter for several TV stations. From 1972 to 1975 she worked for KGW-TV in Oregon. She then worked for KMGH-TV in Colorado from 1975 to 1978. She went on to work for KSTW-TV in Washington from 1979 to 1981. Keiser also was Communications Director for the Washington State Labor Council from 1981 to 2006.[4]

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Keiser was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Keiser was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Keiser 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
• Commerce, Labor & Sports
• Health Care
• Ways & Means

2015 legislative session

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

2013-2014

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

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Keiser 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

2026

See also: Washington State Senate 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 State Senate District 33

Incumbent Tina Orwall is running in the primary for Washington State Senate District 33 on August 4, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Tina Orwall
Tina Orwall (D)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2022

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Washington State Senate District 33

Incumbent Karen Keiser defeated Marliza Melzer in the general election for Washington State Senate District 33 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Karen Keiser
Karen Keiser (D)
 
69.1
 
30,332
Image of Marliza Melzer
Marliza Melzer (R) Candidate Connection
 
30.7
 
13,486
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
63

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 43,881
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington State Senate District 33

Incumbent Karen Keiser advanced from the primary for Washington State Senate District 33 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Karen Keiser
Karen Keiser (D)
 
92.1
 
18,985
 Other/Write-in votes
 
7.9
 
1,639

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 20,624
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Washington State Senate District 33

Incumbent Karen Keiser defeated Kun Wang in the general election for Washington State Senate District 33 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Karen Keiser
Karen Keiser (D)
 
71.8
 
32,552
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Kun Wang (Independent Republican Party)
 
28.2
 
12,769

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 45,321
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 State Senate District 33

Incumbent Karen Keiser and Kun Wang defeated Charles Schaefer in the primary for Washington State Senate District 33 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Karen Keiser
Karen Keiser (D)
 
68.4
 
16,564
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Kun Wang (Independent Republican Party)
 
24.9
 
6,017
Image of Charles Schaefer
Charles Schaefer (L)
 
6.7
 
1,629

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 24,210
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.

2014

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for 25 districts in the Washington State Senate 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 Karen Keiser (D) and Martin Metz (R) defeated Marylin Taylor (D) in the primary. Keiser defeated Metz in the general election.[5][6][7]

Washington State Senate, District 33 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngKaren Keiser Incumbent 62.7% 18,476
     Republican Martin Metz 37.3% 10,994
Total Votes 29,470
Washington State Senate, District 33 Top Two Primary, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngKaren Keiser Incumbent 51.5% 8,364
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMartin Metz 36.2% 5,875
     Democratic Marylin J. Taylor 12.4% 2,007
Total Votes 16,246

2010

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2010

Karen Keiser was re-elected to the Washington State Senate District 33. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 17, 2010. She defeated Republican Jack Michalek in the November 2, 2010 General Election.

Washington State Senate, District 33 General Election (2010)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Karen Keiser (D) 20,559 59.78%
Jack Michalek (R) 13,833 40.22%
Washington State Senate, District 33 Primary (2010)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Karen Keiser (D) 11,107 57.77%
Green check mark transparent.png Jack Michalek (R) 8,120 42.23%

2006

In November 2006, Keiser was re-elected for the 33rd District of the Washington State Senate receiving 18,083 votes.

Keiser raised $223,090 for her campaign.[8]

Washington State Senate, District 33 (2006)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Karen Keiser (D) 18,083
Karen Steele (R) 10,898

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Karen Keiser did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Karen Keiser did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2014

Keiser's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[9]

  • Excerpt: "Excellent educational opportunities from pre-school through college."
  • Excerpt: "Excellent health care that is affordable and accessible to all."
  • Excerpt: "Economic security for our hard working families and small business owners."

Political positions

Debt negotiations

Keiser is one of the members of a bipartisan group organized by the National Conference of Legislatures called the Task Force on Federal Deficit Reduction (TFFDR). Consisting of 23 state lawmakers from 17 states,[10] the group went to Capitol Hill on September 21, 2011, to urge the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to cut the nation's debt but not impose severe budget cuts on the states.

TFFDR urged the Committee to consider new revenue as a possibility, instead of just focusing on budget cuts as House Speaker John Boehner has proposed. The group specifically proposed passage of the "Main Street Fairness Act," which would allow states to tax online retailers.[11]

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.

Karen Keiser campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Washington State Senate District 33Won general$183,420 $202,314
2014Washington State Senate, District 33Won $152,221 N/A**
2010Washington State Senate, District 33Won $117,669 N/A**
2006Washington State Senate, District 33Won $223,090 N/A**
2002Washington State Senate, District 33Won $71,471 N/A**
2000Washington State House, District 33Won $61,512 N/A**
1998Washington State House, District 33Won $50,275 N/A**
1996Washington State House, District 33Won $81,254 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Endorsements

2014

In 2014, Keiser's endorsements included the following:[12]

  • Seattle Times

Personal

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

Keiser is divorced with three children, named David, Elizabeth and Marc.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, 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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2024.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2023.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2022.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2021.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2020.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2019.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2018.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2017.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2016.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2015.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2014.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2013.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2012.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2011.

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External links

Personal

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Senate Democrats, "Keiser to serve as President Pro Tempore of the Washington State Senate," November 21, 2017
    2. ↑ Washington State Standard, "Three WA Senate Democrats are leaving their jobs. Here’s what happens next," November 22, 2024
    3. ↑ Washington State Legislature, "Legislative District Map," accessed April 10, 2014
    4. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed April 14, 2014
    5. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2014 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 20, 2014
    6. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 5, 2014, Official Primary Results," accessed August 5, 2014
    7. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Official general election results, 2014," accessed December 2, 2014
    8. ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed April 10, 2014
    9. ↑ Karen Keiser, "Priorities," accessed July 11, 2014
    10. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Task Force on Federal Deficit Reduction," accessed May 15, 2014
    11. ↑ Stateline, "State legislators want revenue on table in debt talks," September 22, 2011
    12. ↑ Seattle Times, "Editorial: The Times recommends to return Keiser to state Senate in 33rd District," July 9, 2014

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Washington State Senate District 33
    2001-2024    		 Succeeded by
    Tina Orwall (D)
    Preceded by
    -     		Washington House of Representatives
    1996-2001    		 Succeeded by
    -


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