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Marko Liias

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Marko Liias
Image of Marko Liias

Democratic Party

Candidate, Washington State Senate District 21

Washington State Senate District 21
Tenure

2014 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

11

Prior offices
Washington House of Representatives District 21-Position 2

Compensation

Base salary

$60,191/year

Per diem

$202/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 8, 2022

Next election

August 4, 2026

Appointed

January 22, 2014

Personal
Religion
Christian
Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official Instagram

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Marko Liias (Democratic Party) is a member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 21. He assumed office in 2014. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Liias (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Washington State Senate to represent District 21. He declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on August 4, 2026.[source]

Liias previously served in the Washington House of Representatives, representing District 21-Position 2 from 2008 to 2014.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Liias earned his B.S.F.S. in international politics from Georgetown University in 2003 and his M.P.A. from the University of Washington in 2017.

Liias has served on the Mukilteo City Council and was Student Director of the Mukilteo School Board and Precinct Committee Officer for Mukilteo 09. He also served as an intern for United States Congressman Jay Inslee of Washington and Eliot Engel of New York.

He has worked as a Researcher for KING-5, a Freelance Reporter for Mukilteo Beacon, a general contractor, and a small business owner. From 2003 to 2008, he was Vice President of Rick Liias Construction Inc.[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

Liias was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Liias was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Liias 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
• Rules
• Transportation

2015 legislative session

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

2013-2014

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

2011-2012

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

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Liias 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 21

Incumbent Marko Liias is running in the primary for Washington State Senate District 21 on August 4, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Marko Liias
Marko Liias (D)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

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Endorsements

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2022

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Washington State Senate District 21

Incumbent Marko Liias defeated Janelle Cass in the general election for Washington State Senate District 21 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Marko Liias
Marko Liias (D)
 
63.2
 
36,363
Image of Janelle Cass
Janelle Cass (R) Candidate Connection
 
36.6
 
21,069
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
60

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

Total votes: 57,492
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington State Senate District 21

Incumbent Marko Liias and Janelle Cass advanced from the primary for Washington State Senate District 21 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Marko Liias
Marko Liias (D)
 
62.7
 
21,645
✔
Image of Janelle Cass
Janelle Cass (R) Candidate Connection
 
37.1
 
12,821
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
66

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

Total votes: 34,532
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.

2020

Editor's note: In some states, write-in candidates who appear on official general election ballots do not receive individual vote totals if the number of votes they receive does not change the outcome of the election. In these instances, the total votes for all write-in candidates in the election are reported as a single sum, and the total votes for official write-in candidates who appeared on the ballot are reported as zero.

See also: Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Washington

Denny Heck defeated Marko Liias and Joshua Freed in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Washington on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Denny Heck
Denny Heck (D)
 
45.6
 
1,658,405
Image of Marko Liias
Marko Liias (D)
 
33.5
 
1,218,548
Image of Joshua Freed
Joshua Freed (R) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0
 Other/Write-in votes
 
20.9
 
759,076

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,636,029
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 Lieutenant Governor of Washington

The following candidates ran in the primary for Lieutenant Governor of Washington on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Denny Heck
Denny Heck (D)
 
25.0
 
596,289
✔
Image of Marko Liias
Marko Liias (D)
 
18.5
 
441,791
Image of Ann Davison
Ann Davison (R)
 
12.0
 
285,597
Image of Marty McClendon
Marty McClendon (R)
 
11.4
 
271,995
Image of Dick Muri
Dick Muri (R)
 
10.1
 
241,939
Image of Michelle Jasmer
Michelle Jasmer (D)
 
8.9
 
212,387
Image of Joseph Brumbles
Joseph Brumbles (R)
 
7.3
 
174,823
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
James Rafferty (D)
 
2.4
 
57,405
Image of Bill Penor
Bill Penor (R)
 
2.1
 
49,225
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Matt Seymour (L)
 
1.1
 
27,125
Image of Jared Frerichs
Jared Frerichs (L) Candidate Connection
 
0.9
 
20,847
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
5,205

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

Total votes: 2,384,628
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2018

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Washington State Senate District 21

Incumbent Marko Liias defeated Mario Lionel Lotmore in the general election for Washington State Senate District 21 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Marko Liias
Marko Liias (D)
 
63.2
 
37,567
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Mario Lionel Lotmore (R)
 
36.8
 
21,914

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

Total votes: 59,481
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 21

Incumbent Marko Liias and Mario Lionel Lotmore defeated Riaz Khan and Scott West in the primary for Washington State Senate District 21 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Marko Liias
Marko Liias (D)
 
48.8
 
15,176
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Mario Lionel Lotmore (R)
 
31.0
 
9,637
Image of Riaz Khan
Riaz Khan (D)
 
13.1
 
4,076
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Scott West (Independent)
 
7.1
 
2,206

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

Total votes: 31,095
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

Main article: Washington Treasurer election, 2016

Liias filed to run as a Democrat in the 2016 election for treasurer of Washington. He competed with two other Democrats and two Republicans in the August 2 top-two primary election.[2] Liias was defeated in the primary election by Republicans Michael Waite and Duane Davidson.

Duane Davidson and Michael Waite defeated Marko Liias, John Paul Comerford, and Alec Fisken in the Washington primary for treasurer.

Washington primary for treasurer, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Duane Davidson 25.09% 322,374
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Michael Waite 23.33% 299,766
     Democratic Marko Liias 20.36% 261,633
     Democratic John Paul Comerford 17.97% 230,904
     Democratic Alec Fisken 13.24% 170,117
Total Votes 1,284,794
Source: Washington Secretary of State

Campaign finance

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 Marko Liias (D) and Dan Matthews (R) were unopposed in the primary. Liias defeated Matthews in the general election.[3][4][5]

Washington State Senate, District 21 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMarko Liias Incumbent 54.5% 20,227
     Republican Dan Matthews 45.5% 16,871
Total Votes 37,098

2012

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2012

Liias initially announced an intention to run for U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. He planned to seek the seat being vacated by Jay Inslee (D).[6] However, the redistricting map left Edmonds -- the home town for Liias -- out of the vacated 1st District. Liias said he would seek re-election to District 21-Position 2 of the state House in 2012.[7]

Liias ran unopposed in the blanket primary on August 7, 2012 and defeated Kevin Morrison (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8]

Washington House of Representatives, District 21-Position 2, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMarko Liias Incumbent 60.6% 34,231
     Republican Kevin Morrison 39.4% 22,231
Total Votes 56,462

2010

See also: Washington State House of Representatives elections, 2010

Marko Liias was elected to the Washington House of Representatives District 21-Position 2. He ran unopposed in the August 17, 2010, primary. He defeated Republican Elizabeth Scott in the November 2, 2010, general election.[9][10]

Washington House of Representatives, District 21-Position 2 General Election (2010)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Marko Liias (D) 25,491
Elizabeth Scott (R) 21,519
Washington House of Representatives, District 21-Position 2 Primary (2010)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Marko Liias (D) 12,891 50.17%
Green check mark transparent.png Elizabeth Scott (R) 8,403 32.70%
Alan D. Tagle (R) 3,185 12.40%
Mike Huisman (SeniorSide) 1,215 4.73%

2008

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2008

On November 4, 2008, Democrat Marko Liias won re-election to the Washington House of Representatives, District 21-Position 2 receiving 63.94% of the vote (34,156 votes), defeating Republican Andrew Funk who received 36.06% of the vote (19,259 votes).[11][12]

Washington House of Representatives, District 21-Position 2 (2008)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Marko Liias (D) 34,156 63.94%
Andrew Funk (R) 19,259 36.06%

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Marko Liias has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Marko Liias asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Marko Liias, 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 Marko Liias to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing marko@markoliias.com.

Twitter
Email

2022

Marko Liias did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Marko Liias did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Campaign website

Liias' campaign website pointed to his accomplishments while serving in the state legislature as qualifications for the office of treasurer, including his work as a budget writer and his authoring of a transportation infrastructure improvement package. As a state legislator, Liias also supported renewable energy programs, anti-bullying legislation, and affordable housing initiatives.[13]

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.

Marko Liias campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Washington State Senate District 21Won general$239,944 $261,451
2018Washington State Senate District 21Won general$227,391 N/A**
2014Washington State Senate, District 21Won $213,099 N/A**
2012Washington State House, District 21-Position 2Won $68,710 N/A**
2010Washington State House, District 21-Position 2Won $154,537 N/A**
2008Washington State House, District 21-Position 2Won $114,738 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


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.[17] 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.[17] Liias missed 32 votes in a total of 1095 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 taxes and fees. To find each legislator’s total, the Institute adds up the 10-year tax and fee increases or decreases, as estimated by Washington’s Office of Financial Management, of all bills sponsored or co-sponsored by that legislator.[18]

2012

Liias proposed a 10-year increase in state taxes and fees of $2.12 billion, the 35th 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.[19] 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 Liias voted on the specific pieces of legislation:

2012 House Scorecard - Marko Liias
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 Y Y N

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External links

Candidate

Washington State Senate District 21
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Marko Liias' Biography," accessed April 14, 2014
    2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named candlist
    3. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2014 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 20, 2014
    4. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 5, 2014, Official Primary Results," accessed August 5, 2014
    5. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Official general election results, 2014," accessed December 2, 2014
    6. ↑ Seattle PI "Re. Marko Liias running for Congress," August 2, 2011
    7. ↑ Herald Net, "Stymied by redistricting, Liias scraps run for Congress," January 4, 2012
    8. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed July 16, 2012
    9. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 17, 2010 Primary Results," accessed December 26, 2014
    10. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "November 02, 2010 General Election Results," accessed December 26, 2014
    11. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 19, 2008 Primary Results," accessed December 26, 2014
    12. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "November 04, 2008 General Election Results," accessed December 26, 2014
    13. ↑ Marko Liias for State Treasurer, "About Marko," accessed July 18, 2016
    14. ↑ Multi State, "2015 State Legislative Session Dates," accessed July 13, 2015
    15. ↑ StateScape, "Session schedules," accessed July 23, 2014
    16. ↑ StateScape, "Session schedules," accessed July 23, 2014
    17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Washington Policy Center, "2014 Missed Votes Report for Legislators Released," March 18, 2014
    18. ↑ Freedom Foundation, "2012 Big Spender List," accessed April 10, 2014
    19. ↑ My Freedom Foundation, "Home," accessed June 18, 2014

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Washington State Senate District 21
    2014-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Washington House of Representatives District 21-Position 2
    2008-2014    		 Succeeded by
    Lillian Ortiz-Self (D)


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