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Mike Coverdale

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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Mike Coverdale
Image of Mike Coverdale

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1977 - 1981

Personal
Birthplace
Dayton, Wash.
Profession
Real estate professional
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign TikTok

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

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Personal LinkedIn

Mike Coverdale (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Washington House of Representatives to represent District 19-Position 1. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Coverdale completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Mike Coverdale was born in Dayton, Washington. He served in the U.S. Army from 1977 to 1981. His career experience includes working as a real estate professional, small business owner, and helicopter pilot.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 19-Position 1

Incumbent Jim Walsh defeated Mike Coverdale in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 19-Position 1 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jim Walsh
Jim Walsh (R)
 
60.1
 
48,544
Image of Mike Coverdale
Mike Coverdale (D) Candidate Connection
 
39.8
 
32,094
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
76

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

Total votes: 80,714
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.

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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 19-Position 1

Incumbent Jim Walsh and Mike Coverdale advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 19-Position 1 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jim Walsh
Jim Walsh (R)
 
59.6
 
25,771
✔
Image of Mike Coverdale
Mike Coverdale (D) Candidate Connection
 
40.3
 
17,450
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
54

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

Total votes: 43,275
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.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Coverdale in this election.

Pledges

Coverdale signed the following pledges.

  • U.S. Term Limits

2018

See also: Washington's 6th Congressional District election, 2018

Coverdale did not file to run.

2016

See also: Washington's 6th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Derek Kilmer (D) defeated Todd Bloom (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Kilmer and Bloom defeated Paul Nuchims (D), Stephan Andrew Brodhead (R), Tyler Myles Vega (G), and Mike Coverdale (I) in the top-two primary on August 2, 2016.[2][3]

U.S. House, Washington District 6 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDerek Kilmer Incumbent 61.5% 201,718
     Republican Todd Bloom 38.5% 126,116
Total Votes 327,834
Source: Washington Secretary of State


U.S. House, Washington District 6 Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDerek Kilmer Incumbent 58.4% 87,311
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTodd Bloom 24.5% 36,659
     Republican Stephan Andrew Brodhead 8.2% 12,269
     Independent Mike Coverdale 4.8% 7,223
     Democratic Paul Nuchims 2.2% 3,318
     Green Tyler Myles Vega 1.9% 2,803
Total Votes 149,583
Source: Washington Secretary of State

Campaign themes

2024

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia
Released October 1, 2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Mike Coverdale completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Coverdale's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I grew up in the small town of Westport, WA. When I graduated from high school I was accepted into the Army Warrant Officer Helicopter program. I was an officer and Army Aviator by age 19. After serving my country I flew helicopters around the country for over a decade with my last flying job being at the University of Missouri Hospital flying air ambulance. In that program, at age 29 I was promoted to Lead Pilot, in charge of overseeing 3 aircraft, 9 pilots (including myself), 3 mechanics and with the additional responsibility of being the liaison between the company I worked for and hospital administration. When my 8 month old son was hospitalized with Type 1 diabetes I stepped down from the lead pilot role and in 1991 I moved my family back to Westport so that I could raise my children around my parents and grandparents. In 1992 I opened a real estate office and have been operating that small business for over 30 years. Over that time I was active in my community. I was president of the Chamber of Commerce, served on the Westport Planning Commission, served on the Fire District 3 Board, lead the Kiwanis Scholarship Auction program and am currently the chair of the Grays Harbor County Board of Adjustments. During that time I voted for people running for state office who I felt would do a good job but never took time to see what they did once elected. Since 2016 I have been paying attention. For 8 years the incumbent has failed to improve conditions in our district.
  • Healthcare is a human right. There are so many issues and healthcare is at the root of most. Rural Washingtonians suffers from lack of access and the high cost of care and while the incumbent has enjoyed 8 years of quality taxpayer funded healthcare he has voted against most healthcare related legislation that would improve conditions in his district. He even voted NO to cap insulin prices at $35! Being the father of a diabetic son I know that outrageous profit gouging by pharma companies has resulted in the death of many americans. That is not acceptable to me.
  • Rural Education Needs differ from urban areas but our children deserve the same quality education. There is a disparity in education that stems from the way schools are funded in our state. The rural tax base does not support the level of education comparable to urban areas and that inequity needs to be addressed by the state. ALL of the children in Washington deserve the same opportunity. Not only has the incumbent voted against education programs that would make community college more accessible to rural residents, Walsh has proposed a "voucher program" that would financially gut public school funding and make things even worse!
  • Resource based jobs require common sense in legislation. Our district is blessed with amazing natural resources which have provided jobs and sustenance for generations but regulations have limited our ability to maintain economic stability. We all recognize that sustainability is a key factor and those who live and work in our district know how important it is to protect those resources. Currently our district is not represented on the Natural Resource Committee. That means decisions being made lack input from the people of the 19th District and that is unacceptable.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING. Everyone recognizes this issue but the increased regulations on construction and the allowed "price gouging" by corporations continue to make housing unaffordable. Common sense needs to be applied and the state needs to take an active role in making state owned land available for public/private partnerships.
MONEY OUT OF POLITICS - Every issue is heavily impacted by the influx of big money to sway elections and to sway legislation. Jim Walsh has received over $800,000 over his 4 terms and now he has partnered with a hedgefund billionaire who contributed nearly 7 million dollars to overturn laws that were voted in by a majority of legislators. That is not how the initiative process was intended.
Bernie Sanders - He is an example of someone willing to stand up in opposition to existing power to try to engage the people of this country to get involved.
Not really but I do enjoy watching the movie "Dave". The idea of someone who strives to help the people around him getting into a position to actually make a difference for all americans resonates with me.
The traits I learned and aspired to as a Boy Scout sum it up well. Trustworthy, Loyal, Friendly, Helpful, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean & Reverent. I would add Honest, Compassionate and the ability to communicate effectively.
Integrity, honesty, listening skills, communication skills, 30 years of experience negotiating agreements between parties with similar goals but differing objectives. Compassion. Empathy. Dedication.
To represent the people of the district in a way that improves the living conditions and opportunities for the people I would represent.
To improve the quality of life in the 19th district for the most people.
My childhood was pretty much a "beaver cleaver" experience and there was little exposure to "historical events". Probably the Kent State massacre is the first thing that registered.
Westport is a salmon fishing tourist town and in the 70's it was booming. My first summer job was stocking shelves and a gift shop/grocery store. The next summer I was a dishwasher at Daves Ocean Galley at night and in the morning backed up the kitchen for the breakfast buffet. I remember cracking 600 eggs each shift for the scrambled eggs on buffet. For the next two summers I worked at The Dunes Oceanfront Restaurant in Grayland which had a state wide reputation for quality. I started as dishwasher but the owner decided I was to be the baker so I got to make 6 pies and either 6 loaves of bread or 140 dinner rolls each day with an ocean view. I would return in the afternoon and wait tables and enjoyed the tips when diners found out the 14 year old waiting their table also baked the rolls or made the pie. My last two summers before going into the army were spent at Bay Fish as a fish buyer. We would receive thousands of pounds of salmon, tuna or bottom fish each day which was great but also spent far too much time in the ice house shoveling flake ice into an auger that delivered the ice to the hold of the commercial boats about to head out.
Don't have one at the moment.
N/A
Annies song - John Denver It's mushroom foraging season and walking in the pine forest always brings it to mind
Balancing family and work. Saying no to requests of my time.
The governor provides the vision. The Legislature is responsible for creating and living within a realistic budget as well as shaping the policies and laws which can allow our state to flourish.
Healthcare, Housing, Environment
It depends on the person. Familiarity with the language of legislation is beneficial but that is possible without having been in a government role. Having exeisting professional relationships with others can be a benefit but it can also be a negative. The incumbent I am running against has employed partisan tactics so aggressively that he has alienated most in what he considers "the opposing party" and has distanced him from a fair number from his own party. In that case... his experience in politics has actually hurt the people of the 19th district. As a direct example... Jim Walsh was put on the Transportation Committee in 2019. Prior to his appointment our district averaged four million dollars from each transportation budget. After Walsh got on the committee our district saw a 50% drop in funding to two million dollars! The 2021 budget was the same, two million dollars even though the state budget had grown! The 2023 funding was even worse. The state budget had grown to 1.3 Billion Dollars (double from 2017 level) but the 19th District only received 1.7 Million Dollars! Not only was Walsh not fighting for projects for our communities but his partisan actions in the past prevented the committee from directing funding to his district... OUR DISTRICT! Walsh's campaign slogan is "For Jobs... For Education... For Representative... but we have the highest unemployment in the state and it is his failure to build relationships in office that BENEFIT the people of his district that adds to our struggles.
Relationships are KEY. As a real estate broker in a town with an active tourism market I know many people from King County. While they have been wonderful it is clear that they don't understand what life in rural Washington is like. How we access healthcare, what our schools need. That means that legislators from those urban districts most likely don't know either. If we do not have representation at the table as laws are being written they end up writing laws that impact rural washington negatively without even knowing it. It is crucial to have a respectful and professional working relationship with others in office so when it is time to stand up for rural washington, others will listen and give serious consideration to the points being made. We are not getting that type of representation now and have not had that for the 8 years Walsh has been in office.
Mark Doumit - For years our district was represented by rural democrats who understood the needs of our district... saw the opportunities for our district and who developed respected relationships with urban legislators. They were known as the "Coastal Caucus" and included the 19th & 24th Districts. When you spoke with Mark Doumit you knew he was listening and would take your concerns or ideas and follow up in a way that was effective and considerate. Mark was well respected and was able to create win win relationships during his time in office.
I just turned 65. I am not interested in a career... My goal is to represent the district in a way that improves the quality of life for the people who live in the district. If that takes 2 years or 6, I don't have aspirations beyond that.
Too many horrendous stories of medical nightmare experiences to share.
Don't have one at the moment
YES
There are so many bills that have not made it out of committee that I would support. My first year would be spent rebuilding relationships with others in office and supporting various bills that would benefit the 19th.
Washington Labor Council, IBEW 48, RPEC, Fairvote WA,ARNP's, AWPPW, OFNAP
Health Care, Education, Natural Resources, Housing, Community Development & Veterans
Transparency is crucial
I support the initiative process. I have serious concerns about one person funding signature gathering to repeal laws but do not currently understand how to prevent that without overly restricting the initiative process and limiting the genuine "people driven" intent of the initiative process.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2016

The following issues were listed on Coverdale's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

“
  • The Election Process: First and foremost, I believe we must get big money out of the election process. Citizens United is the Supreme Court ruling in 2011 which ruled that under our Constitution a corporation is given the same rights as a person and money will be considered “free speech”. Since then the amount of “dark” money flowing into the election process has skyrocketed. Five billion dollars will be spent in this election cycle making sure thet people spending all that money are well represented. Citizens United must be overturned or a constitutional amendment passed to reverse the blatant legal bribery going on at this time. “We the People” will not have a voice until we get big money out of the election process.
  • Trade: I support fair trade however the trade policies of the past including Trans-Pacific Partnership have been crafted to enrich the wealthy with little consideration to the middle class and little respect for our sovereignty or the environment. The process leading up to TPP approval has been cloaked in secrecy with the key players being Wall St, Multi-National Corporations and elected officials (who have been receiving huge campaign donations from Wall St and Multi-National Corporations for many years). Those whose opinions I respect and who have read provisions of TPP are adamantly opposed. Congressman Kilmer voted to “Fast Track” TPP which pushes it closer to adoption with fewer checks and balances. He is wrong for doing so. “We the People” will not have a voice until we get big money out of the election process.
  • War as a Last Option: I believe that the United States of America needs to train and maintain the strongest military force in the world. I served in the Army as a Warrant Officer Aviator and two of my sons have or are serving our country. That said I am opposed to perpetual warfare that’s only purpose seems to be the profit margins of the military industrial complex and large oil companies. Too many lives have been wasted and trillions of dollars have been spent and to what end. We are no longer promoting democracy and peace. We are opportunistically altering the balance of power in parts of the world we have no legitimate reason for being in. War as a last option has to be reinstated as policy. “We the People” will not have a voice until we get big money out of the election process.
  • The Environment: Climate change is real. It is possible to pull numbers and statistics from thousands of sources to support the view you “want to have” on this subject but the downside to sticking our collective heads in the sand could be catastrophic. The fossil fuel lobby has kept the best and brightest from fully developing clean energy. We have the ability to turn the corner on the devastating practices of the past and set a course for energy independence that does not contaminate our water supply, does not decimate our environment and cripple the planet but “We the People” will not have a voice until we get big money out of the election process.
  • Education: How many generations of Americans will be experimented on for the sake of profit for the testing agencies? Our kids are being left behind. Teaching to test without focusing on fundamentals is like to teaching kids to eat fish but not how to catch fish. Once again, lobbyists and corporate influence has us taking the most profitable path (for the corporations) instead of the most successful for our children. Get profit out of education and let teachers teach. “We the People” will not have a voice until we get big money out of the election process.

[4]

”
—Mike Coverdale's campaign website, http://www.coverdaleforcongress.com/issues/


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.

Mike Coverdale campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Washington House of Representatives District 19-Position 1Lost general$59,531 $61,134
Grand total$59,531 $61,134
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

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External links

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 8, 2024
    2. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Unofficial List of Candidates in Ballot Order," accessed May 23, 2016
    3. ↑ Politico, "Washington House Primaries Results," August 2, 2016
    4. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.


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