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Paul Harris

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Paul Harris
Candidate, Washington State Senate District 17
Washington State Senate District 17
Tenure
2025 - Present
Term ends
2029
Years in position
1
Predecessor: Lynda Wilson (R)
Prior offices:
Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2
Years in office: 2011 - 2025
Successor: David Stuebe (R)
Compensation
Base salary
$60,191/year
Per diem
$206/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
November 7, 2028
Education
Associates
Ricks College, 1976
Bachelor's
Brigham Young University, 1978
Personal
Religion
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)
Profession
Sales Representative
Contact

Paul Harris (Republican Party) is a member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 17. He assumed office on January 13, 2025. His current term ends on January 8, 2029.

Harris (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the Washington State Senate to represent District 17. He declared candidacy for the 2028 election.[source]

Biography

Harris earned an A.A. from Ricks College and a B.S. in business administration and accounting from Brigham Young University.

Harris has worked since 2010 as a sales representative for Quick Collect, a Vancouver-based company. He owns QuickMeds, LLC, and previously owned Cascade and Supply, Inc. He served on the Board of Directors of the Evergreen School District from 1993-1994.

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Harris was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Harris was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Harris 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
Appropriations
Education
Health Care and Wellness

2015 legislative session

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

2013-2014

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

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Harris 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

2028

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2028

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 7, 2028.

General election for Washington State Senate District 17

Incumbent Paul Harris is running in the general election for Washington State Senate District 17 on November 7, 2028.

Candidate
Image of Paul Harris
Paul Harris (R)

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Endorsements

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2024

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Washington State Senate District 17

Paul Harris defeated Marla Keethler in the general election for Washington State Senate District 17 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Paul Harris
Paul Harris (R)
 
51.1
 
44,034
Image of Marla Keethler
Marla Keethler (D) Candidate Connection
 
48.8
 
42,019
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
135

Total votes: 86,188
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington State Senate District 17

Paul Harris and Marla Keethler advanced from the primary for Washington State Senate District 17 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Paul Harris
Paul Harris (R)
 
50.6
 
22,930
Image of Marla Keethler
Marla Keethler (D) Candidate Connection
 
49.2
 
22,287
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
84

Total votes: 45,301
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Harris in this election.

2022

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2

Incumbent Paul Harris defeated Joe Kear in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Paul Harris
Paul Harris (R)
 
54.6
 
37,860
Image of Joe Kear
Joe Kear (D) Candidate Connection
 
45.3
 
31,407
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
125

Total votes: 69,392
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2

Joe Kear and incumbent Paul Harris defeated Earl Bowerman and Justin Forsman in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joe Kear
Joe Kear (D) Candidate Connection
 
44.5
 
20,737
Image of Paul Harris
Paul Harris (R)
 
30.2
 
14,074
Image of Earl Bowerman
Earl Bowerman (R)
 
12.9
 
6,012
Image of Justin Forsman
Justin Forsman (Independent Republican Party)
 
12.2
 
5,699
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
78

Total votes: 46,600
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2

Incumbent Paul Harris defeated Bryan White in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Paul Harris
Paul Harris (R)
 
68.0
 
48,392
Bryan White (R)
 
28.1
 
20,020
 Other/Write-in votes
 
3.9
 
2,773

Total votes: 71,185
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2

Incumbent Paul Harris and Bryan White advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Paul Harris
Paul Harris (R)
 
65.6
 
25,213
Bryan White (R)
 
28.9
 
11,119
 Other/Write-in votes
 
5.5
 
2,103

Total votes: 38,435
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2

Incumbent Paul Harris defeated Damion Jiles Sr. in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Paul Harris
Paul Harris (R)
 
57.6
 
33,580
Damion Jiles Sr. (D)
 
42.4
 
24,686

Total votes: 58,266
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 17-Position 2

Incumbent Paul Harris and Damion Jiles Sr. advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Paul Harris
Paul Harris (R)
 
54.9
 
15,907
Damion Jiles Sr. (D)
 
45.1
 
13,059

Total votes: 28,966
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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2016

See also: Washington House of Representatives 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 Paul Harris defeated Martin Hash in the Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2 general election.[1]

Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Paul Harris Incumbent 63.10% 36,936
     Democratic Martin Hash 36.90% 21,602
Total Votes 58,538
Source: Washington Secretary of State


Martin Hash and incumbent Paul Harris defeated Richard Colwell in the Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2 top two primary.[2][3]

Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2 Top Two Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Martin Hash 39.27% 8,820
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Paul Harris Incumbent 47.35% 10,633
     Republican Richard Colwell 13.38% 3,005
Total Votes 22,458
Source: Washington Secretary of State

2014

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 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 Paul Harris (R) and Richard McCluskey (D) defeated Chris Rockhold (L) in the primary. McCluskey was defeated by Harris in the general election.[4][5][6]

Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Harris Incumbent 61.6% 22,212
     Democratic Richard McCluskey 38.4% 13,840
Total Votes 36,052
Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2 Top Two Primary, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Harris Incumbent 50.8% 10,551
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRichard McCluskey 39.1% 8,130
     Libertarian Chris Rockhold 10.1% 2,100
Total Votes 20,781

2012

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2012

Harris won re-election in the 2012 election for Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2. Harris was unopposed in the blanket primary on August 7, 2012, and defeated Jim Gizzi (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8]

Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Harris Incumbent 55.9% 30,095
     Democratic Jim Gizzi 44.1% 23,783
Total Votes 53,878

2010

See also: Washington State House of Representatives elections, 2010

Paul Harris was elected to the Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2. He defeated Martin Hash in the August 17, 2010, primary. He defeated Democrat Monica Stonier in the November 2, 2010, general election.

Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2 General Election (2010)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Paul Harris (R) 25,342
Monica Stonier (D) 21,924
Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2 Primary (2010)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Paul Harris (R) 14,384 55.73%
Green check mark transparent.png Monica Stonier (D) 8,473 32.83%
Martin Hash (D) 2,952 11.44%

Campaign themes

2028

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Paul Harris has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2028 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Paul Harris, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2028 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Paul Harris did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Paul Harris did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Paul Harris did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Harris' campaign website highlighted the following issues:

Jobs/Economy

A strong economy is the foundation for prosperous families and communities. Too many people in Clark County are out of work, underemployed, or afraid they could lose their jobs. The Legislature can and must increase our focus on economic turnaround and job creation.

Education

This is not just my top priority; it’s the top priority of the Washington State Constitution, and I believe that clarity in this area needs to be re-established. Educating our children is a concern and a hope of each family in Washington and you have an advocate in Paul Harris.

Healthcare

All Americans deserve a world class healthcare system that is affordable. Over the past few years we have seen healthcare costs skyrocket when we have been told they will fall. The Affordable Healthcare Act has been anything but affordable. Our state, led by a Governor and Insurance Commissioner who are Democrats, has fully invested in Obamacare and Washingtonians have felt the frustrations and broken promises. You deserve better.[9]

—Paul Harris[10]

2014

Harris' website highlighted the following campaign themes:[11]

Jobs & The Economy

  • Excerpt: "Certainty and stability for employers is one of the most effective solutions to improving the state budget and prosperity of Clark County workers. A stable regulatory and business climate attracts investment and a higher standard of living for our families. I fought hard to keep temporary taxes temporary, and protected vital tax incentives for business and agriculture."

Education

  • Excerpt: "Our children deserve a world class education which MUST be prioritized in the state budget. The state constitution is clear, that education is the “paramount duty” of the state and should be treated as such in the state budget."

Healthcare

  • Excerpt: "We must have step-by step, common sense approaches that will fix what is broken. You should be in charge of your health insurance and health care decisions. Our state needs consumer driven health insurance plans that provide access to affordable health care."
  • Excerpt: "First, we need our Insurance Commissioner to allow people to keep their cancelled health insurance plans. The Obama administration has reversed its course and gave states this option."
  • Excerpt: "The biggest step we can take is to allow Washingtonians to buy health insurance plans in other states, similar to the way car insurance is purchased."

2012

Harris' website highlighted the following campaign themes:[12]

Jobs

  • Excerpt: "Let’s Get Washington Working is a plan that unshackles businesses from excessive regulations. Private employers in many sectors of Washington State are bound with exorbitant taxes and fees that hinder economic growth and progress. Let’s Get Washington Working would promote a free market economy, allowing employers to prosper and create jobs."

Education

  • Excerpt: "Funding education first would take the politics out of the classroom and would deliver financial assurance and peace of mind to concerned parents, teachers and students. The courts have ruled that programs and offerings falling within the legislative definition of basic education are considered non discretionary and must be funded regardless of budgetary constraints."

Energy

  • Excerpt: "Recognizing a portion of hydro as renewable would solve this next step of I-937, save jobs and protect the environment."

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.


Paul Harris campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024Washington State Senate District 17Won general$74,224 $60,467
2022Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2Won general$211,233 $209,062
2020Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2Won general$126,509 N/A**
2018Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2Won general$94,572 N/A**
2016Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2Won $113,874 N/A**
2014Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 2Won $113,323 N/A**
2012Washington State House, District 17-Position 2Won $93,952 N/A**
2010Washington State House, District 17-Position 2Won $87,251 N/A**
2006Washington State House, District 17Lost $10,184 N/A**
2004Washington State House, District 17Lost $17,650 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Endorsements

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Paul Harris endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[13]

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] Harris missed 15 votes in a total of 1211 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 tax and fee increases. To find each legislator’s total, the Institute adds up the 10-year tax increases or decreases, as estimated by Washington’s Office of Financial Management, of all bills sponsored or co-sponsored by that legislator.[18]

2012

Harris proposed a 10-year increase in state taxes and fees of $189.1 million, the 49th 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 Harris voted on the specific pieces of legislation:

2012 House Scorecard - Paul Harris
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 N N N

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Harris has lived in District 17 for more than 30 years. He and his wife, Lori, have five children and six grandchildren.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Washington Secretary of State, "General Election Results 2016," accessed December 2, 2016
  2. Washington Secretary of State, "2016 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 23, 2016
  3. Washington Secretary of State, "August 2, 2016 Primary Results," accessed August 25, 2016
  4. Washington Secretary of State, "2014 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 20, 2014
  5. Washington Secretary of State, "August 5, 2014, Official Primary Results," accessed August 5, 2014
  6. Washington Secretary of State, "Official general election results, 2014," accessed December 2, 2014
  7. C-SPAN, "AP Election Results - Washington State House of Representatives," accessed August 7, 2012
  8. Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed July 16, 2012
  9. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  10. Elect Harris, "Issues," accessed October 4, 2016
  11. Elect Harris, "Issues," accessed July 14, 2014
  12. electharris, "Official Campaign Website," accessed April 16, 2014
  13. Mitt Romney for President, "Mitt Romney Announces Support of Washington State Elected Officials and Leaders," February 13, 2012
  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 16, 2014
  19. My Freedom Foundation, "Home," accessed June 18, 2014

Political offices
Preceded by
Lynda Wilson (R)
Washington State Senate District 17
2025-Present
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
-
Washington House of Representatives District 17-Position 2
2011-2025
Succeeded by
David Stuebe (R)


Current members of the Washington State Senate
Leadership
Majority Leader:Jamie Pedersen
Minority Leader:John Braun
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
Jeff Holy (R)
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
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District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
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District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
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District 41
District 42
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District 44
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District 47
District 48
District 49
Democratic Party (30)
Republican Party (19)