Paul Martin (Washington)

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

Paul Martin

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 6, 2024

Education

High school

Puyallup High School, 1976

Bachelor's

Whitworth University, 1983

Personal

Birthplace

Eureka, Calif.

Religion

Christian Reformed

Profession

Network engineer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Paul Martin (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Washington's 9th Congressional District. He lost in the primary on August 6, 2024.

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

Biography

Paul Martin lives in Renton, Washington. Martin graduated from Puyallup High School in 1976 and earned bachelor's degrees in business administration and music from Whitworth University in 1983. His career experience includes working as a software developer with Boeing and as a network engineer with AT&T.

Elections

2024

See also: Washington's 9th Congressional District election, 2024

Washington's 9th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 top-two primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Washington District 9

Incumbent D. Adam Smith defeated Melissa Chaudhry in the general election for U.S. House Washington District 9 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		D. Adam Smith (D)	65.4	182,780
		Melissa Chaudhry (D)	32.4	90,601
		Other/Write-in votes	2.1	5,917

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 279,298
= 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 U.S. House Washington District 9

Incumbent D. Adam Smith and Melissa Chaudhry defeated Paul Martin, C. Mark Greene, and David Ishii in the primary for U.S. House Washington District 9 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		D. Adam Smith (D)	53.8	78,761
✔		Melissa Chaudhry (D)	20.7	30,229
		Paul Martin (R)	18.2	26,646
		C. Mark Greene (R)	6.5	9,459
		David Ishii (Bipartisan Party)	0.7	963
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	248

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 146,306
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Martin in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have lived in District 9 for 24 years and in Washington State nearly my whole life.

My opponent has been the incumbent for 28 years, far too long as you may agree if you favor more new faces in Washington DC. As shown by my work experience, except for occasional work in the trades, I’ve had a full career in computer science. A lot of complex problem solving is involved, a skill which I can transfer to our government: a place that needs people of all backgrounds, not just another lawyer.

On the November ballot you’ll see some popular initiatives expected to pass. They were crafted by common sense Republicans to reverse some misguided laws from the current majority. I will strive to apply similar common sense so the public doesn’t have to reverse what government has done. I respectfully ask for your vote.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• From a full career in Puget Sound’s high-tech industry, candidate Paul Martin promises to solve problems, bring new ideas and restore common sense in Washington DC. His main goal will be to grow the economy in ways that are beneficial to the middle class. The easiest step in this process is to return to energy independence and return to being the world's biggest energy exporter. We should release the constraints applied by the current administration and return to an “all-of-the-above” energy policy. At the same time, we encourage environmental watchdog charities, environmental investigative journalism, and free market consequences for notable environmental offenders.
• Close the border and stop giving free stuff to people who cheated to get here. There should be no more free phones, free healthcare, free housing, free legal services, free school, free EBT cards or free petty cash debit cards. We should finish building the wall and encourage executive or Congressional action so want-to-be immigrants at points-of-entry, or wall jumpers, cannot claim refugee status at a nearly 100% rate. We need to return to a policy where those requesting asylum or refugee status must wait outside our country while their cases are adjudicated. Attempts to wait inside the country should lead to automatic case dismissal. Once the borders are under control, we’ll be better situated to welcome and promote legal immigrants.
• Reduce Inflation and Stop the Reckless Money Printing We are perilously close to hyperinflation and defaulting on the national debt, with debt service interest payments now over $1 trillion per quarter. I will never say "reduce the deficit" as a linguistic trick, as the current administration does, when only a reduction in the rate of deficit growth is the truth behind their statement. A booming economy is the preferred method for increased revenue. My mantra will be cut spending, raise revenue, and cut spending more. In this deficit situation, I will not turn into a congressman who is good at getting earmarks added to the federal budget for local pet projects.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about several policy areas. I believe we must keep parents as the first and most powerful stakeholder in our school systems. We should preserver the original interpretation of Title IX and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We should bring back well known practices that encourage clean cities. I will not sit around as Social Security problems get worse. Instead, I'll annually propose small steps to postpone falling off the so called cliff if major reform is postponed. We must get tough on China trade. The old free trade approach we had in 1980s doesn't apply now in light of their multigenerational world dominance plan. Every transaction we make with China should be calculated to outwit them and preserve our leadership.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Abraham Lincoln, George H W Bush, Ronald Reagan, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, full life experience, and transparency

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I'm a good listener and imaginative pragmatic problem solver.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To promote the safety and will being of all citizens. To improve the prospects for citizens and residents of Washington state.

What is your favorite book? Why?

West with the Night, by Beryl Markham is my favorite book with War and Peace and Moby Dick in second and third places. The first book I love for its imagery and beautiful story telling. The second book, because of its sweeping themes, is the one I turn to most often in literary conversations.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Our greatest challenge is to stay free and strong as a nation ourselves, and to promote democracy, freedom of religion, free speech, and to solve for peace around the world.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I'm in favor of a three-term limit on Senators and a four-term limit for House Members. Combined with what we already have, this can be called the 2-3-4 system. (8 years for the President, 18 years for Senators, 8 years for House members.)

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Yes, compromise is integral to the process of democracy throughout history and intertwined in our founding documents.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

In addition to reports of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), I'm in favor of independent audits being done of all Federal Government departments. Also, a lot more transparency should be built into the Federal Reserve.

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.

Campaign website

Martin's campaign website stated the following:

“	Candidate Action Plan If elected these are the ideas and actions that will guide Paul Martin. Grow the Economy By releasing the constraints applied by the current administration With fewer regulations we can have fewer bureaucrats. Return to Energy Independence And return to being the world's biggest energy exporter Release the constraints applied by the current administration Return to an “all-of-the-above” energy policy Encourage environmental watchdog charities, environmental investigative journalism, and free market consequences for notable environmental offenders Stop Giving Free Stuff to People Who Cheated to Get Here No more free phones, free healthcare, free housing, free legal services, free school, free EBT cards or free petty cash debit cards Close The Border Finish building the wall Encourage executive or Congressional action so want-to-be immigrants at points-of-entry, or wall jumpers, cannot claim refugee status at a nearly 100% rate Return to a policy where those requesting asylum or refugee status must wait outside our country while their cases are adjudicated. Attempts to wait inside the country would lead to automatic negative case dismissal. Once the borders are under control, we’ll be better situated to welcome and highlight the contributions of legal immigrants. Reduce Inflation and Stop the Reckless Money Printing We are perilously close to hyperinflation and defaulting on the national debt, with debt service interest payments now over $1 trillion per quarter. I will never say "reduce the deficit" as a linguistic trick, as the current administration does, when only a reduction in the rate of deficit growth is the truth behind their statement. A booming economy is the preferred method for increased revenue. However, I do not make the Bush 41 "read my lips, no new taxes" promise if the risk to my constituents is economic collapse. My mantra will be cut spending, raise revenue, and cut spending more. In this deficit situation, I will not turn into a congressman who is good at getting earmarks added to the federal budget for local pet projects. Implement Term Limits for Members of Congress As the President is limited to two terms by the 22nd Amendment, I am in favor of limiting Senators to three terms, and House members to four terms. It's pretty easy to remember as the 2-3-4 plan. Rescue Social Security with Small Steps If Major Reform Is Postponed As long as no law has been passed for a systemic fix, every year or session I’ll propose a tiny change to make Social Security a little better, so that instead of the insolvency cliff being 8-years out, it will stay at 10-years out. The cost of rescuing the program is small now, or massive later if we put it off to the last minute. Keep Parents as the First and Most Powerful Stakeholder in Schools They should have access to every class, syllabus, extracurricular activity, counseling plan, and medical plan in which their students are participating. School vouchers have been shown as one pathway to improving educational outcomes. We need them universally. We must quickly abandon, in months not decades, methods that have led to declining educational outcomes. Cellphones should be collected in radio-proof boxes at the start of every class. Promote Workforce Growth for Properly Eligible Workers Reduce the number of H1B work visas. Especially when a close examination shows they are nothing more than corporate welfare. Even if the U-3 unemployment rate is low, I won’t forget the nearly 6 million workers who want a job but have given up looking. According to last year’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report the workforce increased by 2.5% and -0.2% in 2021, respectively for foreign-born versus native-born workers; then 6.3% and 1.0% in 2022. I will work to flip the numbers to favor native-born workers. If elected, my office will release quarterly reports of businesses in our 9th District using the federal E-Verify system, ranked from frequent to infrequent uses, so constituents can see which companies are trying to help native-born workers reach full employment. Preserve the Original Interpretations of Title IX and the Civil Rights Act Women's and girls’ sporting events will not allow the participation of biological men and boys Biological men and boys will not be allowed to enter women's and girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms Restore Practices That Encourage Clean Cities Practice tough love for the homeless There is no mercy or compassion in the failed billion-dollar programs of many cities. Contracts to aid organizations that are not working themselves out of business should be suspended. As was done for decades, we can shelter the mentally ill in specialized healthcare facilities, shelter drug addicts in detox facilities or jails, and shelter the poverty-stricken in transitional housing or dormitories. There are thousands examples of cities, with smaller or no problems, that never stopped doing this. Fine litterers and jail graffiti offenders. Levy stiff fines on organizations that give away tents to the homeless or sell them at a loss. I Oppose Any Transgender Treatment That Has Been Shown to Do More Harm Than Since what medicine currently offers leads to scientifically measured higher suicide rates, and lifetime disabilities, I oppose transgender medical treatments, and emphatically oppose them in adolescents. I Support the First and Second Amendments. The giant social media platforms, that have become major providers of news; local, national and world, should have the protections they enjoyed during their World Wide Web infancies revoked. Title 47 Section 230 should be changed to reflect the current situation. I'm in favor the Supreme Court rulings on Second Amendment issues, and of background checks. I am not in favor of reinstating the 1994 assault weapons ban, which ran for 10 years, showed no statistical reduction in crime, and didn’t stop the Columbine tragedy. Certainly, a citizen is free to hate firearms, but we should not be distracted from the root causes of violence or think that one action will stop it. Among the tragedies we shouldn’t forget is the 1927 account of the Bath School, where 44 died and no firearms were used. I Will Always Thank Police Officers for Doing Their Job. Where constraints to policing techniques were added and higher crime rates resulted, especially in poor neighborhoods, those constraints should be reset to the prior state, or reset to something that leads to improvement. Where department budgets were cut, they should be restored. I have and will "Back the Blue.” Public defenders who release violent or repeat offenders, in violation of their oaths of office, should be swiftly fired. Get Tough on China Trade A Laissez-faire approach to free trade may have been an acceptable course in 1980 but now, as they are executing a multigenerational world dominance plan, every transaction we make with China should be calculated to outwit them and preserve our leadership in the world of liberty lovers and free democracies.	”
—Paul Martin’s campaign website (2024)

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 Martin campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Washington District 9	Lost primary	$1,825	$1,161
Grand total			$1,825	$1,161
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

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

U.S. House Washington District 9

Website

Twitter

Personal

LinkedIn

Footnotes

[show]

Washington's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Maria Cantwell (D)

Patty Murray (D)

Representatives

District 1

Suzan DelBene (D)

District 2

Rick Larsen (D)

District 3

Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (D)

District 4

Dan Newhouse (R)

District 5

Michael Baumgartner (R)

District 6

Emily Randall (D)

District 7

Pramila Jayapal (D)

District 8

Kim Schrier (D)

District 9

D. Adam Smith (D)

District 10

Marilyn Strickland (D)

Democratic Party (10)

Republican Party (2)