Rebecca Parson

Rebecca Parson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Washington's 6th Congressional District. Parson lost in the primary on August 2, 2022.

Parson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Rebecca Parson was born in Arlington, Virginia. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Mary Washington in 2007 and a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in 2011. Parson’s career experience includes working as a marketer and copywriter and small business owner.^[1]^[2]

Elections

2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Washington District 6

Incumbent Derek Kilmer defeated Elizabeth Kreiselmaier in the general election for U.S. House Washington District 6 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Derek Kilmer (D)	60.0	208,710
	Elizabeth Kreiselmaier (R)	39.9	138,754
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	409

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 347,873
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Washington District 6

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House Washington District 6 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Kilmer (D)	50.4	115,725
✔		Elizabeth Kreiselmaier (R)	23.8	54,621
		Todd Bloom (R)	10.5	24,036
		Rebecca Parson (D)	9.4	21,523
		Chris Binns (R)	4.8	11,074
	Submit photo	Tom Triggs (Independent)	1.2	2,674
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	125

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 229,778
= 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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2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Washington District 6

Incumbent Derek Kilmer defeated Elizabeth Kreiselmaier in the general election for U.S. House Washington District 6 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Derek Kilmer (D)	59.3	247,429
	Elizabeth Kreiselmaier (R)	40.5	168,783
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	1,004

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 417,216
= 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 6

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House Washington District 6 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Kilmer (D)	47.3	125,019
✔		Elizabeth Kreiselmaier (R)	27.1	71,601
		Rebecca Parson (D)	13.5	35,631
	Submit photo	Chris Welton (R)	5.6	14,795
		Stephan Andrew Brodhead (R)	3.7	9,761
	Submit photo	Johny Alberg (R)	2.7	7,178
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	338

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 264,323
= 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

Matthew Tirman (D)

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

Rebecca Parson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Parson'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 am a proud Washingtonian, a small business owner, and a housing rights organizer. I've served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), a commissioner on the Tacoma Area Commission on Disabilities, a human rights observer in an indigenous community in Mexico, a co-leader of Indivisible Tacoma, a Board Member for Whole Washington, and a Democratic PCO. I've fought for progressive values my entire adult life, and now I want to fight for them in Congress. As a community-level volunteer and organizer, I believe that political change can and should come from the bottom up, not from the top down. The American people deserve political and economic democracy, not a political system bought by billionaires and the 1%. They deserve to be treated not as economic cogs in the machine, but as human beings who have intrinsic worth, regardless of their economic output.

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?

In the richest country on Earth, no one should be homeless, hungry, without healthcare, or in poverty. Working families shouldn’t struggle to pay their rent or mortgage. The government shouldn’t be bailing out Wall Street and multinational corporations during Covid while American small businesses go under. We shouldn’t have 40,000 veterans and 120,000 kids living on the streets. All of these problems are policy choices by the corporate elite. It's time to end America's war on the poor. By redirecting subsidies from the 1% to the 99%, we can subsidize small businesses to pay a $30 minimum wage. We should also have a national job program, $500 gas cards for all during this inflation crisis, Medicare for All, and low-cost housing for all.
I am a proud gay woman, and I would be the first woman or gay person to represent this seat in Congress. Women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights affect me personally, so I have been especially disturbed by the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade and Clarence Thomas' indication that he wants the Court to overturn gay marriage, restrict contraception access, and allow states to criminalize same-sex relationships. I am pro-choice. In Congress, I will fight to codify gay marriage and reproductive rights into law, and to permanently recognize the right for people to legally be in same-sex relationships. I will also fight for equal access to the ballot and for the full Voting Rights Act to be restored.
Without a livable environment, other policy will become moot. While just 100 companies are responsible for 70% of global emissions, it's the 99% of us who suffer the consequences - and communities of color and poor communities are hit the hardest. In Congress, I will fight for a Green New Deal, including 100% use of renewable energy by 2030, a federal jobs guarantee for everyone in the new green economy, single-payer healthcare to mitigate the array of negative health outcomes related to climate change and industrial pollution, holding giant polluters criminally accountable for the willful destruction of our environment, and supporting local efforts to create change in how food is grown, processed, and delivered.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most passionate about housing policy, foreign policy, and human rights.

It is unconscionable that 600,000 people are homeless in the US, and that so many homeowners and renters struggle to pay their mortgage or rent every month. We need millions of units of extremely low-income and low-cost housing across the country, and a $30 minimum wage so that everyone can afford a decent home.

I grew up overseas as the daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, so foreign policy is something I've been interested in for a long time. As a country, America has admirable ideals, but we often fall short. We have toppled democratically elected governments, funded extremist militias, and enacted devastating sanctions that only hurt regular people, not their governments. I worked for the International Association of Genocide Scholars for two years, presented at its conference in Sarajevo, and visited a mass grave in Srebrenica that was still being excavated. I've seen firsthand the devastating impact of human rights going ignored, and that is something I want to remedy when I'm in Congress.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

There was a grandmother I met while canvassing in Tacoma. She's on disability and receives $750 a month and food stamps. Her rent is $650 a month. How is anyone supposed to live on $100 a month for everything besides food and rent?

I met another grandmother in Aberdeen who was living on the street while using a wheelchair.

Why do we as a society treat people as worthless if they don't have economic "value?" Why do we say "respect your elders" but the only respect we give them is $2 off their pancakes at IHOP?

We must change the way we treat Seniors in our country, which is why I support "scrapping the cap" to raise Social Security benefits. I also support improving Medicare and expanding it to everyone. Unlike the incumbent in my race, I do not support privatizing Medicare.

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.

2020

Rebecca Parson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Parson'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 am a proud Washingtonian, a small business owner, a home renter, and a tenants' rights organizer. I've served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), a commissioner on the Tacoma Area Commission on Disabilities, a human rights observer in an indigenous community in Mexico, a co-leader of Indivisible Tacoma, a Board Member for Whole Washington, and a Democratic PCO. I've fought for progressive values my entire adult life, and now I want to fight for them in Congress. As a community-level volunteer and organizer, I believe that political change can and should come from the bottom up, not from the top down. The American people deserve political and economic democracy, not a political system bought by billionaires and the 1%. They deserve to be treated not as economic cogs in the machine, but as human beings who have intrinsic worth, regardless of their economic output.

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?

In a moral economy, housing is first and foremost a human right. When there are enough bedrooms in America for all the people that need beds and yet hundreds of thousands of people - including children - sleep on the streets, something is wrong. The primary purpose of housing is to house people. That is how I will approach housing policy in Congress. I will fight for a Homes Guarantee, including national rent control, the construction of 12 million new units of social housing, and the end of homelessness.
Without a livable environment, other policy will become moot. While just 100 companies are responsible for 70% of global emissions, it's the 99% of us who suffer the consequences - and communities of color and poor communities are hit the hardest. In Congress, I will fight for a Green New Deal, including 100% use of renewable energy by 2030, a federal jobs guarantee for everyone in the new green economy, single-payer healthcare to mitigate the array of negative health outcomes related to climate change and industrial pollution, holding giant polluters criminally accountable for the willful destruction of our environment, and supporting local efforts to create change in how food is grown, processed, and delivered.
I have delayed medical care due to cost. My premiums, which I pay 100% of as a self-employed person, have gone up 20% in two years. And I have it lucky. People in my district are dying waiting in line for drug treatment. They're having heart attacks because they're diabetics who couldn't afford insulin. Healthcare is a human right, and it's time the wealthiest country on earth treated it as such. We must remove the profit motive in healthcare, end premiums, end copays, end the rapacious practices of health insurance and pharmaceutical companies, and bring the pharmaceutical industry into public ownership.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most passionate about housing policy, foreign policy, and human rights.

As a renter on a month-to-month lease, the protections that we at the Tacoma Tenants Organizing Committee (TTOC) won have directly improved my material security. TTOC formed after an out-of-town developer bought an apartment building, evicted everyone, and doubled the rent. That was the only place many of the residents could afford. Two have died on the streets since being evicted. Housing is life.

I grew up overseas as the daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, so foreign policy is something I've been interested in for a long time. As a country, America has admirable ideals, but we often fall short. We have toppled democratically elected governments and invaded countries for oil while declining to intervene in genocides. I worked for the International Association of Genocide Scholars for two years, presented its conference in Sarajevo, and visited a mass grave in Srebrenica that was still being excavated. I've seen firsthand the devastating impact of human rights going ignored, and that is something I want to remedy when I'm in Congress.

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

I look up to my genocide studies professor Gregory Stanton, because he used his intellect and legal training to help others, including drafting the rules of procedure for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal and authoring the 10 Stages of Genocide. I admire his passion for justice.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein

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

Fealty to the Constitution, consistency in values while being able to shift based on the desires of your constituents, compassion and empathy, and an unwavering commitment to taking down unjust, immoral, corrupt systems.

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

I am an advocate, and I want to champion the needs and desires of others using the gifts I have been given and the talents I possess. I hope to use my empathy, curiosity, and perseverance to connect with my constituents and serve them in Congress.

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

First and foremost a House representative should consider the desires of her district, keeping an attentive ear to their opinions and needs. A representative must place her constituents' welfare over those of corporations and lobbyists, be in regular, close contact with her constituents, and use her platform to spotlight the lives of her constituents.

What legacy would you like to leave?

An economic democracy in which every worker has a say in their everyday lives.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember the Berlin Wall falling. That happened when we were living in Japan, and my mother, who is German, watched it on TV - from thousands of miles away - in disbelief.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked at a children's bookstore called Aladdin's Lamp and then a Baskin Robbins for most of high school.

What is your favorite book? Why?

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, because it makes me laugh every time I read it.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Dancing in the Street" - Martha and the Vandellas

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Moving around a lot due to my father's work, I never felt connected to a place until I moved to Tacoma. Now that I've found a home, I want to protect it.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

It's the most democratic and populist half of the legislative branch, which is itself the most answerable to the people. I truly believe the U.S. House is the People's House. It is the lever of government by which the American people exert the most power.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Experience is a tool, and tools are useful based on how they're used. By the time many politicians gain "enough" experience to be elected to the House, however, they have been completely bought off by corporations and lobbyists and, in office, work to preserve the system as it is. At this point in our history, I believe that a) coming in as an outsider to change the system and b) having lived experience of economic insecurity are valuable experiences to bring to government.

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

Without addressing climate change all other challenges are rendered moot. After that, we must address income inequality and money in politics. With the ability of oligarchs to buy our political system and the corrupting influence of money in politics gone, our other challenges become much easier to solve.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, and a future Climate Committee that is uncorrupted by oil money.

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

Yes. The more often the people are able to communicate their will through their representatives, the more accurately they will be represented in their nation's capital.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I think that term limits would be a positive way to ensure that seats of power do not belong to individuals, but to the people.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

Undecided.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Thaddeus Stevens.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

There was a grandmother I met while canvassing in Tacoma. She's on disability and receives $750 a month and food stamps. Her rent is $650 a month. How is anyone supposed to live on $100 a month for everything besides food and rent? Why do we as a society treat people as worthless if they don't have economic "value?" Why do we say "respect your elders" but the only respect we give them is $2 off their pancakes at IHOP?

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.

External links

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Candidate

U.S. House Washington District 6

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 4, 2022
↑ ’’Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 7, 2020’’

[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)

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 4, 2022

[bio-2] ’’Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 7, 2020’’

[1]

[2]

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Rebecca Parson

Contents

Biography

Elections

2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Washington District 6

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Washington District 6

2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Washington District 6

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Washington District 6

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

2020

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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