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Scott Stafne
Scott Stafne (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Washington's 1st Congressional District. Stafne lost in the primary on August 7, 2018.
Stafne was a 2016 Libertarian candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of Washington.[1] Stafne was defeated in the top-two primary on August 2, 2016.[2]
Stafne was a candidate for justice on the Washington Supreme Court in 2012.
Biography
Stafne graduated from DePauw University in 1971 and earned his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1974. He also earned a Masters of Law and Marine Affairs from the University of Washington in 1977.[3]
Career
Stafne is founder and owner of the Stafne Law Firm, where he has practiced constitutional, land use, marine, maritime, admiralty, and personal injury law. He also serves as a maritime and fisheries expert and adviser to Pacific and North Pacific fisheries management councils.[3]
Approach to the law
Stafne's website provides a summary of his judicial philosophy:
- "Judicial power applies already existing law to already existing facts for purposes of determining such things as legal duties, defenses, and damages. Judicial power can be abused and substituted for legislative power when Judges fail to apply the law to the actual facts before the Court. This is because if judges are not deciding matters directly involved in the dispute before them, they are exercising general power, which is intended to control future conduct. Without requiring judicial power to be anchored to the facts of a dispute the Court has been asked to decide, a judge is exercising legislative power under the guise of judicial power. Instead of applying the law to facts, the judge has both created law and improperly given the imprimatur of judicial power to the judge's own naked aggrandizement of power not related to its Constitutional function."[4]
Stafne "believes [Washington's] high court needs a fresh voice with a depth of legal experience that can restore better legal interpretations to our judicial system. Currently he takes great issue with the Supreme Court for not following their own rules, accepting poor Court of Appeals decisions they do not challenge, and issuing poor judgments without adequately stating their reasons. . . It's time to shake up the Supreme Court with people who have more depth of legal experience than they have an agenda."[3]
Elections
2018
General election
Incumbent Suzan DelBene defeated Jeffrey Beeler in the general election for U.S. House Washington District 1 on November 6, 2018.
General election
General election for U.S. House Washington District 1
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Suzan DelBene (D) | 59.3 | 197,209 |
 | Jeffrey Beeler (R) | 40.7 | 135,534 | |
| Total votes: 332,743 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Top-two primary
Incumbent Suzan DelBene and Jeffrey Beeler defeated Scott Stafne, Adam Pilskog, and Robert Mair in the primary for U.S. House Washington District 1 on August 7, 2018.
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Washington District 1
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Suzan DelBene (D) | 59.3 | 106,107 |
| ✔ | | Jeffrey Beeler (R) | 25.6 | 45,830 |
 | Scott Stafne (R) | 11.4 | 20,354 | |
| Adam Pilskog (Independent) | 2.8 | 5,007 | ||
| Robert Mair (Independent) | 0.9 | 1,622 | ||
| Total votes: 178,920 | |||
| = 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
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Suzan DelBene (D) defeated Robert Sutherland (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. DelBene and Sutherland defeated John Orlinski (R), Scott Stafne (L), and Alex Storms (I) in the top-two primary on August 2, 2016.[1][2]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Suzan DelBene Incumbent |
55.4% | 193,619 | |
| Republican | Robert Sutherland | 44.6% | 155,779 | |
| Total Votes | 349,398 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |
Suzan DelBene Incumbent |
53.5% | 77,756 | |
| Republican | Robert Sutherland |
31% | 44,970 | |
| Republican | John Orlinski | 9.4% | 13,694 | |
| Libertarian | Scott Stafne | 3.2% | 4,601 | |
| Independent | Alex Storms | 2.9% | 4,194 | |
| Total Votes | 145,215 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State |
||||
2012
- See also: Washington judicial elections, 2012
Stafne ran for position 2 justice on the Washington Supreme Court. He was defeated in the primary election, receiving 12.36% of the vote. Incumbent Justice Susan Owens won re-election on August 7, 2012.[5][6]
Ratings
- Rated as Unqualified by the Justice for Washington Foundation[7]
- Rated as Not Qualified by the King County Bar Association.[8]
See also
- United States House of Representatives
- Washington's 1st Congressional District election, 2018
- Washington's 1st Congressional District election, 2016
- Washington's 1st Congressional District
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- United States House of Representatives
- Campaign website
- Facebook page
- Twitter feed
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Washington Secretary of State, "Unofficial List of Candidates in Ballot Order," accessed May 23, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Politico, "Washington House Primaries Results," August 2, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Voting for Judges.org, Scott Stafne biography
- ↑ Scott Stafne for Washington Supreme Court campaign website, Judicial Philosophy
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Results by County," August 28, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, 2012 Candidates who have filed
- ↑ Justice for Washington Foundation, Rating of Judicial Candidates
- ↑ King County Bar Association, 2012 Judicial Election Ratings
