Washington's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (August 4 top-two primary)

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Washington's 1st Congressional District
Top-two primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: May 8, 2026
Primary: August 4, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: Poll opening hours vary; close at 8 p.m. (most voting done by mail) Voting in Washington
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Washington's 1st Congressional District 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th Washington elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

A top-two primary takes place on August 4, 2026, in Washington's 1st Congressional District to determine which two candidates will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline	Primary election	General election
May 8, 2026	August 4, 2026	November 3, 2026

Washington uses a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot, for congressional and state-level elections. The top two vote-getters move on to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation. In states that do not use a top-two system, all parties are usually able to put forward a candidate for the general election if they choose to.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Washington's 1st Congressional District's top-two primary. For more in-depth information on the district's general election, see the following page:

• Washington's 1st Congressional District election, 2026

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
  

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Washington District 1

Incumbent Suzan DelBene, James Etzkorn, Hunter Gordon, and Benjamin Kincaid are running in the primary for U.S. House Washington District 1 on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
		Suzan DelBene (D)
		James Etzkorn (Independent)
		Hunter Gordon (D)
	Submit photo	Benjamin Kincaid (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

James Etzkorn

Party: Independent

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I am not a career politician looking for a promotion. I am an engineer, a father and a problem-solver who is frustrated. I'm a 5th generation Washingtonian with an Electrical Engineering degree from UW and a Master's in Nanotechnology. With over a decade in tech and 50+ patents, I know how to build solutions. I am deeply committed to our community, having started the Monroe High School robotics team and currently serving on the Monroe School Board. I govern much like I run engineering projects. I use data to make decisions and focus on outcomes. Too often, politicians declare victory by throwing money at a problem, feeding a bureaucratic machine of consultants and lawyers rather than delivering results. We must break the cycle. We keep ping-ponging between Democratic and Republican control, expecting a different outcome. This constant swinging is a symptom of a broken system. Our quality of life is eroding while we bounce between the same two options. We cannot run a 21st-century economy with leadership stuck in the 20th century. As a new technological revolution unfolds, our leaders are making rules for systems they do not understand. We need a representative who understands the risks well enough to harness the benefits. I am running as an Independent because I don't answer to party bosses. I answer to you. Career politicians are afraid of losing their jobs. I am afraid of losing our country. The future doesn't just happen. The future is built."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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Strip the Bureaucracy Over a third of Congress are lawyers and only a handful are engineers. No wonder we have replaced legislation with litigation. Polarization has left Congress incapable of passing substantive laws, forcing them to abuse the tax code to steer industry. This bypasses the hard work of budgeting and adds layers of bureaucracy that distort original goals. Time is of the essence. We need leaders who understand that complexity is a tax. We must enforce accountability to measure results, not dollars spent. I will fight for direct funding and align incentives with outcomes. By stripping away this friction, we eliminate the waste and fraud that thrive in complexity.

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Engineer Abundance Our nation was once defined by its capacity to build. Today, we are defined by red tape. China completes the project while we're still reviewing the permit. 20th-century leaders created an economy of scarcity, driving up costs for housing, healthcare and energy. We need new leaders to Engineer Abundance. We must trigger an economic flywheel. By incentivizing tech giants to build power generation for their data centers, we expand the grid. This abundant energy makes advanced manufacturing feasible in America, restoring the middle class through production, not subsidies. Government must set strategic incentives to harness market efficiency. By rewarding outcomes, we replace bureaucracy with abundance.

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Confront the Debt Low interest rates masked our debt for years. That era is over. We now pay over $1 trillion annually in interest, surpassing defense and Medicare. Ignoring this guarantees a future of permanent inflation, crushing tax increases and deep cuts to the safety net that will destabilize our society. We cannot tax or cut our way to solvency; the math doesn't work. The only palatable solution is to Strip the Bureaucracy and Engineer Abundance to grow our way out. Status-quo politicians won't fix this. They have had decades to solve these problems and have only made them worse. They are content to manage the decline. I am running to engineer a recovery.

Hunter Gordon

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I'm a Gen Z home care aide and proud union worker running as a Democrat in Washington's 1st Congressional District. I joined this race because growing up in Redmond, I’ve seen the rich continue to get richer while working class families are left behind. Economic inequality is killing people every day, and our leaders have refused to act decisively to end this institutional rot. At the federal level, I believe we have a wannabe dictatorship that is protecting billionaires and corporate executives by casting the blame for the problems their influence has created at the feet of minorities and immigrants. As a home care aide helping my brother with Down syndrome and a young person in America, I know the struggles people in this district face every single day. I know what it’s like to navigate and fight with a broken healthcare system that doesn’t prioritize patients. I know that my generation is unlikely to be able to afford the cost of living for the foreseeable future, and I know as a union worker how relentless corporate greed is killing the working class. It is this perspective that is so badly needed in Congress, and it’s one today that is platformed by so few because of the deeply entrenched power of corporate money in our elections. If elected, I will take your anger at the state of our country, our economy, and turn it into action. I will relentlessly fight for you, your family and your livelihood - not AIPAC, big tech or billionaire donors."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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I stand for working people first. The Billionaire class is destroying our country, and it should be illegal to hoard the obscene level of wealth required to become one. If elected, I will introduce legislation to create a Wealth Tax and amend the tax code so that every dollar gained over a billion goes back into the social safety net. This by itself isn't enough though — in order to rebuild the middle class and make living affordable, we need to drastically raise the minimum wage to $25/an hour to keep pace with inflation, and fight for national rent control and harsh punishments for corporate greed to end price gouging and make it cheap to own a home once again.

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I will always prioritize human rights. Immigrant families deserve not to be terrorized and ripped apart by masked ICE thugs. Trans people deserve to be able to live their lives without the federal government trying to erase their existence. And Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank deserve the opportunity to build their lives without the threat of more bombings using the weapons we continually send Israel. If elected I will push to abolish ICE, prosecute Kristi Noem and protect our immigrant communities. I will introduce legislation to federally enshrine access to gender-affirming healthcare and other basic protections for trans people, and I will not vote for even a single additional cent in monetary or material aid to Israel.

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Tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Bill Gates have wreaked havoc on our country with their out of control corporate greed and constant attacks on our privacy. Now they want to shove AI slop down our throats and make us pay to power their datacenters, all so these same companies can improve their bottom lines and kill millions of jobs. It’s time to punish CEOs who have sold our personal data, and implement strict regulations on generative AI that exists only to destroy art, culture and spread disinformation. Then, it’s time to break up the big tech monopolies themselves and protect the workers who make their machines run.

Benjamin Kincaid

Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I am a Democrat running in Washington’s 1st Congressional District because I believe voters deserve practical, solutions first leadership rooted in evidence, accountability, and common sense. I am focused on affordability, public safety, healthcare reform, and protecting women and children. I am not running to repeat party slogans or defend the status quo. I am running to challenge failed approaches, ask hard questions, and deliver measurable results for working families in our district."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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WA-01 deserves a practical Democrat focused on results, not slogans. I support evidence based policymaking, accountability, and measurable outcomes. Voters in this district want progress that is realistic, effective, and grounded in the real problems families face every day.

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Affordability and quality of life are at the center of this campaign. Families are being squeezed by housing costs, healthcare costs, and a tax system that feels disconnected from real life. I support reforms that help working and middle class households keep more of what they earn and live safely in the communities they call home.

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I am willing to speak clearly about issues many politicians avoid, including public safety failures, homelessness tied to addiction and severe mental illness, and the need to protect women only spaces and women’s sports. Voters deserve honesty, courage, and a representative who will put community safety and basic fairness ahead of political cowardice.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Washington

Election information in Washington: Aug. 4, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Aug. 4, 2026
• By mail: Received by July 27, 2026
• Online: July 27, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: N/A
• By mail: N/A by N/A
• Online: N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Aug. 4, 2026
• By mail: Postmarked by Aug. 4, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

July 17, 2026 to Aug. 4, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

Varies - 8:00 p.m. (PT)

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Suzan DelBene	Democratic Party	$2,072,945	$1,772,240	$1,364,426	As of December 31, 2025
Hunter Gordon	Democratic Party	$35,038	$15,032	$20,007	As of December 31, 2025
Benjamin Kincaid	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
James Etzkorn	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

• District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
• Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
• State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

• District map
• Competitiveness
• Presidential elections
• State party control

Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+15. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 15 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Washington's 1st the 89th most Democratic district nationally.

2024 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Washington's 1st Congressional District

Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
63.0%	34.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Washington, 2024

Washington presidential election results (1900-2024)

• 18 Democratic wins
• 13 Republican wins
• 1 other win

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Winning Party	R	R	R	P	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

See also: Party control of Washington state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Washington's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Washington
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	8	10
Republican	0	2	2
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	10	12

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Washington's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Washington, October 2025

Office	Officeholder
Governor	Bob Ferguson
Lieutenant Governor	Denny Heck
Secretary of State	Steve Hobbs
Attorney General	Nick Brown

State legislature

Washington State Senate

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	30
	Republican Party	19
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		49

Washington House of Representatives

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	59
	Republican Party	39
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		98

Trifecta control

Washington Party Control: 1992-2025
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	S	S	S	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Washington in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Washington, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Washington	U.S. House	All candidates	1,740	$1,740.00	5/8/2026	Source

See also

• Washington's 1st Congressional District election, 2026
• United States House elections in Washington, 2026 (August 4 top-two primaries)
• United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2026
• United States House Republican Party primaries, 2026
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2026
• U.S. House battlegrounds, 2026

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic

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)

2025-2026 Elections to the United States Congress

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Election information

Ballot access for major and minor party candidates • List of candidates running for election • List of congressional challengers • Retiring senators • Retiring representatives

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Super PACs/Organizations

American Bridge 21st Century • American Crossroads • American Unity PAC • Campaign for Primary Accountability • Club for Growth Action • Congressional Leadership Fund • Cooperative of American Physicians IE Committee• Crossroads Generation • Ending Spending Action Fund • Endorse Liberty • Fair Share Action • FreedomWorks for America • Government Integrity Fund • House Majority PAC • Independence USA Fund • League of Conservation Voters • Liberty for All PAC • Majority PAC • National Association of Realtors • NEA Advocacy Fund • Now or Never PAC • Planned Parenthood Votes • Ready for Hillary • Republicans for a Prosperous America • Restore America's Voice PAC • SEIU Pea-Federal • Women Vote!

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