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Washington State Senate elections, 2026

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2026 Washington Senate Election
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Election info

Seats up: 24
Primary: August 4, 2026
General: November 3, 2026

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Other state legislative elections


Elections for the Washington State Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026. The primary is August 4, 2026. The filing deadline is May 8, 2026.

The Washington State Senate is one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2026. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.

Party control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates and State government trifectas
Party As of September 2025
     Democratic Party 30
     Republican Party 19
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 49

Candidates

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

Primary

Washington State Senate primary 2026
  • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
  • The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
  • Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
District 6

Jeff Holy (i)

District 7

Shelly Short (i)

District 8

Matt Boehnke (i)

District 13

Judith Warnick (i)
Tom Dent

District 15

Jeremie Dufault

District 21

Marko Liias (i)

District 26

Renee Hernandez Greenfield

District 29

Steve Conway (i)

District 30

Claire Wilson (i)

District 31

Phil Fortunato (i)

District 32

Jesse Salomon (i)

District 33


Did not make the ballot:
Karen Keiser 
District 34


Did not make the ballot:
Joe Nguyen 
District 35

Drew MacEwen (i)

District 36

Noel Frame (i)

District 37

Rebecca Saldana (i)

District 38

June Robinson (i)

District 42

Sharon Shewmake (i)

District 43

Jamie Pedersen (i)

District 44

John Lovick (i)

District 45

Manka Dhingra (i)

District 46

Javier Valdez (i)

District 47

Claudia Kauffman (i)

District 48

General election

Washington State Senate general election 2026
  • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
  • The list of general election candidates is incomplete pending results from the primary.
  • Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
District 6 Primary results pending
District 7 Primary results pending
District 8 Primary results pending
District 13 Primary results pending
District 15 Primary results pending
District 21 Primary results pending
District 26 Primary results pending
District 29 Primary results pending
District 30 Primary results pending
District 31 Primary results pending
District 32 Primary results pending
District 33 Primary results pending
District 34 Primary results pending
District 35 Primary results pending
District 36 Primary results pending
District 37 Primary results pending
District 38 Primary results pending
District 42 Primary results pending
District 43 Primary results pending
District 44 Primary results pending
District 45 Primary results pending
District 46 Primary results pending
District 47 Primary results pending
District 48 Primary results pending

Did not make the ballot:
Patricia Kuderer 

Voting information

See also: Voting in Washington

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.


Competitiveness

This section will be updated with information about the competitiveness of state legislative elections in Washington. For more information about Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.

Process to become a candidate

See also: Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Washington

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Chapter 29A.24 of the Washington Election Code

A candidate who desires to have his or her name printed on the ballot for election to an office other than president or vice president must complete and file a declaration of candidacy. The candidate must do the following:

  • declare that he or she is a registered voter within the jurisdiction of the office for which he or she is filing (the candidate must include the address at which he or she is registered)
  • indicate the position for which he or she is filing
  • state a party preference, if the office is a partisan office
  • indicate the amount of the filing fee accompanying the declaration of candidacy (the candidate may also indicate that he or she is filing a petition in lieu of the filing fee)
  • sign the declaration of candidacy, stating that the information provided on the form is true and swearing or affirming that he or she will support the constitution and laws of the United States and the constitution and laws of the state of Washington[1]

The filing period for candidates begins on the first Monday in May and ends the following Friday in the year in which the office is scheduled to be voted upon. For statewide offices and state legislative districts, candidates file with the secretary of state. Candidates must also submit the declaration of candidacy to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission within one business day after the filing period has ended.[2][3]

A filing fee equal to 1 percent of the annual salary of the office at the time of filing must accompany the declaration of candidacy for any office with a fixed annual salary of more than $1,000. For offices that pay less than $1,000, candidates must pay a filing fee of $10.[4] A candidate who lacks sufficient assets or income at the time of filing may submit with his or her declaration of candidacy a filing fee petition. The petition must contain signatures from registered voters equal to the number of dollars of the filing fee.

For write-in candidates

Any person who desires to be a write-in candidate and have his or her votes counted at a primary or general election can file a declaration of candidacy with the Washington Secretary of State and the Washington Public Disclosure Commission up to 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or general election. A declaration of candidacy for a write-in candidate must be accompanied by a filing fee or a filing fee petition with the required signatures if filing within 18 days of the election (fees and signature requirements are the same as those summarized above).[5]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Section 7 of Article 2 of the Washington Constitution states, "No person shall be eligible to the legislature who shall not be a citizen of the United States and a qualified voter in the district for which he is chosen."

Salaries and per diem

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[6]
SalaryPer diem
$60,191/year for senators. $61,997/year for representatives.$202/day

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Washington legislators assume office the second Monday of January.[7]

Washington political history

Trifectas

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.

Washington Party Control: 1992-2024
Eighteen 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
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
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[8] 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

Presidential politics in Washington

2024

See also: Presidential election, 2024


Presidential election in Washington, 2024
 
Candidate/Running mate
%
Popular votes
Electoral votes
✔
Image of
Image of
Kamala D. Harris/Tim Walz (D)
 
57.2
 
2,245,849 12
Image of
Image of
Donald Trump/J.D. Vance (R)
 
39.0
 
1,530,923 0
Image of
Image of
Robert F. Kennedy Jr./Nicole Shanahan (We the People)
 
1.4
 
54,868 0
Image of
Image of
Jill Stein/Butch Ware (G)
 
0.8
 
29,754 0
Image of
Image of
Chase Oliver/Mike ter Maat (L)
 
0.4
 
16,428 0
Image of
Image of
Claudia De La Cruz/Karina Garcia (Party for Socialism and Liberation)
 
0.2
 
8,695 0
Image of
Image of
Cornel West/Melina Abdullah (Justice for All)
 
0.2
 
7,254 0
Image of
Image of
Shiva Ayyadurai/Crystal Ellis (Independent)
 
0.1
 
3,323 0
Image of
Image of
Joseph Kishore/Jerry White (Socialist Equality Party)
 
0.0
 
917 0
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Image of
Rachele Fruit/Dennis Richter (Socialist Workers Party)
 
0.0
 
824 0
  Other write-in votes
 
0.6
 
25,408 0

There were no incumbents in this race The results have been certified.

Total votes: 3,924,243


2020

See also: Presidential election, 2020


Presidential election in Washington, 2020
 
Candidate/Running mate
%
Popular votes
Electoral votes
✔
Image of
Image of
Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D)
 
58.0
 
2,369,612 12
Image of
Image of
Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R)
 
38.8
 
1,584,651 0
Image of
Image of
Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L)
 
2.0
 
80,500 0
Image of
Image of
Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (G)
 
0.4
 
18,289 0
Image of
Image of
Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Party for Socialism and Liberation)
 
0.1
 
4,840 0
Image of
Image of
Alyson Kennedy/Malcolm Jarrett (Socialist Workers Party)
 
0.1
 
2,487 0
  Other write-in votes
 
0.7
 
27,252 0

Incumbents are bolded and underlined The results have been certified.

Total votes: 4,087,631


2016

See also: Presidential election, 2016
U.S. presidential election, Washington, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngHillary Clinton/Tim Kaine 52.5% 1,742,718 12
     Republican Donald Trump/Mike Pence 36.8% 1,221,747 0
     Libertarian Gary Johnson/Bill Weld 4.9% 160,879 0
     Green Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka 1.8% 58,417 0
     Socialist Workers Alyson Kennedy/Osborne Hart 0.1% 4,307 0
     Socialism and Liberation Gloria Estela La Riva/Eugene Puryear 0.1% 3,523 0
     Constitution Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley 0.5% 17,623 0
     - Other/Write-in 3.3% 107,805 0
Total Votes 3,317,019 12
Election results via: Federal Election Commission


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[9] 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


Redistricting following the 2020 census

On March 15, 2024, Judge Robert Lasnik of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ordered the state to adopt a new legislative map named Remedial Map 3B that complies with the Voting Rights Act. Judge Lasnik ordered Washington to redraw a legislative district in the Yakima Valley region because its boundaries undermined the ability of Latino voters to participate equally in elections. According to the district court's decision:[10][11]

“ The task of fashioning a remedy for a Voting Rights Act violation is not one that falls within the Court’s normal duties. It is only because the State declined to reconvene the Redistricting Commission – with its expertise, staff, and ability to solicit public comments – that the Court was compelled to step in. Nevertheless, with the comprehensive and extensive presentations from the parties, the participation of the Yakama Nation, and the able assistance of Ms. Mac Donald, the Court is confident that the adopted map best achieves the many goals of the remedial process. The Secretary of State is hereby ORDERED to conduct future elections according to Remedial Map 3B...[11][12] ”


See also

Washington State Legislative Elections News and Analysis
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Washington State Executive Offices
Washington State Legislature
Washington Courts
State legislative elections:
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014
Washington elections:
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015
Primary elections in Washington
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
Partisan composition of state legislatures
Partisan composition of state senates
Partisan composition of state houses

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Washington Election Code, "Chapter 29A.24.031," accessed April 29, 2025
  2. ↑ Washington Election Code, "Chapter 29A.24.050," accessed April 29, 2025
  3. ↑ Washington Election Code, "Chapter 29A.24.070," accessed April 29, 2025
  4. ↑ Washington Election Code, "Chapter 29A.24.091," accessed April 29, 2025
  5. ↑ Washington Election Code, "Chapter 29A.24.311," accessed April 29, 2025
  6. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  7. ↑ Washington State Legislature, "RCW 44.04.021 Commencement of terms of office," accessed February 17, 2021
  8. ↑ Democrats gained full control of the state Senate after a special election on November 7, 2017.
  9. ↑ Progressive Party
  10. ↑ Washington State Standard, "Federal judge orders redrawing of Yakima Valley legislative district," August 10, 2023
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 U.S. District Court for the District of Washington at Seattle, "Case No. 3:22-cv-05035-RSL: Susan Soto Palmer v. Steven Hobbs," March 15, 2024
  12. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.


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
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
Democratic Party (30)
Republican Party (19)


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