Your November Ballot
Every Survivor, Full Scorecard.
The primary certified on August 18. This is the field heading into November, only the candidates still standing, each run through the same three questions. Full primary history and who didn't advance lives on The Primary Record.
Congress
WA-6
Emily Randall (D, inc.) vs. Teresa Fox (R)
ER
Emily Randall Incumbent (D)
Former WA State Senator · First LGBTQ+ Latina in Congress · Born in Port Orchard · Serving since 2025
Certified: 63.0% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did she do before this moment?"
Grew up in Port Orchard — inside the district she represents. Worked for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Planned Parenthood before returning to WA. Served in the WA State Senate from 2019-2024, building a legislative record before running for Congress. This is a career, not an opportunity.
Lifelong roots + 5-year legislative record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has she been in the room?"
Her sister Olivia was born with complex disabilities — when Olivia gained access to expanded Medicaid, Randall became a healthcare advocate from the inside of that experience. The daughter of a shipyard worker and a paraeducator. She knows what working-class families in this district navigate because she was raised in one.
Personal and professional proximity — deep
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Her legislative focus — affordable healthcare, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ protections, education access — directly serves the working families she grew up in. Member of Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus. No evident misalignment between her background, her platform, and who benefits.
The cleanest Proximity Test score of all three districts. Born here. Raised working-class here. Built her career advocating for healthcare and reproductive rights before running. First LGBTQ+ Latina in Congress. Her biography is the work — not the backdrop to it.
Endorsed by: Sen. Patty Murray, Rep. Marilyn Strickland, EMILY's List, Planned Parenthood, former Govs. Gregoire and Locke. Won 2024 general with 56.7% of vote.
TF
Teresa Fox Republican
Occupational safety professional
Certified: 23.0% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did she do before this moment?"
Occupational safety professional. No prior civic track record, no legislative experience, no documented community organizing in WA-6 before running.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has she been in the room?"
Occupational safety work provides workplace proximity — understanding how regulations affect workers and employers. Limited documentation of proximity to the broader healthcare, reproductive rights, and economic issues that dominate WA-6.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Backed by Washington state Republicans whose stated priority includes shifting this district. Limited public documentation of platform specifics. Insufficient record to score confidently.
Limited public profile and thin track record for a D+10 district with an incumbent who passes every Proximity Test question. The experience gap is significant.
WA-8
Kim Schrier (D, inc.) vs. Trinh Ha (D)
KS
Kim Schrier Incumbent (D)
Pediatrician — First pediatrician elected to Congress · Serving since 2019
Certified: 42.5% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did she do before this moment?"
17-year pediatric career in Issaquah serving Pierce County and surrounding communities. Became politically active in 2017 specifically when healthcare was threatened — a year before running. This is a career, not an opportunity.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has she been in the room?"
She has Type 1 diabetes — she is the patient and the doctor simultaneously. She sat with mothers crying about healthcare costs in her office for nearly two decades. Maximum proximity to the healthcare and family welfare issues she legislates on.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Strong overall — lowered insulin costs, fought ACA repeal, secured rural maternal healthcare legislation. Two flags worth knowing: she voted for the Laken Riley Act in 2025 alongside Republicans, and in July 2026 she voted against Rep. Massie's amendment to strip $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel, siding with roughly half her caucus against the progressive members who broke from leadership on the same vote. Neither is disqualifying, but both are real data points on where she lands relative to her party's more progressive wing.
Largely aligned — two votes worth tracking
The most evaluable candidate in WA-8. 17 years in this community, four terms defending this seat, legislation that has materially improved people's lives. The Laken Riley Act vote is a real data point — voters get to weigh it.
Endorsed by: EMILY's List, WA Education Association, labor unions, progressive healthcare organizations
TH
Trinh Ha Republican
Educator, Ph.D. · Former VA consultant · Vietnamese refugee background
Certified: 23.7% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did she do before this moment?"
Academic and policy career including VA consulting. Her family fled Vietnam — real lived experience of government consequences. But no community-level track record engaging with WA-8 families' specific issues before running.
Personal history, no local track record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has she been in the room?"
Academic and policy proximity — she has studied the issues. Her VA consulting work provides government proximity. But she hasn't been in the community rooms where WA-8 families navigate healthcare costs, school funding, and daily economic pressure.
Policy proximity, limited community proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Described as "not America First" — a meaningful distinction from the current GOP mainstream. But her policy positions and funding sources are not well-documented publicly. Insufficient record to score confidently.
Interesting background. More substantive than most challengers in this field. But no community track record in WA-8 and limited public documentation of where her policy incentives actually point.
WA-10
Marilyn Strickland (D, inc.) vs. Chris D. Chung (R)
MS
Marilyn Strickland Incumbent (D)
Former Mayor of Tacoma · First African American to represent WA at federal level · Serving since 2021
Certified: 46.4% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did she do before this moment?"
Born in Seoul, raised in Tacoma's South End, attended Mount Tahoma High School. Worked her way from clerical to Starbucks manager to city council to Mayor of Tacoma for 8 years. She didn't arrive at this community — she is from it.
Lifelong community roots + 8-year mayoral record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has she been in the room?"
She has been in every room. Raised in the South End, she knows housing precarity, economic inequality, and community need firsthand. As mayor she had to make decisions with real consequences. In Congress: $120M for the district, $850K for Tacoma Housing Authority this year alone.
Maximum proximity — she's from here
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Her legislative record shows material benefits going to WA-10 families. One nuance: she opposed the Seattle head tax as Chamber of Commerce president (pro-business position), and received an ethics sanction in 2010 for accepting frequent flyer miles from a local businessman — she accepted the sanction and repaid the value. Not disqualifying. Know the record. Also worth noting: in July 2026, she voted against Rep. Massie's amendment to strip $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel, consistent with her seat on the House Armed Services Committee, though the vote split her party nationally, with roughly half of House Democrats voting the opposite way.
Largely aligned — nuances worth knowing
The richest Proximity Test case in these two districts. Raised here, built her career here, served as mayor for 8 years, now delivers federal dollars to this community. The record is documented and substantial. The ethics nuances are real but minor and resolved.
Congressional Black Caucus, Armed Services Committee member. Secured $120M+ for district from Infrastructure Act. $850K Tacoma Housing Authority funding (2026).
CC
Chris D. Chung Republican
Pharmacist, Lakewood, '25 mayoral & '24 insurance commissioner candidate
Certified: 34.7% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did he do before this moment?"
A pharmacist with two prior runs for local and statewide office in the past two years. Real healthcare-sector professional experience, no elected record yet.
Professional record, no elected record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has he been in the room?"
Pharmacy practice gives direct proximity to healthcare access and drug cost issues specifically. Less documented proximity to the district's other core concerns.
Strong in healthcare, thinner elsewhere
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Two runs in as many years suggests genuine appetite for office; no developed WA-10-specific platform found yet distinguishing this run.
Frequent candidacy, undeveloped platform
Real healthcare-sector proximity. Worth reading his actual platform for this specific race rather than assuming it carries over from his prior campaigns.
WA Supreme Court
Position 1
Colleen Melody (inc.) vs. Scott Edwards
CM
Colleen Melody Incumbent (appointed)
Former Chief, Civil Rights Division — WA Attorney General's Office
Certified: 48.9% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did she do on these issues before this moment?"
Built the Civil Rights Division at the WA AG's Office over years — housing discrimination, consumer protections, immigrant rights. This is a career, not a campaign.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has she been in the room where the work actually happens?"
Yes — spent her legal career directly in civil rights enforcement. Not writing about it. Doing it. Housing discrimination cases, immigrant rights work, consumer protection.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits if the problem persists?"
Nuanced. Appointed by Ferguson who signed the income tax. Critics raise recusal questions. Her endorsement coalition is progressive and labor-aligned. Raised $256,851 as of late September. No judicial record yet to evaluate.
Career civil rights attorney and builder. The proximity is real. The appointment-related conflict question is legitimate — but the alternative candidates have weaker track records and more concerning incentive structures.
Endorsed by: Gov. Ferguson, AG Nick Brown, WA Education Association, labor unions, sitting justices, Washington Conservation Action (Sept. 22)
SE
Scott Edwards
Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP
Certified: 32.9% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did he do on these issues before this moment?"
Corporate law practice. No civil rights background, no public interest track record, no judicial experience.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has he been in the room where the work actually happens?"
Corporate litigation is a different room entirely from the civil rights, criminal justice, and constitutional cases that define this court's work.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits if the problem persists?"
Previously challenged the state's capital gains tax — the forerunner to the millionaires' tax. Built a career representing institutional interests against the kind of policy this court will be asked to uphold.
The most concerning candidate in Position 1. His previous legal work directly opposed the revenue policy now heading to this court. The Proximity Test flags this loudly on Q3.
Endorsed by: Not publicly reported
Position 3
David Stevens vs. Jaime Hawk
DS
David Stevens
Mason County Superior Court Judge · Former Prosecutor
Certified: 38.9% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did he do before this moment?"
Prosecution career and Superior Court judgeship in Mason County. Judicial experience is real. He's said constitutional changes should come through voters, not reinterpretation by the court. Running a grassroots campaign, roughly $40,000 from individual donors, well behind Hawk's $271,118.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has he been in the room?"
Trial court experience counts. But prosecutors sit on the opposite side of the room from the communities whose rights most often come before the WA Supreme Court.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Has cited Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito as judicial heroes. Both of those justices spent their careers dismantling the protections this court upholds. Backed by state GOP whose stated priority is shifting this court's composition.
The Scalia/Alito citation is the clearest signal in Position 3. Those justices built a legacy of narrowing rights. That tells you where the incentives are pointed — not toward the communities whose cases come before this court most often.
Endorsed by: Washington State Republican Party
JH
Jaime Hawk
King County Superior Court Judge · Former Public Defender & Civil Rights Attorney
Certified: 33.9% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did she do before this moment?"
Public defender, then a civil rights attorney at the ACLU, then Superior Court judge. This is a career built entirely in the rooms where justice is made or denied — before any Supreme Court race was on the table.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has she been in the room where it happens?"
Public defense is as close to the problem as you can get. She has sat across from people who have nothing — and fought for them anyway. That's the deepest possible proximity.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits if the problem persists?"
No institutional or financial incentive to keep the problems she's spent her career fighting. Her entire career has been oriented toward resolution, not perpetuation, of injustice.
Passes the Proximity Test cleanly on all three questions. The public defender and ACLU background is the single strongest indicator of proximity in any of these five races. Heading into November she's also substantially outraised Stevens, $271,118 to roughly $40,000.
Endorsed by: Gov. Ferguson, Justice Yu, Justice Whitener, Attorney General Nick Brown, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates (final endorsement, Sept. 25)
Position 4
Ian Birk vs. Sean O'Donnell — open seat, the best-funded race of the five
IB
Ian Birk
Judge, WA Court of Appeals, Division I · Former Plaintiff-Side Civil Litigator
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
20 years as a plaintiff-side civil litigator at Keller Rohrback, representing individuals against insurance companies and corporate interests, before being appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2022. The only Position 4 candidate with direct appellate experience.
Deep, consistent legal career
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Two decades representing everyday people against powerful institutions, then three years doing the exact appellate-level work this seat requires. Arguably the strongest consumer-advocacy proximity of any candidate in any of the five 2026 races.
Direct, sustained proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Endorsed by five sitting justices, former Gov. Inslee, and Washington Conservation Action. Worth naming plainly: he's the best-funded candidate across all five 2026 Supreme Court races, $446,096 as of mid-September. Real backing, his record substantiates it, but the scale is worth knowing.
Strong backing — worth knowing the scale
The strongest direct match between record and role of the two Position 4 candidates. The funding scale is real and worth sitting with, not as a red flag, but as a fact worth having.
SO
Sean O'Donnell
Judge, King County Superior Court · Former Career Prosecutor
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Career prosecutor, then King County Superior Court judge since 2013, serving as chief criminal judge, chief family law judge, and pro tem justice on the WA Supreme Court. 13 years of substantial, varied trial-court experience.
Long, varied trial-court record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Deep, hands-on proximity to the courtroom where regular people's lives actually get decided, family law, criminal law, day after day for over a decade. Less direct appellate or constitutional proximity than Birk.
Real, but trial-level proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Genuinely cross-partisan coalition: police and sheriffs, the Farm Bureau, the Retail Association, alongside some Democratic district support. Worth knowing directly: a $500 contribution from former AG Rob McKenna, who filed the millionaires'-tax lawsuit and chairs Full Court Press. O'Donnell has publicly distanced himself, asking them to remove his photo from their site. Both facts are true.
Cross-partisan, one donor link worth knowing
A different, equally real kind of proximity than Birk's, more than a decade inside the trial courtroom instead of the appellate bench. The McKenna connection isn't disqualifying, but it's worth reading in his own words before you decide what it means.
Endorsed by: US Reps. Adam Smith & Marilyn Strickland, former Mayor Bruce Harrell, WA Council of Police & Sheriffs, Washington Farm Bureau, Washington Retail Association, 31st District Democrats (questionnaire)
Position 5
Dave Larson vs. Theo Angelis
DL
Dave Larson Advanced
Retired Federal Way Municipal Court Judge · 5th campaign for WA Supreme Court
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did he do before this moment?"
Municipal court judge handling lower-level cases. No civil rights work, no constitutional litigation experience, no record engaging with the issues most likely to reach the WA Supreme Court. His entire profile is built on this race, not on the work.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has he been in the room?"
Municipal court is a fundamentally different room from the constitutional and civil rights cases that define this court's work. The experience gap between Larson and the other serious candidates in this race is significant.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits if he keeps running?"
This is his fifth campaign for the Supreme Court — 2000, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2026 — four straight losses, the closest being 2024, which he lost by just 0.61%. The outrage IS the platform. Backed by state GOP whose stated goal is shifting this court's direction. As of late September, he's raised $364,600, nearly matching Angelis's $384,400, real institutional money behind a five-time losing campaign, not a grassroots shoestring effort. This is Q3's sharpest application: ask what his campaign looks like if the court's direction changes.
Platform is the problem, not the solution
The clearest Q3 failure in all five races. Five campaigns, four straight losses, each one closer than the last, built entirely on opposing this court. The platform requires the problem to persist. That is the definition of misaligned incentives. He advanced anyway — a real gap between what the test found and what the vote count did.
Endorsed by: Washington State Republican Party, Forward Party
TA
Theo Angelis Incumbent (appointed) · Advanced
Former Partner, K&L Gates LLP · Volunteer immigrant/refugee work
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did he do before this moment?"
Corporate litigator at K&L Gates — a major corporate law firm — for years. Volunteer work with immigrants and refugees is real and meaningful. No prior judicial record since he was appointed directly to the Supreme Court.
Mixed — no judicial record to evaluate
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has he been in the room?"
Immigration and refugee volunteer work shows real proximity to vulnerable communities. Corporate litigation background is a different room. The ratio matters — what shaped his professional worldview?
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Worked at K&L Gates with Gov. Ferguson. Endorsed and funded by Ferguson, Sen. Pedersen (who sponsored the income tax), K&L Gates attorneys, and Amazon employees. These are the parties most invested in how this court rules. That's a meaningful signal.
Incentive questions are legitimate
The Q3 concern is real and warranted. His fundraising, $384,400 as of late September, is now nearly matched by Larson's $364,600, but who's funding it matters. Not disqualifying — but the Proximity Test asks you to look at it honestly.
Endorsed by: Gov. Ferguson, Sen. Jamie Pedersen, sitting justices, local Democratic parties, labor unions. Significant donations from K&L Gates attorneys and Amazon employees.
The Choice — Position 5
Q1
Record
LarsonRetired municipal court judge. This is his 5th campaign for this court, 4 straight losses.
Angelis26 years at K&L Gates. Appointed to this seat in March 2026. No prior elected experience.
Q2
Proximity
LarsonMunicipal court handles lower-level cases, a different room from constitutional and civil rights law.
AngelisReal appellate-adjacent legal experience, but 26 years representing major institutional and corporate clients, not everyday people.
Q3
Incentives
LarsonThe clearest Q3 failure on this ballot: a platform built on opposing this court, which requires the problem to persist.
AngelisShares a professional network with Gov. Ferguson (who appointed him) and Sen. Pedersen (who wrote the tax law headed to this court).
The actual tradeoff: neither candidate passes cleanly. One's incentive problem is structural, a campaign that needs the court to stay a target. The other's is relational, a career built inside the same rooms as the policy this court may soon rule on. Different flaws, not an easy pick.
Position 7
Debra Stephens (Chief Justice, inc.) vs. Todd Bloom
DS
Debra Stephens Chief Justice · Incumbent
WA Supreme Court since 2008 · Chief Justice since 2025
Certified: 48.1% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did she do before this moment?"
She IS the track record. On the court since 2008 — through McCleary, Blake, and every major WA constitutional moment of the last 17 years. This question has the richest answer of any candidate in these five races.
17-year record on this court
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has she been in the room?"
She has been on the highest court in WA for 17 years. She has worked to make courts more accessible and transparent — particularly for people who navigate the system without money or power behind them.
Maximum institutional proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Her entire career has been on a public bench. No private clients, no corporate interests. Her professional success is tied to the court functioning well for the people who use it — not the institutions that fund campaigns to change its composition.
Passes the Proximity Test on all three questions — with a 17-year evidentiary record to back it up. The most evaluable candidate of all five races because she has actually done the job. Heading into November she's raised $135,311 to Bloom's roughly $10,700.
Endorsed by: Broad nonpartisan judicial coalition, bar associations, court reform organizations, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates (final endorsement, Sept. 25)
TB
Todd Bloom
Attorney, Port Orchard — Estate Planning
Certified: 30.5% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
"What did he do before this moment?"
Estate planning attorney in Port Orchard, also a CPA and 20-year Navy veteran. No judicial experience. No constitutional law background. No civil rights record. Has raised roughly $10,700 to date, compared to Stephens' $135,311. Challenging the Chief Justice with an estate planning practice is the experience gap speaking for itself.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
"Has he been in the room?"
Estate planning is a different planet from the constitutional, civil rights, and criminal justice cases that define this court's work. No proximity to the problems this court is asked to solve.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
"Who benefits?"
Backed by state GOP. No evident personal professional reason to run for the Supreme Court other than to challenge its direction. The campaign is the platform.
The experience and preparation gap between Bloom and Chief Justice Stephens is the widest in any of these five races. The Proximity Test is unambiguous here.
Endorsed by: Washington State Republican Party
The Choice — Position 7
Q1
Record
Stephens17 years on this court, Chief Justice. The most evaluable candidate in any of the five races, a real record to check against.
BloomEstate planning attorney. No judicial experience, no constitutional law background, no civil rights record.
Q2
Proximity
StephensMaximum institutional proximity, 17 years inside the exact work this seat does.
BloomEstate planning is a different field entirely from the constitutional and criminal cases that define this court.
Q3
Incentives
StephensA career built entirely on the public bench, no private clients or corporate interests to answer to.
BloomBacked by the state GOP specifically to shift the court's direction. No personal professional reason to run evident.
The actual tradeoff: there isn't a real one here. This is the widest experience gap of any race on the ballot, and the test's verdict is unambiguous.
State Senate
LD-26
Deb Krishnadasan (D, inc.) vs. Gary Parker (R)
DK
Deb Krishnadasan Incumbent (D)
Senate · Appointed 2024, won special election Nov. 2025 by 5 points
Certified: 56.0% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Grew up on a Puyallup farm in a union household, then worked for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Microsoft before the Legislature. A mix of nonprofit health advocacy and private-sector experience, not a lifelong political career.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Nonprofit health-advocacy proximity to healthcare access, matched by her legislative record supporting reproductive healthcare and education funding. A working-class upbringing in this exact district.
District-rooted, issue-matched record
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Won a competitive special election by only 5 points in a genuinely split district, meaning she has to keep earning this seat, not coast on incumbency.
Genuinely competitive, not a safe seat
A working-class, district-rooted record matched to the issues she legislates on. The 5-point margin means this seat is still genuinely hers to lose, not a formality.
GP
Gary Parker Republican
Senate · Restaurant owner and philanthropist, Gig Harbor
Certified: 43.9% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Runs a restaurant business, active in the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club, describes himself as "not a career politician." Real local civic involvement, no prior elected or policy record.
Civic involvement, no policy record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Small-business ownership gives him real proximity to regulatory burden and local economic conditions. No documented proximity yet to healthcare, education, or reproductive-rights questions the seat also votes on.
Strong in one lane, untested in the rest
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
First run for office, platform built around regulatory relief and public safety, consistent with a small-business owner's actual daily concerns. No conflict to flag.
Platform matches his actual background
Genuine small-business proximity, honestly limited to that lane. Whether that's enough for a seat that also decides healthcare and education funding is the real question here.
LD-29
Sharlett Mena (D) vs. David Anderson (D)
SM
Sharlett Mena Democrat
Senate (open) · Sitting State Representative, LD-29 Position 2
Certified: 70.3% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Worked in the U.S. House, the WA State Senate, and the Governor's office before ever running for anything herself, then co-founded Voter Turnup, a voter-registration and civic engagement organization, before her own 2022 House win.
Institutional experience plus organizing record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Four years already representing this exact district in the House, on tax reform, housing, and environmental justice. This is a lateral move within the same community, not a new introduction to it.
Already representing this exact community
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Won reelection in 2024 with 93.8% of the vote, write-in opposition only, meaning her voting record has already been tested and endorsed by this district directly.
Strongly endorsed record, worth reading directly
A known, tested record in this exact district, moving to a bigger chair. She does have an opponent this cycle, worth reading his case directly before assuming this is a formality.
DA
David Anderson Democrat, primary challenger
Senate (open) · STEM professor, Tacoma Community College
Certified: 25.9% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Teaches STEM at the community college that serves this district directly, real, ongoing proximity to local students and workforce development. No prior elected or legislative-staff record like Mena's.
Real educational proximity, no institutional record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Direct daily proximity to this district's students and the workforce-readiness questions a community college sits at the center of. Different in kind from Mena's policy-and-organizing background, not necessarily lesser.
Strong in education, unproven in broader policy
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
First run for state office. No legislative platform on record yet to weigh against classroom experience.
A genuine, different kind of local proximity than Mena's. Whether daily classroom experience or years of policy and organizing matters more to you is the real question this race is asking.
LD-31
Phil Fortunato (R, inc.) vs. Tamara Stramel (D)
PF
Phil Fortunato Incumbent (R)
Senate · Landscaper by trade, founder of Eco-3
Certified: 54.6% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
In the Legislature since 1999, House then Senate since 2017. Also ran statewide for Governor in 2020 and Insurance Commissioner in 2024, losing both. A long legislative record paired with a pattern of unsuccessful statewide bids.
Long record, mixed statewide results
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Small-business ownership gives him direct proximity to regulatory and tax questions. Decades in the Legislature give him direct proximity to how this district's priorities have shifted over time.
Long tenure, worth checking against current priorities
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Facing a genuine challenger this cycle, worth reading his current platform directly rather than assuming continuity with prior terms.
Real race, worth a direct read
A long, checkable record. This seat is genuinely contested this cycle, read both candidates on their current platforms rather than assuming incumbency settles it.
TS
Tamara Stramel Democrat
Senate · Mom, community organizer, Lake Tapps
Certified: 45.4% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A decade of community organizing and volunteer work in the Lake Tapps area, work with young people in crisis, and support for military families. Also ran for a county charter commission seat in 2025. Real, sustained local involvement, no prior elected office.
Real community record, no elected record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Direct, lived proximity to the district's rapid growth, housing costs, and school strain, the same issues she names as her reasons for running, as a decade-long resident and organizer, not a newcomer studying the district from outside.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
First run for state office. Platform (affordability, education investment, opposing regressive tax policy) matches her organizing background directly. No legislative record yet to test it against.
Values match background, unproven at this level
Genuine grassroots proximity to this district's growing pains. The real question against a 25-year incumbent: whether lived community experience translates into legislative effectiveness.
State House — Pierce County
LD-2, Position 1
Andrew Barkis (R, inc.) vs. William Dehnel (D)
AB
Andrew Barkis Incumbent (R)
Position 1 · Ranking Republican, Transportation Committee · ~30 years in private-sector housing/insurance
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A decade in the Legislature built on a private-sector housing and insurance career before that. Lead sponsor of legislation letting property owners split residential lots — a direct supply-side move.
Career-length, on-topic record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Direct professional proximity to housing supply and permitting, matched by his committee assignment.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Endorsed by NFIB and the Master Builders of Pierce County, groups aligned with his own industry background. His affordability framing consistently favors builder-side solutions over tenant-side ones.
Aligned with his industry, not automatically with renters
A real, career-length record on housing supply. Whose affordability problem he's actually solving, the builder's or the renter's, is the specific thing to weigh, not whether he has a record.
WD
William Dehnel Democrat
Position 1 · Union shop steward, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 758
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Represents transit workers as a union shop steward, direct labor-organizing experience, distinct in kind from Barkis's ownership-side background.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Real proximity to workers' rights and transit. No comparable documented proximity to housing supply specifically, which is what dominates this district's legislative agenda.
Strong on labor, thinner on housing
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
A labor background points toward worker and tenant protections, the opposite incentive structure from Barkis's builder-aligned endorsements. This is a genuine philosophical fork, not a thin-record protest candidacy.
Clear philosophical contrast
A genuine labor-proximity candidate against a genuine housing-industry-proximity incumbent. This is a real choice between two documented perspectives, not a search for a record at all.
LD-2, Position 2
Matt Marshall (R, inc.) vs. Angela Taylor (D)
MM
Matt Marshall Incumbent (R)
Position 2 · Army veteran, physician assistant · Former Eatonville School Board
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Army veteran and physician assistant, elected to the Eatonville School Board in 2019. He also founded the Washington Three Percenters, an organization watchdog groups including the Anti-Defamation League categorize as part of the anti-government militia movement. NPR and InvestigateWest documented his role as its president until he stepped down in 2020, and his full departure from the organization in 2025.
A fuller record than a campaign bio shows
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
School board and medical background give real proximity to education and healthcare. His organizing history gives direct, documented proximity to gun-rights and anti-government-oversight movements specifically, proximity to a cause, not to a service gap.
Proximity to a movement, not a service problem
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
His legislative focus, Second Amendment rights, "constitutional freedoms," parental rights, tracks consistently with his organizing background. The platform and the record match. What the record actually contains is the thing most voters aren't shown. He cosponsored HB 1038 (2025), the bill to prohibit puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries for minors. It never advanced out of committee.
Consistent, but incomplete without the full record
His platform and his documented history are consistent with each other. Read the sourcing on that history yourself before you vote, it's a completeness question, not a character verdict from us.
MT
Martin Miller & Angela Taylor Democrats
Position 2 · Two Democrats filed against the incumbent
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Miller has been described locally as an anti-tax activist. Taylor's professional background is not yet publicly documented.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Nothing publicly documented for either candidate yet.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No developed platform on record for either.
The test can't be run on either candidate yet. Go to BallotReady directly rather than skip this one.
LD-25, Position 1
Michael Keaton (R, inc.) vs. David Berg (D)
MK
Michael Keaton Incumbent (R)
Position 1 · F-16 pilot, 20-yr Air Force veteran · Puyallup School Board 2015–2023
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Two decades as an Air Force pilot, then eight years on the Puyallup School Board before the Legislature. A real public-service record on education specifically.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
School board service is genuine proximity to education administration. There is no comparable record on the affordability and healthcare pressure that is actually driving this district's competitiveness.
Proximity to education only
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Votes with his caucus against the millionaires' tax and for restricting trans student athletics. Both are national party priorities imported into this district, not positions built from local proximity.
Platform tracks party, not district
Passes on education. Fails to show proximity to what's actually contested here. His platform is a national script applied to a local seat.
DB
David Berg Challenger (D)
Position 1 · Puyallup School Board member since 2021
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Four years on the same school board Keaton once sat on, in the same district, right now, while the funding shortfalls he'd legislate on are already hitting his board's budget.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
He is sitting through the exact budget fights the Legislature's funding decisions cause, in this district, this year. That is proximity in real time, not on a résumé.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
First run for state office. No legislative platform on record yet to check against his school board conduct.
The strongest, most current proximity of any candidate in this race. The tradeoff is real: no state legislative record exists yet to weigh it against.
LD-25, Position 2
Cyndy Jacobsen (R, inc.) vs. Jenn Marie Strickling (D)
CJ
Cyndy Jacobsen Incumbent (R)
Position 2 · Math instructor, Pierce College · 3 decades in the 25th
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A working classroom instructor in the district she represents, now on House Finance and Housing. Real teaching proximity before the Legislature.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Classroom proximity to education funding is genuine. Her defining priorities this session, opposing the income tax and restricting trans athletes, are ideological positions, not ones her classroom experience specifically produced.
Priorities don't follow from her proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Same national script as her Position 1 seatmate. Serves this district's most conservative voters directly, at a distance from the affordability pressure defining the broader race. She was also the primary sponsor of HB 1038 (2025), which would prohibit puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries for minors. It never advanced out of committee.
Platform tracks party, not district
A genuine local educator whose actual legislative priorities have gone somewhere else. The classroom record doesn't explain the culture-war platform.
JS
Jenn Marie Strickling Challenger (D)
Position 2 · Chair, 25th LD Democrats · Summit-Waller resident
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Chairs the 25th LD Democrats and has organized with multiple unions. Ran for Pierce County Charter Review Commission in November 2025, so this isn't actually her first campaign, that race just wasn't for this seat.
Local party and union organizing, one prior campaign
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Organizing proximity to labor issues through union work. Chairing the local district party gives her direct exposure to what this district's Democratic base actually prioritizes, distinct from having governed on any of it directly.
Real, but organizing proximity, not governing proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Campaign centers on union paychecks, public safety, and schools, consistent with her union-organizing background. No legislative record yet to check that platform against.
Platform matches background, unproven at this level
More record here than a first glance suggests, local party leadership, union organizing, one prior campaign for a different seat. Real proximity to this district's Democratic base specifically, not yet tested in office.
LD-26, Position 1
David Olson (R) vs. Adison Richards (D, inc.)
DO
David Olson Republican
Position 1 · Peninsula School Board VP, 2024 state superintendent runner-up
Certified: 43.9% — Led the field, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Elected Peninsula School Board VP and ran statewide for Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2024. Real, documented public service record, entirely in education governance.
Real education-governance record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Direct proximity to school funding and governance through his board seat. No documented proximity to housing law, the specific issue that has defined this seat's recent legislative fight.
Strong on education, not housing
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
A statewide runner-up in 2024 running again at the legislative level. No documented conflict, but no legislative record yet to weigh a platform against.
Led the certified primary field with a real, if education-specific, record. Split Democratic support between Richards and Bornfleth is the more likely explanation than a wholesale shift in the district, worth reading his actual platform before November rather than assuming either story.
AR
Adison Richards Incumbent (D)
Position 1 · Housing-law attorney
Certified: 33.5% — Runner-up, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Practiced housing law before running. This is not adjacent experience, it's the exact subject matter he now legislates on.
Direct professional match
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Direct, specific proximity to tenant and landlord disputes through his own law practice.
Specific, documented proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Voted against the millionaires' income tax, one of a small handful of Democrats to do so. That vote is the single clearest data point in this race and deserves a direct look, not a party-label assumption.
One vote breaks from expectation
Real professional proximity to the issue he legislates on. The tax vote is the thing to read for yourself, in his own words, not take on anyone's framing.
The Choice — LD-26, Position 1
Q1
Record
OlsonPeninsula School Board VP, 2024 state superintendent runner-up. Real record, entirely in education.
RichardsHousing-law attorney, incumbent. Direct professional match to the exact issue this seat legislates on.
Q2
Proximity
OlsonDirect proximity to school funding and governance. No documented proximity to housing law.
RichardsSpecific, documented proximity to tenant and landlord disputes through his own law practice.
Q3
Incentives
OlsonNo documented conflict, but no legislative record yet to weigh a platform against.
RichardsVoted against the millionaires' income tax, one of a small handful of Democrats to do so. The clearest data point in this race.
The actual tradeoff: Richards has the stronger direct match to this specific office's subject matter. Olson led the certified primary anyway, most likely because Richards and Bornfleth split the Democratic vote, not because voters found Olson's record stronger. Worth reading his actual platform before assuming either story.
LD-26, Position 2
Katy Cornell (R) vs. Renee Hernandez Greenfield (D)
KC
Katy Cornell Republican
Position 2 (open) · Pastor, co-leads a global health & clean-water nonprofit
Certified: 44.7% — Led the field, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Years of hands-on nonprofit work on clean water and healthcare access, mostly in West Africa. Real service, built somewhere else.
Real service, wrong geography
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Genuine proximity to healthcare-access problems abroad. No documented proximity yet to Gig Harbor's specific version of that problem.
Proximity exists, wrong location
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
First run for office, values-driven rather than backer-driven. No conflicting incentive structure to flag.
No conflict of interest evident
A real service record that hasn't yet translated into this district. Whether it does is the open question of this campaign, not a settled one either way.
RG
Renee Hernandez Greenfield Democrat
Position 2 (open) · Speech-language trainer · Former CPS investigator, Suquamish Tribe
Certified: 39.6% — Runner-up, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Worked inside tribal child welfare investigations, then moved into speech and language work with children and families. She has sat inside the system before asking to help run it.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Child welfare and family services proximity is specific and rare among this field — few candidates anywhere on this ballot can claim it.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Endorsed by outgoing Rep. Emily Randall and Kitsap County Democrats — an institutional-continuity path, not a locally organic one. Worth naming plainly, not disqualifying.
Institutional backing, not local grassroots
The strongest direct-systems proximity in this race. Tribal child welfare work is not a line most candidates can put on a campaign flyer.
LD-27, Position 1
Laurie Jinkins (D, inc.) vs. Carole Sue Braaten (R)
LJ
Laurie Jinkins Incumbent (D)
Position 1 · Speaker of the House
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A career Tacoma legislator, Speaker since 2020, the most institutionally powerful seat on this entire ballot in either chamber.
Longest, deepest record here
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Decades of direct legislative proximity to every issue that passes through the House, a function of the role itself.
Total institutional proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
As Speaker, her incentives run toward the caucus and the institution as much as this specific district. That's a structural fact of the job, not a conflict, but it changes what "representing Tacoma" means day to day.
Institutional role reshapes district focus
The deepest record and the most institutional power on this ballot. The question worth asking isn't whether she's qualified, it's what the Speakership costs this specific district's attention.
CB
Carole Sue Braaten Republican
Position 1 · Ran for this House seat in 2012, State Senate in this district in 2024
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Two prior runs in this district, in 2012 and 2024, both losses. Persistence is documented. A legislative record is not, because she has never held the seat.
Candidacies, not a record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Nothing publicly documented beyond the campaigns themselves.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No conflicting incentive to flag. The honest read is thin preparation, not misalignment.
Underprepared, not conflicted
Three campaigns in twelve years is not a record, it's a pattern of running. Against a sitting Speaker, that gap is the whole story here.
LD-27, Position 2
Jake Fey (D, inc.) — Position 2, unopposed, advances to Nov. 3
LD-28, Position 1
Mari Leavitt (D, inc.) vs. Kathy Richardson (R)
ML
Mari Leavitt Incumbent (D)
Position 1
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A sitting incumbent with a full public voting record through the WA Legislature's own site, the single most direct source available for this seat.
Full record is public and checkable
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
This district borders Joint Base Lewis-McChord, giving her ongoing service direct proximity to military-family and veteran issues specific to this seat.
District-specific proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No documented conflict between district needs and voting record found.
No conflict found, verify directly
A checkable record with district-specific proximity. Read the actual votes yourself, the record exists precisely so you don't have to take anyone's word for it.
KR
Kathy Richardson Republican
Position 1 · Doctor of Nursing Practice, associate dean at Pacific Lutheran University
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A real healthcare and higher-education credential, a doctorate and an academic administration role at PLU. First run for elected office.
Strong credential, no political record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Direct proximity to healthcare workforce and higher-ed funding through her actual job. No documented proximity yet to housing and affordability, this district's more dominant concern.
Strong in her lane, untested outside it
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
A first campaign built on professional credentials, not prior political maneuvering. No conflict to flag.
No conflict of interest evident
Real expertise in healthcare and education. Whether that expertise extends to the housing questions this district cares most about is genuinely untested.
LD-28, Position 2
Dan Bronoske (D, inc.) — Position 2, unopposed, advances to Nov. 3
LD-29, Position 1
Krista Perez (D) vs. Melanie Morgan (D, inc.)
KP
Krista Perez Democrat, primary challenger
Position 1 · Author, businesswoman; ran for Tacoma City Council at-large in 2025
Certified: 48.9% — Won the primary, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Built multiple business and nonprofit ventures and authored a book on transformative and healing practices for marginalized communities. Distinct from Morgan's institutional path, but tested only once at the ballot box, in 2025, and she lost that race.
Real background, one prior loss
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Community and entrepreneurial proximity is real. No documented proximity to state-level legislative process specifically.
Local proximity, not state-level yet
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
First state-level run. No legislative platform on record yet to weigh against conduct.
A real values contrast with the incumbent, resting on community record more than a documented state-policy history. The 2025 loss is worth knowing, not disqualifying.
MM
Melanie Morgan Incumbent (D)
Position 1 · Army veteran, former school board director
Certified: 46.6% — Runner-up, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Military service, school board leadership, and housing-related roles, a systems-level record across several institutions this seat touches.
Broad, cross-system record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Direct proximity to education and housing systems through prior service, now vice chair of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Documented, multi-issue proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No documented conflict between background and legislative role. A same-party primary challenge exists, worth reading her actual voting record to see why, rather than assuming.
No conflict found; challenge deserves its own look
A broad, documented systems record across education, housing, and military service. The primary challenge is worth understanding on its own terms, not assumed either way.
The Choice — LD-29, Position 1
Q1
Record
MorganIncumbent. Military service, school board leadership, housing-related roles, a broad, cross-system record.
PerezBusiness and nonprofit builder, author. One prior run, lost a 2025 Tacoma City Council race.
Q2
Proximity
MorganDocumented, multi-issue proximity through prior service and her current committee role.
PerezReal community and entrepreneurial proximity. No documented proximity to the state-level legislative process yet.
Q3
Incentives
MorganVoted against the millionaires' income tax, the specific vote her own primary challenge was built around.
PerezCampaigned explicitly against that vote, tying her run to labor and progressive tax priorities.
The actual tradeoff: this is a genuine values choice, not a qualifications gap. Morgan has the deeper institutional record. Perez's entire campaign is built around one specific, nameable disagreement. Read both candidates on the tax vote directly, that's what this primary was actually about, and the certified result, 48.9% to 46.6%, shows the district is genuinely split on it.
LD-29, Position 2
Joe Bushnell (D) vs. Patrick Stickney (D)
JB
Joe Bushnell Democrat
Position 2 (open) · Deputy Mayor, Tacoma City Council
Certified: 21.7% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A sitting Tacoma councilmember and current Deputy Mayor, direct municipal governance in the exact community this seat represents.
Sitting local elected official
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Has already voted on Tacoma's own budget, housing, and public safety questions, a different and equally real kind of preparation than policy-shop work.
Governing proximity, not just policy proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Part of a broader coalition of local officials endorsing across this cycle's races, continuity of relationships rather than a documented conflict.
Continuity coalition, worth naming
Real governing experience in the district itself. A different, equally legitimate kind of proximity from Stickney's policy-shop record.
PS
Patrick Stickney Democrat
Position 2 (open) · Senior Policy & Legislative Affairs Director, WA Office of Equity
Certified: 20.0% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Housing and affordability policy work inside state government, plus over half a decade at a policy institute before that. Direct policy-shop experience, not campaign rhetoric.
Direct policy-shop record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Professional proximity to housing and equity policy specifically, the exact issues he says will anchor his campaign.
Record matches platform exactly
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Campaign focus and professional background are the same thing. No gap to name.
The cleanest match between record and platform in this field. Policy-shop proximity to the exact issues he's campaigning on.
LD-31, Position 1
Drew Stokesbary (R, inc.) vs. Stephen Szczurko-Walton (D)
DS
Drew Stokesbary Incumbent (R)
Position 1 · House Minority Leader
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A career legislator now serving as House Minority Leader, the same kind of institutional seat as Jinkins's in LD-27, on the other side of the aisle.
Long, institutionally powerful record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Deep proximity to the legislative process through leadership. District-specific proximity is harder to isolate from a role that is inherently statewide in focus.
Institutional proximity, not district-specific
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
As Minority Leader, incentives run toward statewide caucus strategy as much as this district, structurally, not as a conflict.
Same structural tradeoff as any leadership seat
Another leadership seat where the title reshapes what representation means day to day, exactly as true here as it is for the Speaker's seat in LD-27. Read it with the same care.
SW
Stephen Szczurko-Walton Democrat
Position 1 · Veteran, Auburn/Lake Tapps resident
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Military service before running. No additional public record found yet.
Service record, little else public
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Nothing publicly documented yet on connection to specific district issues.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No platform published yet.
Not enough on record to run the test fully. Check BallotReady or a forum directly before you vote.
LD-31, Position 2
Josh Penner (R, inc.) vs. John Bielka (D)
JP
Josh Penner Incumbent (R)
Position 2
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A sitting incumbent with a full public voting record available through the WA Legislature's own site, the most direct source for evaluating this seat.
Checkable record, read it directly
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Ongoing service in this district gives direct proximity to its growth and infrastructure pressures.
District proximity through incumbency
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Facing a genuine challenger this cycle in Bielka, worth comparing both records directly rather than assuming incumbency alone settles it.
Real contest, read both records
A checkable incumbent record now facing a real challenge. Read his actual votes against Bielka's local government record directly.
JBi
John Bielka Democrat
Position 2 · Former Orting capital projects manager and whistleblower
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Managed capital projects for the town of Orting, inside this district, before running. Publicly known as a whistleblower in that role.
Direct, in-district municipal record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Direct proximity to local infrastructure and municipal governance inside this specific district, not a district he's asking to learn on the job.
Already worked inside this district's government
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
A whistleblower record shows a documented willingness to flag problems inside his own institution, a data point about independence, worth reading the actual episode rather than the label.
Independence documented, details matter
Direct local infrastructure proximity inside this exact district, plus a documented record of speaking up internally. Read the whistleblower episode directly, it's the most specific thing to check here.
Pierce County
Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney
Coreen Schnepf vs. Bryan Chushcoff (both nonpartisan, both advance, only two filed)
CS
Coreen Schnepf Nonpartisan
Chief Criminal Deputy, Pierce County Prosecutor's Office
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
20+ years as a prosecutor, currently Chief Criminal Deputy managing roughly 180 staff and attorneys. JD from Seattle University. Has personally prosecuted murder and human trafficking cases. Hired a professional fundraising firm and retained outgoing Prosecutor Mary Robnett's own consultant, a sign of institutional succession.
Deep, current record in this exact office
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Represents the office on the U.S. Attorney's regional anti-trafficking task force. Runs the office's criminal division day to day, right now, not from a distance.
Maximum current, hands-on proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
A career prosecutor seeking the office she's already functionally helping run. No documented conflict, a natural institutional succession.
Clean, but worth knowing it's an insider path
The deepest, most current proximity of the two, she's running the division today. The real question against Chushcoff isn't record depth, it's which kind of proximity, inside management or the judge's seat, matters more to you.
BC
Bryan Chushcoff Nonpartisan
Retired Pierce County Superior Court Judge (28 years)
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
28 years as a Pierce County Superior Court Judge, now retired. One of the longest, most tested judicial records on this entire ballot.
Exceptionally long record, different branch
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Watched how the Prosecutor's Office performs from the bench for nearly three decades, real proximity, but observational, not managerial. No direct experience running the office's day-to-day operations or budget.
Real but observational proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Campaign built explicitly around judicial independence, staying out of political factions and special interests. A deliberate contrast with an insider-succession path.
Explicit, stated independence
Nearly three decades of proximity from the bench, and a clean, stated case for independence from the office's internal politics. The tradeoff against Schnepf: a judge's long view versus a manager's hands-on one.
Pierce County Auditor
Linda Farmer (inc.) vs. Damon Townsend (both nonpartisan, both advance, only two filed)
LF
Linda Farmer Incumbent, Nonpartisan
Pierce County Auditor since 2022
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Four years as sitting Auditor, nationally accredited (CERA, the highest elections-administration credential in the country). Her office's young voter education campaign won a national award in August 2026. Before becoming Auditor: Lakewood City Council, state and local communications roles, not hands-on elections operations.
Strong current record, communications-rooted background
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Co-chairs the statewide VoteWA steering committee and sits on the state's Voting Systems Review Board, real proximity at the governance and policy level. Less direct, hands-on proximity to the physical mechanics of running an election than her challenger.
Strong governance proximity, less operational
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Running on a record of expanding voter outreach and transparency. No documented conflict. An incumbent's natural incentive to defend her own four-year record is worth naming plainly.
Clean, with the usual incumbent's lens
The credentialed, visible track record. The real question against Townsend: governance-level proximity to elections versus hands-on operational proximity, both real, differently earned.
DT
Damon Townsend Nonpartisan, Cascade Party
Former Pierce County Elections Supervisor (2014–2019)
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Five years as Pierce County's actual Elections Supervisor, then interim elections manager for Clallam and Cowlitz counties during the 2020 presidential election. No prior elected office.
Real operational record, no governing record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Ran ballot processing, tabulation, and logistics directly. Helped build the VoteWA registration system Farmer now oversees at the policy level. The deepest hands-on operational proximity of the two.
Direct, mechanical proximity to the job itself
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Worth knowing plainly: he's running as a Cascade Party candidate for what is legally a nonpartisan office, and separately started a "Peninsula County Exploratory Committee" earlier this year, tied to a real, long-running Olympic Peninsula secession movement. Not disqualifying, but a real, checkable data point on where his political energy also sits.
Worth reading directly before deciding
The deepest hands-on operational proximity to the job of any candidate in this race, paired with a political side-project worth knowing about directly, not disqualifying, just worth your own read.
The Pierce County Council writes the county budget and sets policy for the Sheriff's Office, public health, parks, and land use in unincorporated areas. Three of its seven seats are on this ballot.
Pierce County Council, District 1
Jerome O'Leary (R) vs. Kelsey Barrans (D) · no incumbent in the race
JO
Jerome O'Leary Republican
Senior Vice President, Kidder Mathews (commercial real estate) · Elected to the Pierce County Charter Review Commission, 2025
Certified: 53.5% — Led the primary, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Commercial real estate executive, currently a senior vice president at Kidder Mathews, with a business and construction background his campaign describes as decades long. His public-service record is recent and narrow: he was elected in November 2025 to the Pierce County Charter Review Commission, a part-time body that proposes changes to the county's governing document.
Real business record, thin governing record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Land use, zoning, and growth, a core Council job, sits close to his professional world, though from the development side of the table. Less visible proximity to the other things the Council runs: public health, human services, and the Sheriff's Office budget.
Industry proximity to land use, less to services
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No documented conflict. Worth naming plainly: a commercial real estate executive would vote on land-use and growth rules that affect his own industry, so how he'd handle disclosure and recusal is a fair question to put to him directly.
Clean on paper, one industry question to ask
A business-first candidate who led the primary comfortably. The test gives him real credit on land use and a modest public-service record. The open questions are how his industry background shapes his votes and how he'd approach the Council's human-services side.
KB
Kelsey Barrans Democrat
Staff, Green River College · Former domestic violence advocate and grant manager · MSW, University of Washington
Certified: 21.0% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Bachelor's and master's degrees in social work, then work at a nonprofit domestic violence agency advocating for survivors, supervising staff and volunteers, and managing local, state, and federal grants. Six years at Green River College since. Her record is frontline and administrative; she has not held elected office.
Frontline record before the campaign
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Direct service proximity to survivors of violence, plus hands-on grant and budget management, which is relevant to a Council that sets the county budget and funds human services. She lives in unincorporated Graham, where the county is the local government, so she's close to the services the Council actually delivers.
Direct service and budget proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Endorsed by the Pierce County Central Labor Council, the Washington State Labor Council, and the 31st District Democrats. No documented conflict. A first-time candidate, so there is no governing record to check her platform against.
Strong frontline and budget-management proximity, no governing record yet. In a primary where three Democrats split 46% between them, she finished second behind O'Leary's 53.5%.
Pierce County Council, District 5
Bryan Yambe (D, inc.) vs. Bettina Gese (R)
BY
Bryan Yambe Incumbent (D)
Pierce County Councilmember since January 2025 · Four terms on the Fife City Council
Certified: 61.7% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
More than a decade on the Fife City Council across four terms, with three stints as deputy mayor, before the County Council appointed him to District 5 in January 2025. A lifelong District 5 resident.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Liaison roles that map onto what District 5 actually faces: the Tideflats Subarea Steering Committee (the Port of Tacoma is in his district), the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health, the Puget Sound Regional Council, and Tribal liaison. He has named traffic safety, affordable housing, homelessness, and transportation among his priorities.
Deep, district-specific proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Incumbent, so he's defending roughly two years on the Council. Endorsed by the labor councils. No documented conflict found.
Clean, with the usual incumbent lens
The longest-running local record in this race, from a resident of the district who has worked the Port, public health, and regional-planning issues it actually faces.
BG
Bettina Gese Republican
Candidate, Pierce County Council District 5
Certified: 38.3% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
We could not find a campaign website, biographical statement, or endorsement list in our research. Her filing and primary result are on the record; her prior work and public service are not.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Nothing we found lets us evaluate her proximity to the district or to the Council's work.
Nothing on record to evaluate
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No donors, endorsers, or platform surfaced in what we found, so there is nothing to test her incentives against.
The test can't run on a record we couldn't find, and we won't guess. Her voters' pamphlet statement is the best current source. Read it directly.
Pierce County Council, District 7
Brenda Lykins (D) vs. Mike Solan (R) · open seat
BL
Brenda Lykins Democrat
Neonatal nurse practitioner (35+ years) · Former Gig Harbor City Councilmember · Charter Review Commission member
Certified: 56.8% — Led the primary, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
More than 35 years as a neonatal nurse practitioner and founder of the award-winning SW Washington Perinatal/Neonatal Training Consortium, then elected to the Gig Harbor City Council (2022 to 2025), where she served as Mayor Pro Tem in 2023 and 2024. She left the council after moving outside city limits.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Decades inside the health system serving babies and families, plus local-government service: she represented Gig Harbor on the Pierce County Regional Council and now sits on the Charter Review Commission. She lives in North Tacoma's Proctor area, inside District 7.
Healthcare and local-government proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Supports the county's new public safety tax, which she backed on the Charter Review Commission. Endorsed by the labor councils. One overlap worth knowing: she sits on the commission that oversees the residency rules her opponent challenged in court. She has said limits on who can run aren't necessarily a good thing.
Clean, one overlap worth naming
A long, directly relevant record, and she led the primary with 56.8%. The residency-rule overlap isn't a conflict, but it is a role she holds in the same story.
MS
Mike Solan Republican
Seattle police officer (27 years) · Former president, Seattle Police Officers Guild
Certified: 29.5% — Advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
27 years as a police officer and six as president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, a post he chose not to seek again in February. Gig Harbor Now reports he was involved in a series of controversies during his tenure. A real, long public-safety record, with no prior elected county or city office.
Deep policing record, controversial guild tenure
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Deep proximity to policing, which matters because the Council sets the Sheriff's Office budget. His proximity to District 7 itself is new: he moved from West Seattle and registered to vote in the district in March, and was removed from the ballot over the county's one-year residency rule before a Pierce County judge restored him.
Policing proximity deep, district proximity new
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Endorsed by the Pierce County Deputy Sheriffs' Guild, the Tacoma Police Union, former AG Rob McKenna, and Rep. Michelle Caldier. A candidate who would help fund the Sheriff's Office while backed by the deputies' union is a real Q3 question, though there is no documented violation. He opposes the county's new public safety tax, calling it "disrespectful to the regular citizen."
Police-union backing in a seat that funds the Sheriff
A long public-safety career and a new address. The test gives him credit on policing and flags two things to weigh yourself: how recently he's been tied to the district, and the police-union backing in a seat that funds the Sheriff's Office.
Local & Judicial
Pierce Co. District Court, Position 7
Pam Nogueira vs. Mike Sommerfeld
PN
Pam Nogueira
Non-partisan · Pierce County District Court, Position 7
Certified: 36.4% — Led the field, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Limited public record found beyond her candidacy filing. Same coverage gap that affects most down-ballot judicial races.
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Insufficient public documentation to evaluate.
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No developed public platform found.
Another gap in judicial-race coverage, not a verdict. Check her voters' pamphlet statement directly before you vote.
MS
Mike Sommerfeld
Non-partisan · Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Pierce County, since 1995
Certified: 35.9% — Runner-up, advances to Nov. 3
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Three decades as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Pierce County, career split evenly between criminal and civil practice, handling everything from DUI and domestic violence cases to serious violent felonies.
Three decades in this exact court system
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
About as direct as proximity gets for this seat, he has practiced in front of Pierce County judges for 30 years and handled the same categories of cases district court judges rule on daily.
Maximum institutional proximity
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Career prosecutor seeking a judicial seat, a common and well-understood career path. No conflict evident. Worth knowing a prosecutor's background can shape a judicial temperament in ways worth weighing for yourself.
Common path, worth knowing the lean
The deepest, most direct record of the three. Thirty years inside this exact court system, on the prosecution side specifically.