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The Precision Partners Agency · The Briefing

The Primary.
Here's What Happened.

August 4 narrowed the field. This page is the record: what the Proximity Test found before anyone voted, applied federal to local.

Results are certified. Pierce County's Canvassing Board certified the August 4 primary on August 18. This page reflects our research from before the vote, now shown alongside final, official results, not projections. See the full certification report →

Want your exact ballot, not the general shape of it? BallotReady pulls every race and measure for your specific address, plus your voting options and dates.
Look up my ballot →
The Ballot Ladder Every Race, Scored The Proximity Test Your November Ballot →
Before the details

Every race sits
somewhere on the ladder.

Federal shapes the frame. State, county, and local decide what actually reaches your street. The judicial branch runs alongside all of it, not underneath it, which is why it's easy to skip and expensive to ignore.

Federal
Sets the frame.
President and Congress aren't on this particular ballot, but federal policy (the SAVE Act, USPS service cuts, immigration enforcement) is exactly why the state and local layers below carry more weight this cycle than usual.
PresidentU.S. SenateU.S. House
State
Where the money and the rules get made.
Governor, statewide offices, and the Legislature write the policy. Five of nine State Supreme Court seats decide whether that policy, including the millionaires' tax, survives a legal challenge.
GovernorStatewide officesState LegislatureWA State Supreme Court →
County
Where state policy meets local capacity.
County council and executive decide budgets for public health, roads, and elections administration itself.
County CouncilCounty ExecutiveLocal Judicial →
Local
Where it reaches your street.
City council, mayor, and school board are the layer most voters skip, and the layer most likely to show up in your daily life this year, like the Tacoma tenant protection measure. Special districts are their own small, independent governments, fire, water/sewer, port, or library, each with its own board and often its own line on your ballot. Not the same thing as a congressional district, and not currently covered on this site.
City CouncilMayorSchool BoardSpecial Districts
August 4, 2026 — The Primary Record

Every race,
scored before you voted.

Washington uses a top-two primary — the two candidates with the most votes advance to November, regardless of party. Here's what the Proximity Test found before anyone voted, race by race across Pierce County.

Last updated: 8/5/2026

⭐ Most Important Race on Your Ballot
WA Supreme Court — 5 Seats

Five of nine seats on Washington's highest court are on your ballot. These justices will decide the fate of the millionaires' tax that funds schools and services, reproductive rights cases, and civil liberties protections. Most people don't know this is even on their ballot. Now you do.

See the Full Scorecard — Proximity Test Applied →
U.S. Representative
Your Congressional District

Pierce County spans three congressional districts. Most of Tacoma is in WA-6 (Emily Randall). Eastern Pierce County is in WA-8 (Kim Schrier). Lakewood, Puyallup, and Spanaway are in WA-10 (Marilyn Strickland). Your specific address determines which race is on your ballot.

This is a 2-year term. Your representative votes on federal spending, healthcare, immigration, and every major policy that flows from Washington D.C. to your daily life.

See Candidate Scorecards — WA-6, WA-8, WA-10 →
↓ full scorecards below
State Legislature, District by District
State Legislature
State Senator & State Representatives

Pierce County holds 7 legislative districts. Every one has two House seats up this cycle, 14 races total, and 3 of the 7 also have a State Senate seat up (Senate terms are staggered 4 years, so most districts sit this one out). Find your district on BallotReady, then use the table below: full Proximity Test treatment where there's an actual choice to make, a one-line note where there isn't.

8 of the 14 House races are genuinely contested. The rest are uncontested incumbents or heavy favorites, worth knowing, not worth over-thinking. Senate and House are different offices, different terms, different jobs, we've labeled each clearly so you don't conflate them.

Senate4-year term, only in LD-26, 29, 31 this cycle
House2-year term, every district, every cycle
Legislative District 25 — Puyallup, South Hill
Named swing district · Harris +0.5
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.
Real record, narrow lane
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.
Live, current record
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.
Current, not historical
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
First run for state office. No legislative platform on record yet to check against his school board conduct.
Unproven at this level
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.
NO
Nick Oloo Challenger (D)
Position 1 · Pastor, educator, community advocate, Puyallup
▾
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Decades of work as a pastor and educator, guiding families through hardship and mentoring students. Real, sustained community service, distinct in kind from Berg's school-board record and Keaton's military and legislative background.
Deep community service, not institutional
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Pastoral and educational work puts him directly alongside families facing rising costs, childcare struggles, and caregiving pressure, issues he names explicitly in his own campaign. Proximity to lived hardship is real; proximity to the mechanics of state budgeting is not yet demonstrated.
Real proximity to people, not yet to policy
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
First run for office. His stated priorities, family support, education investment, infrastructure, track directly with his pastoral and teaching background. No conflict evident, also no legislative record yet to test it against.
Platform matches background, unproven at this level
A genuine record of community service, just not the same kind of record his opponents have. Worth weighing what kind of proximity matters most to you in this seat.
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.
Real record, narrow lane
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.
RF
Ren Fanony Republican
Position 2 · Tacoma
▾
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
No campaign website, no news coverage, no endorsements found anywhere. Only his name, party, and address on the official candidate filing.
No public record found, anywhere
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Cannot evaluate. Nothing publicly documented on his background or connection to district issues.
Cannot evaluate
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No platform found. No campaign presence found. This is one of the thinnest records anywhere in this project.
Cannot evaluate
The test genuinely cannot be run here. This isn't a research gap on our end, we could not find a campaign website, statement, or public presence to evaluate. If you're voting in this race, his voters' pamphlet statement, if he filed one, is likely the only record that exists.
Legislative District 26 — Gig Harbor, Kitsap-Pierce
One of the state's last true battlegrounds

The only Pierce-area district currently split between the parties. A retiring six-term incumbent has opened a genuinely wide-open House seat, and the Senate seat itself is also contested this cycle.

State Senate
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.
Real, varied background
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.
State House
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.
Direct systems record
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.
Rare, specific proximity
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.
TW
Tedd Wetherbee Democrat
Position 2 (open) · Entrepreneur, international development background
Certified: 13.3% — Did not advance
▾
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
A career in international development and entrepreneurship. Organizational and budget experience, but nothing built specifically in this district before now.
Transferable, not local
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
No documented proximity to this district's housing, healthcare, or education pressures specifically. This is the clearest gap against Greenfield in the same race.
Not established
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Backed by Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello and Tacoma Mayor Anders Ibsen — a genuine, distinct local-official coalition, built separately from the Congress-and-county-party path behind Greenfield.
Strong, distinct local backing
Real local political backing. What's missing is documented proximity to the issues the seat actually votes on. The backing is strong; the proximity isn't there yet.
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.
Also filed: Randy Phillips (no party) — Tacoma Community College student body president. Certified 2.4%, did not advance.
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.
NB
Natalie Bornfleth Democrat, primary challenger
Position 1 · Air Force veteran, public school teacher, union leadership
Certified: 22.6% — Did not advance
▾
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Military service, then a teaching career and union leadership. Real, but her record is in classrooms and union halls, not housing law.
Real record, different subject
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Live proximity to classroom funding. Not the housing-specific proximity Richards has built his career on.
Strong on education, not housing
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Union leadership points directly at labor priorities, including the income tax Richards voted against. That is the actual, nameable contrast in this primary.
Clear, nameable contrast
A real values contrast with the incumbent, not a record gap. Read both candidates' positions on the tax vote directly, that's what this primary is actually about.
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.
Unproven at this level
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.
Legislative District 2 — Lacey, Yelm, Thurston-Pierce
Both seats contested, lean R
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.
Career matches committee
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.
Direct labor record
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.
Also filed: William Rasmussen (I) — retired Army/Navy respiratory therapist.
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 August 4, 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.
Thin for both
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Nothing publicly documented for either candidate yet.
Cannot evaluate
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No developed platform on record for either.
Cannot evaluate
The test can't be run on either candidate yet. Go to BallotReady directly rather than skip this one.
Legislative District 27 — Tacoma
Safe D · Speaker's seat
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.
Cannot evaluate
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.
Position 2: Jake Fey (D, inc.) — no opponent found, uncontested.
Legislative District 28 — Lakewood, University Place
Lean D
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.
Position 2: Dan Bronoske (D, inc.) — no opponent found, uncontested.
Legislative District 29 — Tacoma, Spanaway
Safe D · real intra-party choice

Position 2 is open — Sharlett Mena is running for the retiring Steve Conway's Senate seat, and has an opponent from within her own party. Only two Democrats filed, so both advance to November regardless of the primary margin. Four Democrats and two Republicans filed for her old House seat.

State Senate
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.
Unproven at this level
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 primary is asking.
State House
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.
Clean alignment
The cleanest match between record and platform in this field. Policy-shop proximity to the exact issues he's campaigning on.
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.
EC
Erin Chapman-Smith Democrat
Position 2 (open) · Executive Director, ROOTS Young Adult Shelter
Certified: 9.5% — Did not advance
▾
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Runs direct services for young adults experiencing homelessness. Frontline work, not policy discussion about frontline work.
Frontline, not adjacent
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
As direct as proximity gets on youth homelessness. She runs the shelter, she isn't studying the shelter.
Maximum proximity of this field
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Endorsed by Advocates for Trans Equality, consistent with direct-services work serving vulnerable young people. Platform and record match.
Endorsements match her actual work
The most frontline proximity of the four candidates in this field. Direct service work, not commentary on it.
NL
Natasha Laitila Democrat
Position 2 (open) · Former legislative aide and Office of Public Defense staffer
Certified: 19.1% — Did not advance
▾
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Worked inside the Legislature as staff, then in public defense administration. She's seen this exact institution work from the inside before asking to sit in it.
Insider knowledge of the institution
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Public defense proximity to the criminal-legal system, plus legislative-staff proximity to how bills actually move, a practical asset none of the other three candidates share.
A distinct, practical asset
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
Participated in unionizing legislative staff, a labor-organizing data point consistent with her public-defense, worker-side background.
Consistent, worth naming as labor-aligned
Institutional proximity to how the Legislature itself works. A rarer and more practical asset than it sounds.
Also filed for Position 2: Darek Blum (R) — certified 17.7%, did not advance. Sheri Hayes (R) — certified 12.0%, did not advance.
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.
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.
Unproven at this level
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.
Also filed for Position 1: Brett Johnson (R) — lost to Morgan in 2022, running again.
Legislative District 31 — Auburn, Bonney Lake, Orting
Lean R · all three seats contested
State Senate
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.
Genuine local proximity
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
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.
Cannot evaluate
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No platform published yet.
Cannot evaluate
Not enough on record to run the test fully. Check BallotReady or a forum directly before August 4.
State House — Position 2
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.

Same three questions, every level, every time. Where the record is thin, we say so plainly. Where it isn't, the test gives you a real answer, not a suggestion to go find one.

Confirm which district is yours on BallotReady →
↓ full scorecards below — pierce county
Pierce County Offices
Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney — 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 — 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.
Pierce County Council, District 1 — primary narrowed four candidates to two
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.
Clean, untested
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%.
Also filed: Terrance Mayers (D), certified 15.9%, and Kenneth King (D), certified 9.5%. Neither advanced.
Pierce County Council, District 5 — two candidates, both advance
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.
Long local record
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.
No public record found
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.
No record to test
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 — primary narrowed four candidates to two
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.
Long, relevant record
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.
Also filed: Chuck West (independent, Peninsula School Board member), certified 11.4%, who has since endorsed Solan, and Ann E. Jolie (R), certified 2.3%. Neither advanced.
Local & Judicial
Pierce County District Court, Position 7

On the August 4 ballot countywide, genuinely contested, three candidates. Court of Appeals races depend on your division. Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs) are hyperlocal party organizers, often uncontested, but when they're not, they shape who your party nominates at every level.

EL
Eric J. Lawless
Non-partisan · Pierce County District Court, Position 7
Certified: 27.4% — Did not advance
▾
Q1 — Before the spotlight?
Limited public record found beyond his candidacy filing. Judicial races draw far less press coverage than legislative ones, worth checking his voters' pamphlet statement directly.
Thin public record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Insufficient public documentation to evaluate proximity to district court's actual caseload.
Cannot evaluate
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No developed public platform found.
Cannot evaluate
Judicial races are chronically under-covered. This is a genuine gap, not a verdict, check his voters' pamphlet statement before August 4.
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.
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.
Thin public record
Q2 — Proximity to the problem?
Insufficient public documentation to evaluate.
Cannot evaluate
Q3 — Incentives aligned?
No developed public platform found.
Cannot evaluate
Another gap in judicial-race coverage, not a verdict. Check her voters' pamphlet statement directly before August 4.

No initiatives or measures on the August 4 primary. Those come in November.

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