From Ballotpedia There are nine justices on the Washington Supreme Court. For more information about these elections, visit the Washington judicial elections page.
The nine justices of the supreme court are selected through contested nonpartisan elections and must run for re-election when their terms expire. Supreme court judges serve for six years.[1]
To serve on the supreme court, a judge must be:
The chief justice of the supreme court is selected through a peer vote and has a set term of four years.[3]
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement. The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point he or she may run to serve for the remainder of the predecessor's term.[4] If the resignation and subsequent appointment takes place after the filing period opens for that year's elections, the appointee must stand in the next year's election to remain on the bench.[5]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2030
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2028
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2026
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Incumbent Debra Stephens (Nonpartisan) is running in the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 7 on August 4, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Debra Stephens (Nonpartisan) | |
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See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2024
Sal Mungia (Nonpartisan) defeated Dave Larson (Nonpartisan) in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sal Mungia (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 50.1 | 1,644,253 |
| Dave Larson (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 49.4 | 1,624,309 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5% | 16,654 | ||
| Total votes: 3,285,216 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Sal Mungia (Nonpartisan) and Dave Larson (Nonpartisan) defeated Todd Bloom (Nonpartisan) and David Shelvey (Nonpartisan) in the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sal Mungia (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 43.4 | 762,797 |
| ✔ | | Dave Larson (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 36.4 | 640,116 |
| Todd Bloom (Nonpartisan) | 16.3 | 286,298 | |
| David Shelvey (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 3.4 | 59,676 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4% | 7,347 | ||
| Total votes: 1,756,234 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Incumbent Steven Gonzalez (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 8 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steven Gonzalez (Nonpartisan) | 97.6 | 2,564,372 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.4% | 61,866 | ||
| Total votes: 2,626,238 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 6, 2024, was canceled. Incumbent Steven Gonzalez (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 8 without appearing on the ballot.
Incumbent Sheryl Gordon McCloud (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 9 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sheryl Gordon McCloud (Nonpartisan) | 97.5 | 2,534,783 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.5% | 65,479 | ||
| Total votes: 2,600,262 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 6, 2024, was canceled. Incumbent Sheryl Gordon McCloud (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 9 without appearing on the ballot.
See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2022
Incumbent Mary Yu (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mary Yu (Nonpartisan) | 97.4 | 1,961,152 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.6% | 52,447 | ||
| Total votes: 2,013,599 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 2, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent Mary Yu (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 1 without appearing on the ballot.
Incumbent Barbara A. Madsen (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 5 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Barbara A. Madsen (Nonpartisan) | 97.8 | 1,937,634 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.2% | 43,453 | ||
| Total votes: 1,981,087 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 2, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent Barbara A. Madsen (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 5 without appearing on the ballot.
Incumbent G. Helen Whitener (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 6 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | G. Helen Whitener (Nonpartisan) | 97.8 | 1,918,080 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.2% | 42,740 | ||
| Total votes: 1,960,820 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 2, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent G. Helen Whitener (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 6 without appearing on the ballot.
See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2020
Incumbent Raquel Montoya-Lewis (Nonpartisan) defeated Dave Larson (Nonpartisan) in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 3 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Raquel Montoya-Lewis (Nonpartisan) | 58.2 | 2,057,623 |
| Dave Larson (Nonpartisan) | 41.4 | 1,462,764 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4% | 13,661 | ||
| Total votes: 3,534,048 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 4, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent Raquel Montoya-Lewis (Nonpartisan) and Dave Larson (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 3 without appearing on the ballot.
Incumbent Charles W. Johnson (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 4 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Charles W. Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 97.7 | 2,850,924 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.3% | 66,407 | ||
| Total votes: 2,917,331 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 4, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent Charles W. Johnson (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 4 without appearing on the ballot.
Incumbent G. Helen Whitener (Nonpartisan) defeated Richard Serns (Nonpartisan) in the special general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 6 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | G. Helen Whitener (Nonpartisan) | 66.1 | 2,263,513 |
| Richard Serns (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 33.3 | 1,140,338 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6% | 19,416 | ||
| Total votes: 3,423,267 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 4, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent G. Helen Whitener (Nonpartisan) and Richard Serns (Nonpartisan) advanced from the special primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 6 without appearing on the ballot.
Incumbent Debra Stephens (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 7 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Debra Stephens (Nonpartisan) | 97.9 | 2,852,879 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.1% | 60,808 | ||
| Total votes: 2,913,687 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 4, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent Debra Stephens (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 7 without appearing on the ballot.
See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2018
Incumbent Susan Owens (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Susan Owens (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 2,062,701 |
| Total votes: 2,062,7010 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 7, 2018, was canceled. Incumbent Susan Owens (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2 without appearing on the ballot.
Incumbent Steven Gonzalez (Nonpartisan) defeated Nathan Choi (Nonpartisan) in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 8 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steven Gonzalez (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 67.6 | 1,687,073 |
| Nathan Choi (Nonpartisan) | 32.4 | 809,176 | |
| Total votes: 2,496,2490 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 7, 2018, was canceled. Incumbent Steven Gonzalez (Nonpartisan) and Nathan Choi (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 8 without appearing on the ballot.
Incumbent Sheryl Gordon McCloud (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 9 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sheryl Gordon McCloud (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 2,005,244 |
| Total votes: 2,005,2440 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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The primary scheduled for August 7, 2018, was canceled. Incumbent Sheryl Gordon McCloud (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 9 without appearing on the ballot.
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington
State courts:
Washington Supreme Court • Washington Court of Appeals • Washington Superior Court • Washington District Courts • Washington Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Washington • Washington judicial elections • Judicial selection in Washington