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    Notable Washington races, 2016

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 6 min
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    Notable Washington Races
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    PrimaryAugust 2, 2016
    GeneralNovember 8, 2016
    2016 Notable Races
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    Ballotpedia identified eight notable Washington state legislative races in 2016. The Washington House of Representatives and the Washington State Senate were also two of 20 battleground chambers Ballotpedia tracked in the November 2016 election.

    HIGHLIGHTS
  • Each party held a slim majority in one chamber of the state legislature heading into the election.
  • Democrats were within reach of a state government trifecta.
  • A competitive open seat was a high-profile target in the contest for control of the Senate.

    • Overview[edit]

    Main articles: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2016, and Washington State Senate elections, 2016

    All 98 state House seats and 26 of the 49 state Senate seats were up for election in 2016.

    Partisan breakdown of the Washington Legislature
    Party Republicans Democrats
    Washington House 48 seats 50 seats
    Washington Senate 25 seats 24 seats

    Republicans and Democrats each held a slim majority in one legislative chamber heading into the 2016 election. Democrats were within reach of a state government trifecta. They held a narrow lead in the state House, and were just two seats from a majority in the state Senate. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) faced three Democratic challengers, three Republicans, and four third-party candidates in his bid for re-election in 2016.[1]

    Republican challengers targeted three vulnerable Democratic seats in the legislature: Senate District 5, House District 28, House District 31, and House District 44.[1][2] With Republicans holding only a narrow lead in the Senate heading into 2016, the general election contest for an open seat in Senate District 17 was also expected to be a high-profile race.[3]

    What makes a race notable?[edit]

    Ballotpedia uses these criteria to identify notable races:

    • Incumbents facing more conservative or liberal challengers
    • Rematches between candidates
    • Races that receive considerable media attention
    • Races that could significantly affect the state's partisan balance
    • Competitive races involving party leaders
    • Open, competitive races with Republican and Democratic primaries
    • Races that capture money and attention from outside groups, including key endorsements

    Know of an interesting race we should include here? Email us!

    Notable general elections[edit]

    House District 28-Position 2 - General election

    A Republican candidate challenged the Democratic incumbent in a closely divided district.

    Paul Wagemann (R) was defeated by state Rep. Christine Kilduff (D) in the November general election.[4][1] Wagemann and Kilduff defeated Michael Winkler (R) and Brandon Lyons (L) in the primary election.[1] With Democrats holding only a narrow lead in the House coming in to the election, partisan control of the chamber was at stake in the November general election.[5]

    House District 30-Position 1 - General election

    A Democratic candidate challenged the Republican incumbent in this district.

    Mike Pellicciotti (D) defeated state Rep. Linda Kochmar (R) in the November 2016 general election.[4]

    Kochmar was re-elected to the state House in 2014 by a margin of victory of 13.2 percent.

    This district was included in the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee's list of "2016 Essential Races." Read more »

    House District 31-Position 2 - General election

    In this open seat, a Republican and an Independent Democrat faced off in this Republican leaning district.

    Incumbent Christopher Hurst (D) did not run for re-election. Lane Walthers (Independent Democrat) was defeated by Phil Fortunato (R) in the November 2016 general election.[4] In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) and the Republican candidae for governor won the district. Incumbent Hurst won re-election in 2014 by a margin of victory of 3 percent. With Democrats holding only a narrow lead in the House coming in to the election, partisan control of the chamber was at stake in the November general election.[6]

    House District 44-Position 1 - General election

    A Republican candidate challenged a recently-appointed Democratic incumbent.

    Former state Rep. and former Snohomish County Executive John Lovick (D) aimed to defend his new seat in swing House District 44 against Republican challenger Janice Huxford, although this race has not yet been called.[4][1][6] Lovick was appointed to the seat in June, following Rep. Hans Dunshee's (D) resignation to join the Snohomish County Council.[2][7] Lovick and Huxford defeated Wilberforce Agyekum (ind.) in the primary election. Lovick and Huxford faced off in the November general election.[1] With Democrats holding only a narrow lead in the House coming in to the election, partisan control of the chamber was at stake in the November general election.[6]

    This district was included in the Republican State Leadership Committee's list of "16 in '16: Races to Watch." Read more »

    House District 45-Position 1 - General election

    A Republican candidate challenged the Democratic incumbent.

    Incumbent Roger Goodman (D) defeated Ramiro Valderrama (R) in the November 2016 general election.[4] Both candidates were unopposed in the two-party primary. In 2014, Goodman won re-election to the seat by a margin of victory of 10 percent.

    This district was included in the Republican State Leadership Committee's list of "16 in '16: Races to Watch." Read more »

    Senate District 5 - General election

    A Republican candidate challenged the Democratic incumbent in a Republican-leaning district.

    Rep. Chad Magendanz (R) challenged Sen. Mark Mullet (D) in a Republican-leaning Senate District 5.[1][2] Magendanz and Mullet both ran unopposed in the two-party primary.[1] With Republicans holding only a narrow lead in the Senate coming in to the election, partisan control of the chamber was at stake in the November general election.[6] This race is still too close to call.[4]

    Senate District 17 - General election

    A Democratic candidate and a Republican candidate competed for the open seat vacated by a Republican incumbent.

    Sen. Don Benton (R) retired from his District 17 seat in 2016.[6] Rep. Lynda Wilson (R) defeated Tim Probst (I-D) in the November 2016 general election[4]. Probst also ran for the seat in 2012, losing to Benton by just 78 votes.[8] Wilson and Probst both ran unopposed in the two-party primary.[1] With Republicans holding only a narrow lead in the Senate coming in to the election, partisan control of the chamber was at stake in the November general election.[6]

    This district was included in the Republican State Leadership Committee's list of "16 in '16: Races to Watch." Read more »

    Senate District 28 - General election

    A Democratic candidate challenged the Republican incumbent in this seat.

    Marisa Peloquin (D) was defeated by Sen. Steve O'Ban (R) in the November 2016 general election.[4]

    O'Ban was re-elected to the state Senate in 2014 by a margin of victory of nine percent.

    This district was included in the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee's list of "2016 Essential Races." Read more »


    Freshman legislators[edit]

    The following is a list of challengers who won election on November 8.

    1. Beth Doglio (Democratic), Washington House of Representatives, District 22-Position 2
    2. Bill Jenkin (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 16-Position 1
    3. Brad Hawkins (Republican), Washington State Senate, District 12
    4. Guy Palumbo (Democratic), Washington State Senate, District 1
    5. Hans Zeiger (Republican), Washington State Senate, District 25
    6. Jim Walsh (Washington) (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 19-Position 1
    7. John Koster (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 39-Position 2
    8. Joyce McDonald (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 25-Position 2
    9. Kevin Van De Wege (Democratic), Washington State Senate, District 24
    10. Kristine Reeves (Democratic), Washington House of Representatives, District 30-Position 2
    11. Laurie Dolan (Democratic), Washington House of Representatives, District 22-Position 1
    12. Lisa Wellman (Democratic), Washington State Senate, District 41
    13. Lynda Wilson (Republican), Washington State Senate, District 17
    14. Maureen Walsh (Republican), Washington State Senate, District 16
    15. Mike Chapman (Washington) (Democratic), Washington House of Representatives, District 24-Position 1
    16. Mike Pellicciotti (Democratic), Washington House of Representatives, District 30-Position 1
    17. Mike Steele (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 12-Position 2
    18. Mike Volz (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 6-Position 1
    19. Monica Jurado Stonier (Democratic), Washington House of Representatives, District 49-Position 2
    20. Nicole Macri (Democratic), Washington House of Representatives, District 43-Position 1
    21. Paul Graves (Washington) (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 5-Position 2
    22. Phil Fortunato (Republican), Washington State Senate, District 31
    23. Sam Hunt (Democratic), Washington State Senate, District 22
    24. Shelley Kloba (Democratic), Washington House of Representatives, District 1-Position 2
    25. Vicki Kraft (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 17-Position 1

    Defeated incumbents[edit]

    The following is a list of incumbents who were defeated on November 8.

    1. Linda Kochmar (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 30-Position 1
    2. Steve Litzow (Republican), Washington State Senate, District 41
    3. Teri Hickel (Republican), Washington House of Representatives, District 30-Position 2

    See also[edit]

    External links[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Washington Secretary of State, "2016 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed July 30, 2016
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Shift WA, "Top State Legislative Races to Watch," May 17, 2016
    3. ↑ The Seattle Times, "More than Trump: Candidate Field Gets Set for Washington Voters," May 21, 2016
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 New York Times, "Washington Election Results," accessed November 15, 2016
    5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named olympian
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 The Seattle Times, "Handful of Races Could Flip Political Control of the Legislature," May 29, 2016
    7. ↑ The Herald, "Lovick Picked for Legislative Seat, But Appointment Process Draws Fire," June 9, 2016
    8. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Legislative District 17 - State Senator," November 27, 2012
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