As Democratic Party leaders nationwide search for a rebuttal to President Donald Trump in next year’s midterms, voters in Washington state delivered one in the Aug. 5 primary.
Nine Democratic state lawmakers, all appointed, faced voters in essentially a referendum on their service and the path their party has been on. All nine won.
Four faced experienced opponents in what were viewed as predictors of the political climate seven months into a second Trump administration, and after passage of tax hikes, budget cuts and liberal laws by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature.
What transpired was not only a rebuke of Trump’s leadership, but also a blow to those pining to see the Democrat-led state Legislature temper its tax-and-spend ways.
Progressive voters turned out in greater numbers than previous odd-year elections, a reflection of how Trump inspires his political opponents and of how this core constituency hasn’t wavered.
In two Senate contests, Democratic Sens. Deb Krishnadasan and Victoria Hunt held off state Rep. Michelle Caldier and former state lawmaker Chad Magendanz, respectively.
The GOP challengers focused on what they consider to be the deleterious effects of the majority Democrats. The incumbent senators and their allies countered by associating the Republicans with Trump, his policies, or the MAGA movement.
A similar strategy played out in the House race between two Democrats, Rep. Edwin Obras, a progressive, and Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling.
Schilling, the more centrist of the two, pledged to focus on rising costs, community safety and avoiding political extremism. As Obras trumpeted upholding the Democrats’ legislative agenda, his allies tagged Schilling as a MAGA accomplice because a political committee supporting him got money from a Trump supporter.
Meanwhile, in another all-Democrat race, Sen. Vandana Slatter, a liberal, beat Rep. Amy Walen, a moderate, by a double-digit margin. Slatter campaigned as the real Democrat, painting Walen as too business-friendly. Trump popped up in this contest, too, appearing in a mailer sent by a pro-Slatter group insisting the senator was on the “front lines” fighting the president.
Special interests operating independent of the candidates in these four marquee contests collectively spent $1.5 million trying to sway voters. While more money went to hammering the appointed Democrats, dollars used to knit a candidate — regardless of party — with Trump or the MAGA movement, paid dividends by deterring voters from that person.
The results show Trump continues to drag down Republican candidates in suburbia and progressives are in no mood to cede ground they’ve secured at the state level.
“Trump had a huge effect on this year’s primary and will continue to have a huge effect on this year’s election,” said veteran strategist Dean Nielsen of CN4 Partners in Seattle. “If there’s one thing that unites Democratic voters, it’s Donald Trump.”
For the appointed Democratic state lawmakers, winning the Aug. 5 primary was only the first step. To retain their seats, they’ll need to win again on Nov. 4.
‘We need to get our voters out’
Republicans set their sights this year on winning Senate seats in the 26th Legislative District spanning parts of Pierce and Kitsap counties and the 5th district in east King County.
The duel between Krishnadasan, a former school board director, and Caldier, a six-term representative, is the Republicans’ best opportunity to gain ground in the chamber, where Democrats hold a 30-19 seat advantage.
The campaign waged by Caldier focused on Democrats’ passage of billions in new business taxes, new social policies and a 6-cent per gallon gas tax hike. But she couldn’t overcome the counterpunches from a pro-Krishnadasan political committee linking her with Trump. After leading on election night, she now trails.
“These results show that voters are unhappy with the direction of politics in DC,” Caldier said in a text last week. “However, this race has everything to do with our quality of life here at home. The people in my community were just saddled with the largest tax increase in our state’s history. I’ll be spending the next three months telling that story and working to represent my neighbors who can’t afford what this supermajority keeps doing.”
In the 5th district, Hunt defended the Democrats’ approach on taxes and the budget as necessary to protect vital services in the face of threats from the policies of the president and congressional Republicans. She leads Magendanz by nearly 9%.
A typical mailer put out by a pro-Hunt political committee hit those themes – not her votes to raise taxes, boost fees and expand government regulation. She was portrayed as one who will stand up to Trump and labeled Magendanz as a “Republican extremist.”
Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, chair of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, insisted there are still paths to victory for both candidates.
“I don’t think people are engaged yet. We need to get our voters out,” he said. As for a counterweight to Trump, he said “people are starting to wake up to the fact their pocketbook is impacted” by what Democrats did in session.
He also said, “if asked,” he would tell those backing pro-business candidates to “abandon” the 48th District. That’s where Slatter is beating Walen by a lot in an all-Democrat match-up.
The choice there is between someone who votes 100% of the time with the majority party and someone who votes 95% of the time, MacEwen said. Electing two business-friendly Republicans to the Senate would change the political math in that chamber, he said.
“Do we have our work cut out for us? Absolutely,” he said.
Democrat vs. Democrat and Trump still creeps in
It was in the 33rd District race where Obras’ backers hit Schilling with a mailer saying MAGA “found their man.”
The reason: Pragmatic Washington, a pro-Schilling political committee funded largely by the Washington State Dental Association, received a $10,000 contribution from Steve Gordon, a Republican business owner who has endorsed Trump policies.
Obras garnered nearly 47% in the primary to Schilling’s 31%. Republican Darryl Jones picked up 22%.
Schilling, the mayor of Burien, declined to comment on the mailer. But he’s banking on voters in November being less ideological and more moderate than those in the primary. More than half the voters did not support the representative, he said, adding that he still sees a lane to victory.
Jared Leopold of the New Direction political committee had a different take. The committee, which supports incumbent and progressive Democrats, is funded largely by the Democratic caucuses of the House and Senate, and statewide teacher and health care worker unions.
“Running against the Democrat agenda in Olympia is not a successful campaign strategy,” he said. “People want a fighter right now with Trump. People want a Democrat who is going to fight back.”
There are echoes here of what Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, said in January in her breakdown of the 2024 election — a perspective that helped provide the springboard to her new leadership post with the national party.
Conrad argued the blueprint for Democrats’ success in Washington last year, including a sweep of nine statewide executive posts and gains in the Legislature, is one the party can use to win back control of Congress and the White House.
“Progressive policies are popular,” she wrote in her analysis. “When we can show our policies in action and make people’s lives better at the state level, we can win more elections.”
This story was originally published in the Washington State Standard.
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