Seattle has more open legislative seats than any year since 1994
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Get ready for the busiest legislative election season that Seattle has seen in almost three decades.
What's happening: Six incumbents who represent Seattle at the state Capitol are not running for reelection this year.
The big picture: The last time Seattle legislative districts had this many open seats was in 1994.
- That means Seattle voters this year have more power to shape the future of state politics than in past midterm election cycles.
Why it matters: Lawmakers in Olympia make decisions about how much you pay in taxes, how much money goes to public schools, gun-control policies and a range of other issues that affect your life.
Details: The retirement of three longtime Seattle legislators — David Frockt, Reuven Carlyle and Eileen Cody — supercharged this year’s election season.
- State Reps. Javier Valdez and Noel Frame are running for Frockt and Carlyle’s open Senate seats, leaving their two House seats up for grabs.
- Five people are running to replace Valdez, while five others seek to fill Frame’s seat.
- Meanwhile, three candidates are vying for Cody’s old job, while another four have lined up to replace first-term state Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley, who decided not to run for reelection.
Of note: All the retiring legislators are Democrats, as are nearly all of the candidates vying to replace them.
What they’re saying: Michael Charles, a Democratic political consultant based in Seattle, told Axios he thinks the city’s high cost of living factors into the large number of open seats.
- Rank and file legislators earn salaries of $57,876 per year, while Seattle’s median household income was $97,185 in 2020, per census data.
Yes, but: Alex Hays, a Republican political consultant, told Axios that internal conflicts in the House Democratic caucus have played a role, too.
- In an op-ed earlier this year, Harris-Talley blasted House Democratic leaders as lacking integrity, saying that was one reason she chose not to run for a second term.
Between the lines: State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, who chairs the House Democratic Campaign Committee, told Axios the biggest factor is more mundane: the timing of legislative retirements.
- In the past, some Seattle legislative seats became vacant mid-term and were filled initially by appointment, he noted.
- That hasn’t happened recently, which is one reason for the number of open seats this election cycle, Fitzgibbon said.
What’s next: Ballots for the Aug. 2 primary were mailed to registered voters last week.
- You can return your ballot to an official drop box by 8pm on Election Day, or mail it (as long as it is postmarked by Aug. 2).
- The two candidates who get the most votes in the primary will advance to the general election.
- Expect that process to produce several Democrat versus Democrat races this November.