From taxes to transportation issues, public safety, and civil rights – the 2024 elections will determine who represents you in Olympia and Washington D.C. The August sixth primary election will filter out most of the candidates seeking one of the dozens of state or federal positions that will be decided this year.
Every seat in the Washington State House of Representatives and the US House, half of the seats in the Washington State Senate and one of Washington’s two US Senate seats are in play this year.
A number of high profile state and federal positions do not have an incumbent this year. The most crowded contest by far is the open race for governor where nearly thirty candidates will appear on the ballot in August.
All of those races will be whittled down to two-candidate match ups after the August sixth primary. Unlike many states, Washington’s top-two primary allows candidates from the same party to wind up advancing to the November general election. Will it happen this year?
“I think the interesting dynamic that plays out in other states as well, is that you basically get sort of two shots at the contest in the single party districts. Like the 4th Congressional District, for example. I mean, it’s likely that you’ll see two republicans in the 4th Congressional District general election, which is kind of an unusual situation, but for the most part, it’s acted more frequently like a traditional primary. And I mean, if you look at, for example, the 3rd Congressional District, you know, I mean, that was really sort of Republican on Republican violence that happened there two years ago,” said Paul Queary of The Washington Observer. “The Lieutenant Governor’s race in 2020 was Democrat on Democrat because there were too many republicans in the race that divided the vote.”
Will the huge slate of candidates running to be the next governor make the outcome of the primary hard to predict?
“I tend to think it’s a non-issue because, the sheer volume, they’re going to get their 0.1% or whatever it is, 0.2 %. So it might add up collectively to 2.5 – 3%. But I don’t think in this primary that’s going to make the difference for either of the torch bearers of the party. I mean, I think what voters don’t get with a top-two primary you don’t get as many intraparty fights.
I mean, it’s been a while, right?” said Jerry Cornfield of the Washington State Standard. “You’re likely to run against someone in your own party if that’s all you have to be, but if you have to get through the other party and all the other parties that are out there it makes it difficult.”
“There’s four candidates that have a little name ID, you know, and a couple of them with a lot of money. Those four candidates will be the top four, in the governor’s race. I think you can pretty much draw a line race by race. Who will be in the top two or the top three or four,” he continued.
This fall, voters will also determine the fate of the state’s cap-and-trade program, mandatory long-term care program, and capital gains excise tax.
We also covered polling on the three statewide initiatives, redistricting implications for legislative influence, and the most interesting contests in play this year.