To create a thriving home, a place where immigrants and refugees are equal, valued and loved- we need legislative champions represented everywhere decisions for our communities are made. OneAmerica Votes makes endorsements with the goal of increasing the power and voice of immigrant and refugee communities in government. To be endorsed by OneAmerica Votes candidates must demonstrate their commitment to work alongside us and deliver on the issues most important to our communities. 

OneAmerica Votes Member Leaders and Board members understand what’s at stake. That’s why, as part of our candidate endorsement process, they come together to interview and vote for candidates who are pro-immigrant and will work with us to build a thriving home for immigrants. 

Our Endorsement Process

Our endorsement process is led by grassroots leaders from immigrant and refugee communities across Washington State. They interview candidates regarding issues important to their communities, evaluate the candidate responses and make recommendations to the OneAmerica Votes Board of Directors for review and affirmation. 

Adriana Lopez, a Member Leader from Vancouver, WA, had the opportunity to join with 20+ immigrant leaders from across Washington to interview candidates running for governor, attorney general, congress, state representatives and senators, and more, to make sure their platforms centered immigrant rights.

She shared this about her experience: “I felt powerful that day because I got to speak directly with candidates about the issues affecting my community. If they tried to distract us with other topics to not respond to our questions, I had the power to pressure them to give a straight answer – are they with us or not? Me sentí poderosa! This is what it feels like to be a member of OAV. To have the opportunity to voice my problems, solutions, and opinions to those in power and to feel seen and heard.” 

It is pivotal for our Member Leaders to be part of our endorsement process because, as Member Leader Emeka Madu shared, “We are the ones that hold the stories. We are speaking to issues and speaking from experience and points of knowledge. We know what will benefit us and can speak to that ourselves.” 

Our Full Slate of Primary Election Candidate Endorsements 

We are excited to announce our full slate of endorsements for the 2024 primaries. These candidates have shown their support for Our Thriving Home platform. We invite you to join us to lift these powerful candidates to elected leadership by supporting their campaigns with your voices, your dollars, your time and your vote! To see the full slate details with their photo, biographies and link to their website and socials, please click here. 

Candidates 

• Emily Randall, U.S. House of Representatives, WA-06  
• Pramila Jayapal, U.S. House of Representatives, WA-07  
• Bob Ferguson, Washington State Governor  
• Manka Dhingra, Washington State Attorney General   
• Marcus Riccelli, State Senator LD 3 
• Maria Beltran, State Senator LD 14   
• Chelsea Dimas, State Representative LD 14, Position 1   
• Ana Ruiz Kennedy, State Representative LD 14, Position 2 
• Terri Niles, State Representative LD 17, Position 2 
• Adrian Cortes, State Senator LD 18 
• Deken Letinich, State Representative LD 18, Position 1 
• John Zingale, State Representative LD 18, Position 2 
• Jessica Bateman, State Senator LD 22 
• Lillian Ortiz-Self, State Representative LD 21, Position 2 
• Yasmin Trudeau, State Senator LD 27 
• Laurie Jinkins, State Representative LD 27, Position 1 
• T’wina Nobles, State Senator LD 28 
• Sharlett Mena, State Representative LD 29, Position 2
• Jamila Taylor, State Representative LD 30, Position 1   
• Cindy Ryu, State Representative LD 32, Position 1 
• Chipalo Street, State Representative LD 32, Position 2 
• Mia Gregerson, State Representative LD 33, Position 2 
• Emily Alvarado, State Representative LD 34, Position 1   
• Joe Fitzgibbon, State Representative LD 34, Position 2  
• Julio Cortes, State Representative LD 38, Position 1 
• Tana Senn, State Representative LD 41, Position 1 
• My Linh Thai, State Representative LD 41, Position 2 
• Shaun Scott, State Representative LD 43, Position 2 
• Brandy Donaghy, State Representative LD 44, Position 1 
• April Berg, State Representative LD 44, Position 2 
• Darya Farivar, State Representative LD 46, Position 2   
• Vandana Slatter, State Representative LD 48, Position 1  
• Wil Fuentes, Clark County Council, District 3 
• Susan Soto Palmer, Yakima County Commissioner, District 2 
• Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Seattle City Council, Position 8

Ballot Initiative Endorsements 

OneAmerica Votes endorses the following initiatives that will ensure we are building a thriving home for us all in Washington.   

VOTE NO ON: 

• Vote NO on I-2109: No tax break for mega-millionaires, no cuts to Washington’s Education and childcare systems!  
• Vote NO on I-2124: We must continue to provide long-term care benefits to Washingtonians!  
• Vote No on I-2117: Protect our air and water, forests and farmland, jobs and transportation investments!   

VOTE YES ON:  

Vote YES on Kent for Districts: Change City of Kent’s at-large city council seats to district seats! The campaign is currently gathering signatures and is anticipated to be in the February 2025 special election.

Take Action 

Join us to gather signatures to get Kent for Districts on the ballot for the February Special Election! We are at the Kent Farmers Market every Saturday until August 15th from 10AM-2PM. Sign up to volunteer by filling out our volunteer interest form here and checking “Gather Signatures – Kent for Districts.”

Additionally, will be canvassing leading up to the general election, if you are interested in getting involved, please sign up to volunteer here.