We know that when we elect people from our communities, who share our values, we can win the things our communities need to thrive. While the national landscape feels bleak right now, here in Washington, we won in big ways that will defend our gains, protect our people, and propel our vision forward. We elected Democrats to every statewide office, expanded Democratic majorities in the legislature, and won key local races from Clark County to Seattle.
In fact, Washington was one of the only states in the country where Democrats picked up votes and seat this year. That is because of years of work by organizations like OneAmerica building relationships in communities and talking to voters.
Now, because we knocked on doors, called voters, and turned out our people this fall, Washington State is poised to lead the rest of the country in building welcoming, safe communities for immigrants.
We reached out to 200,000 voters this fall from Sunnyside to Seattle. We knocked on 7,040 doors across the state and reached over 12,000 voters. As a result of our work, 30 of our 38 endorsed candidates won. Additionally, all three ballot initiatives which we endorsed a NO vote were defeated at the ballot box. There is a clear mandate in Washington for raising revenue to fund programs like childcare to build a thriving home for our communities.
One of our leaders, Odalis, who joined us to knock on doors opposing these three initiatives said she came out because “my family and many of the people who I’ve grown up with in my community are working class, and these initiatives can affect the cost of services and necessities we have to pay for in our daily lives… The ballot initiatives are important to me because they are undoing progress made in Washington for education, climate, and environmental justice work.”
We were able to protect our progress this fall and lay the groundwork for future victories because of our volunteers like Odalis, our organizers in training, and our canvassers in the 14th Legislative District. Thank you for building with us!
This work led to some historic firsts across the state:
- In Seattle, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, a queer Latina and a renter, became the youngest person ever elected to a seat on the city council.
- Wil Fuentes became the first openly gay Latino on the Clark County Council after winning his race for Position 3.
- Adrian Cortes, a public school teacher, flipped a Senate seat in Southwest Washington, becoming the first Democrat to win the 18th Legislative District since the 1990s.
- In the 6th Congressional District, Emily Randall, became the first queer Latina elected to the US House of Representatives.
Our Wins
OneAmerica Votes wants to congratulate all of our endorsed candidates who won their races:
- Federal:
- Emily Randall, US House of Representatives, WA-06
- Pramila Jayapal, US House of Representatives WA-07
- Statewide:
- Bob Ferguson, Governor
- Nick Brown, Attorney General
- Chris Reykdal, Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Dave Upthegrove, Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands
- Legislature:
- Marcus Riccelli, State Senator, LD 3
- Adrian Cortes, State Senator, LD 18
- Jessica Bateman, State Senator, LD 22
- 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
- Mia Gregerson, State Representative, LD 33 Position 2
- Emily Alvarado, State Representative, LD 34, Position 1
- Joe Fitzgibbon, State Representative, LD 34, Position 2
- Chipalo Street, State Representative, LD 37 Position 2
- Julio Cortes, State Representative, LD 38 Position 1
- Tana Senn, 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
- Local:
- Wil Fuentes, Clark County Commissioner, District 3
- Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Seattle City Council, Position 8
- Initiatives:
- No on I-2109
- No on I-2124
- No on I-2127
To our endorsed candidates who did not win this cycle, thank you for stepping up and running. You centered our communities in your races and started building for the long term.
In particular, we want to highlight our endorsed candidates in Central Washington, Maria Beltran, Chelsea Dimas, Ana Ruiz Kennedy, and Susan Soto Palmer. Your races were historic and emphasized the power of Latinos and immigrants to run for office and represent the needs of our communities. You energized our people and laid the groundwork for the future.
We also want to recognize our other endorsed candidate who came close to winning:
- Marla Keethler, Candidate for State Senator, LD 17
- Terri Niles, Candidate for State House of Representatives, LD 17, Position 2
- Deken Letinich, Candidate for State House of Representatives, LD 18 Position 1
- John Zingale, Candidate for State House of Representatives, LD 18 Position 2
Thank you, and let’s keep building.
So what comes next?
We know that elections are only the first step in building a thriving home for immigrants and refugees in Washington. We also need to pass policies that will benefit our communities too: unemployment insurance for all workers, childcare for all families, and above all, protections for immigrants and refugees who make Washington a place we are proud to call home.
Right now, it’s important for us to acknowledge all the feelings we have about both our statewide and our national elections. We need to care for ourselves and our people as we orient towards this new reality.
OneAmerica Votes is prepared to welcome and absorb the volunteers and voters that we identified and worked with during the electoral season into our political organizing. If you’d like to get more involved in our work, sign up for the Immigrant Justice Team organized by our sister organizer, OneAmerica.
We also need to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and why we’re in this situation, so we can learn — and adjust our work accordingly.
Here at OneAmerica Votes, we remain committed to acting collectively to build a thriving home, no matter where we come from or what language we speak at home.
