(The Center Square) – Facing a near supermajority, the chair of the Washington State Republican Party has his eyes on five districts heading into the 2026 election cycle in an attempt to regain some control over Olympia.
Democrats took control of both chambers of the Legislature after the 2017 election when they secured the Senate. The last time Republicans controlled the statehouse was in 1998, before losing the House in 2002 and the Senate in 2004. They later regained the Senate until Democrats solidified power in 2018.
The Washington State Democratic Party now holds all eight statewide partisan executive offices. It is only three seats away from achieving a supermajority in the Senate and seven seats in the House. WA GOP Chairman Jim Walsh says that taking back four or five seats could make a difference for his party.
“It would help exponentially,” Walsh told The Center Square when asked whether five seats could block the majority. “I don’t think any of these bad things would have happened if we’d had five more seats.”
What’s at stake for WA GOP?
The legislative session wrapped up last Thursday, just after Democrats approved a $2 billion spending increase despite back-to-back multi-billion-dollar deficits. Once Gov. Bob Ferguson signs the operating budget, it will total $80.2 billion, more than doubling the roughly $38 billion operating budget in 2016.
The new spending only balances out over the statutory four-year outlook because of several one-time transfers from reserves, a pension fund for first responders and a new “millionaires” tax. The latter will cost people earning over $1 million annually, 9.9% of their income. Walsh says it’s unconstitutional.
The state expects the income tax to generate more than $2.6 billion in 2029, the first year that it’s in effect, before rising to $3.4 billion to $4 billion in the years after. However, that assumes that the tax won’t apply to annual incomes below $1 million. Republicans warn that everyday taxpayers could be next.
“Our house is on fire,” Walsh told The Center Square. “We’ve got to focus on how we overturn these.”
WA GOP intends to use policies that Democrats passed this year to persuade voters to cross the aisle.
Those include bills that allow a board of unelected bureaucrats to decertify an elected sheriff, grant the state attorney general expansive powers, impose an income tax and more. The state’s Supreme Court has blocked multiple income taxes in the past, and over 100,000 people signed up for public hearings in opposition this session, according to Senate Republicans. Democrats dispute those numbers.
Priority districts for WA GOP
All 98 seats in the state House and 24 of the 49 positions in the Senate are up for election this year.
“These things are not secrets,” Walsh told The Center Square. “I’ll give you the targeted districts.”
He said the WA GOP is focused on the 48th, 10th, 24th, and 26th legislative districts heading into the 2026 elections. Walsh also mentioned that the 5th and 30th districts are on the party’s radar, though he explained that WA GOP might include a few more districts due to the impacts of the income tax.
The 48th legislative district includes Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond, and is represented entirely by Democrats, one of whom, Rep. Amy Walen, voted against the income tax. The 10th legislative district covers Whidbey, Camano Island and Mt. Vernon. It is represented by a Senate Republican and two House Democrats, one of whom, Rep. Clyde Shavers, voted against the tax with Walen and others.
“A good candidate can be conservative, a good candidate can be moderate. It’s more the individual than some litmus test,” Walsh told The Center Square. “Shoot, I don’t care if you’re left, you know, if you can articulate public policy and reforms in a clear and strong way, I’m interested.”
The 24th legislative district includes Forks and the northwest corner of the state, and is represented by three Democrats who all voted for the income tax. Rep. Steve Tharinger of Port Townsend is one of those House Democrats, and announced last week that he is not seeking reelection later this year.
The 26th legislative district includes Gig Harbor and is represented by a Democrat in the Senate and both parties in the House. Sen. Deborah Krishnadasan already has a Republican lined up against her this year, and the House Republican, Rep. Michelle Valdez, is retiring. Rep. Addison Richards, the other Democrat, was among the seven House majority members to ultimately vote against the income tax.
The 5th legislative district encompasses Enumclaw and rural King County, and is represented by three Democrats who voted for the income tax. The 30th legislative district includes Federal Way and is also represented by three Democrats, one of whom, Rep. Kristine Reeves, voted against the income tax.
What’s next for the majority party?
WA Dems Chair Shasti Conrad was unavailable for an interview before publishing, but sent The Center Square a statement. It didn’t include the party’s priority districts for 2026.
She said the party is already canvassing ahead of the 2026 election cycle and is “laser-focused on expanding the map.”
“Despite fear-mongering (and potential tampering with testimony registrations) from Republicans in this legislative session, the Millionaires Tax is popular with voters who want to ensure the rich pay their share,” Conrad wrote in a statement to The Center Square. “Universal school lunch, eliminating the sales tax on over-the-counter medicines and diapers, and historic investments in education and infrastructure are the benefits of modernizing our 100-year-old tax code through the Millionaires Tax.”
She expects lawsuits challenging the new income tax in court and ballot initiatives attempting to block its implementation. A 1933 state ruling treats income as property, and the state constitution requires property taxes to be uniform, which could pose issues for the party’s new 9.9% millionaire tax rate.
Some opponents are concerned that the state’s high court may issue a new ruling that doesn’t treat income as property, or declare that the 9.9% rate isn’t uniform, potentially extending it to everyone.
“We are also certain the voters of Washington state want to take care of their neighbors and shift the tax burden from those at the bottom of the economic ladder to households that take home more than a million dollars in income every year,” Conrad wrote in her statement to The Center Square.
