(The Center Square) – It’s Election Day, and based on early returns, a lot of Washington state voters may be sitting this one out, or they are waiting until the last minute to fill out ballots and get them turned in. To be counted, ballots must be postmarked or dropped into a county drop box by 8 p.m.
As of Monday, less than 20% of registered voters had returned ballots. That’s fewer than this time two years ago, when turnout for an off-year election hit a record low.
Also, like two years ago, the 2025 general election marks the second time that state Republicans have invested a significant amount of time and energy in boosting the chances of conservative-leaning school board candidates across the state.
“We supported 36 races two years ago. Of those 36, we won 32,” Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh told The Center Square on Tuesday. “That was a very good batting average.”
School district positions are nonpartisan in Washington, but there has been growing attention on school boards regarding policies concerning gender ideology and parental rights. Some districts are pushing back on directives from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction that conflict with those from the Trump administration banning transgender women and girls from participating in female sports teams in educational institutions that receive federal funding
“We worked with our local county party organizations to identify the most promising school board candidates around the state. School board candidates who would return the focus of their districts to basic education, reading, writing, math, and the hard sciences, and get away from indoctrination and social engineering,” Walsh, who also serves in the state House of Representatives, explained. “That’s a distraction from the failure of [Gov. Bob] Ferguson and [Superintendent Chris] Reykdal. They’ve failed our public-school kids.”
Walsh said many of the candidates they have worked with are brand new to politics.
“They’re parents, they are grandparents, and that’s what we want. That’s the idea that school boards would not be conniving politicians. They would be parents and grandparents, and maybe a local business owner who cares about how the children in the area are educated,” he continued. “That’s what it’s meant to be. Remember, these are generally not paid positions. It’s a volunteer position. You have to want to do it for the good, for the common good.”
The Center Square reached out to the Washington State Democratic Party for comment on the Republicans’ attention to school board races.
“Local and County Democratic Parties have endorsed incredible school board candidates who are fighting for improved student outcomes and fully resourced public education,” Communications Director Stephen Reed emailed The Center Square. “The WAGOP’s push for candidates who want to ban books, discriminate against LBGT+ students, and cut arts funding will backfire as parents and communities understand our students and the schools they learn from are integral to our state’s future prosperity. Washington Democrats encourage every voter to cast their ballots for the candidates endorsed by their local Democratic Parties.”
Walsh suggested that the response was generated by AI.
“No human talks like that statement. That is AI nonsense,” he said. “What an insult. This banning books nonsense, I mean, cut the hysteria, Shasti [Conrad, party chair] and company. No one’s banning books. Stop being ridiculous. Talk in real terms about helping real families and real kids learn how to read and write and do math and understand the hard sciences. And yes, that includes biology.”
How will the GOP measure success in the election outcome this time around?
“We’re supporting about 80, or a little bit more, about 82 [candidates]. We’ve expanded the program. I hope we have a similar success rate to two years ago, but we’ll see,” Walsh said. “I would say 60 would be success, of those 80-plus that we’re supporting; 50 would be great, but 60 would be the threshold of success, I’d say.”
According to the Washington State School Directors’ Association, there are 1,477 local school board members across the state’s 295 public school districts.
Initial general election results are expected to be posted just after 8 p.m. Tuesday and can be found here.
