(The Center Square) – Washington state Republicans’ hopes of picking up at least one Senate seat appeared to run into electoral reality on Tuesday night, based on initial Election Day returns.
As of 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Republican Rep. Michelle Caldier was trailing incumbent Democratic Sen. Deb Krishnadasan by a margin of 52.6% to 47.26% in the race for the 26th Legislative District Senate seat.
“It’s not looking great tonight,” Caldier said at a Gig Harbor election night gathering. “It’s not what we hoped for.”
Krishnadasan was appointed to the position in December 2024, replacing former Sen. Emily Randall, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She served on the Peninsula School Board for more than six years.
Legislative District 26 encompasses an area across southeastern Kitsap Peninsula from Bremerton and Port Orchard to Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula.
In the 5th Legislative District, Democratic Sen. Victoria Hunt is facing off against Republican challenger Chad Magendanz.
Based on initial returns Tuesday night, Hunt is leading Magendanz in the district – which includes parts of south and east King County, including Issaquah, Black Diamond and Enumclaw – by a margin of 54.5% to Magendanz’s 45.3%.
Hunt moved from the House of Representatives to the Senate after the death of Bill Ramos during this year’s legislative session.
Magendanz, a former Issaquah School Board member, teaches computer science in the Bellevue School District. He served in the Washington House from 2013 through 2017, representing the same district he is now running for, and ran for superintendent of public instruction in 2024, but did not advance beyond the primary.
Hunt and Krishnadasan told The Center Square they would email statements after initial election results came out, but, as of publication, did not.
Ahead of election returns on Tuesday, Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh told The Center Square that he was optimistic about both districts in terms of narrowing majority party Democrats’ wide lead in the upper chamber, which currently stands at 30-19.
“You don’t know how someone’s voting when you track match backs, but you know who’s voting. Based on previous voting history, and based on various statistical modeling you can do, you can estimate how a certain person is likely to vote,” Walsh, who also serves in the House, said. “So, here’s what we’ve got. We believe that turnout remains very low. That’s statewide, and it certainly applies to both of the most-watched state senate special elections, in Districts 5 and 26. So, turnout is low, and that’s never a great thing. We’d all like to see more people voting, but it looks like it’s very back-ended.”
After initial returns came in on Tuesday night, Walsh spoke again with The Center Square.
“If the Democrats win both of the seats in the 5th and 26th districts after passing record-breaking taxes, I think they are going to feel very emboldened this next legislative session because the progressives have a thirst for taxes that is never-ending,” he said.
