Washington State Senate
Upper house of the Washington State Legislature
The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of approximately 160,000. The state senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympia.
As with the lower House of Representatives, state senators serve without term limits, and senators serve four-year terms. Senators are elected from the same legislative districts as House members, with each district electing one senator and two representatives. Terms are staggered so that half the Senate is up for reelection every two years.
Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the state senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions, and boards.
01Leadership
The state constitution allows both houses to write their own rules of procedure (article II, section 9) and to elect their own officers (article II, section 10) with the proviso that the lieutenant governor may preside in each house and has a deciding vote in the Senate, but that the Senate may choose a "temporary president" in the absence of the lieutenant governor. The prevailing two-party system has produced current senate rules to the effect that the president pro tempore is nominated by the majority party caucus and elected by the entire Senate.
Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck is constitutionally the president of the Senate. The current president pro tempore is Steve Conway. The majority leader is Democrat Jamie Pedersen. The minority leader is Republican John Braun.
02Composition
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Vacant | |||
| End of previous legislature | 29 | 20 | 49 | 0 | |
| Begin 69th legislature | 30 | 19 | 49 | 0 | |
| April 19, 2025 | 29 | 48 | 1 | ||
| June 3, 2025 | 30 | 49 | 0 | ||
| Latest voting share | 61.2% | 38.8% | |||
Members (2025-2027, 69th Legislature)
| District | Name | Party | Residence | Counties | First Election | Next Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derek Stanford | Democratic | Maltby | King (part), Snohomish (part) | 2019 | 2028 |
| 2 | Jim McCune | Republican | Graham | Pierce (part), Thurston (part) | 2020 | 2028 |
| 3 | Marcus Riccelli | Democratic | Spokane | Spokane (part) | 2024 | 2028 |
| 4 | Leonard Christian | Republican | Spokane Valley | Spokane (part) | 2024 | 2028 |
| 5 | Victoria Hunt | Democratic | Issaquah | King (part) | 2025 | 2028 |
| 6 | Jeff Holy | Republican | Spokane | Spokane (part) | 2018 | 2026 |
| 7 | Shelly Short | Republican | Addy | Douglas (part), Ferry, Grant (part), Okanogan (part), Pend Oreille, Spokane (part), Stevens | 2017 | 2026 |
| 8 | Matt Boehnke | Republican | Kennewick | Benton (part), Franklin (part) | 2022 | 2026 |
| 9 | Mark Schoesler | Republican | Ritzville | Adams (part), Asotin, Columbia, Franklin (part), Garfield, Lincoln, Spokane (part), Whitman | 2004 | 2028 |
| 10 | Ron Muzzall | Republican | Oak Harbor | Island, Skagit (part), Snohomish (part) | 2019 | 2028 |
| 11 | Bob Hasegawa | Democratic | Seattle | King (part) | 2012 | 2028 |
| 12 | Keith Goehner | Republican | Dryden | Chelan, Douglas (part), King (part), Snohomish (part) | 2024 | 2028 |
| 13 | Judy Warnick | Republican | Moses Lake | Grant (part), Kittitas, Yakima (part) | 2014 | 2026 |
| 14 | Curtis King | Republican | Yakima | Klickitat, Yakima (part) | 2007 | 2028 |
| 15 | Nikki Torres | Republican | Pasco | Adams (part), Benton (part), Franklin (part), Grant (part), Yakima (part) | 2022 | 2026 |
| 16 | Perry Dozier | Republican | Waitsburg | Benton (part), Walla Walla | 2020 | 2028 |
| 17 | Paul Harris | Republican | Vancouver | Clark (part), Skamania | 2024 | 2028 |
| 18 | Adrian Cortes | Democratic | La Center | Clark (part) | 2024 | 2028 |
| 19 | Jeff Wilson | Republican | Longview | Cowlitz (part), Grays Harbor (part), Lewis (part), Pacific, Thurston (part), Wahkiakum | 2020 | 2028 |
| 20 | John Braun | Republican | Centralia | Clark (part), Cowlitz (part), Lewis (part), Thurston (part) | 2012 | 2028 |
| 21 | Marko Liias | Democratic | Lynnwood | Snohomish (part) | 2014 | 2026 |
| 22 | Jessica Bateman | Democratic | Olympia | Thurston (part) | 2024 | 2028 |
| 23 | Drew Hansen | Democratic | Bainbridge Island | Kitsap (part) | 2023 | 2028 |
| 24 | Mike Chapman | Democratic | Port Angeles | Clallam, Grays Harbor (part), Jefferson | 2024 | 2028 |
| 25 | Chris Gildon | Republican | Puyallup | Pierce (part) | 2020 | 2028 |
| 26 | Deborah Krishnadasan | Democratic | Gig Harbor | Kitsap (part), Pierce (part) | 2024 | 2026 |
| 27 | Yasmin Trudeau | Democratic | Tacoma | Pierce (part) | 2021 | 2028 |
| 28 | T'wina Nobles | Democratic | Fircrest | Pierce (part) | 2020 | 2028 |
| 29 | Steve Conway | Democratic | Tacoma | Pierce (part) | 2010 | 2026 |
| 30 | Claire Wilson | Democratic | Auburn | King (part) | 2018 | 2026 |
| 31 | Phil Fortunato | Republican | Auburn | King (part), Pierce (part) | 2017 | 2026 |
| 32 | Jesse Salomon | Democratic | Shoreline | King (part), Snohomish (part) | 2018 | 2026 |
| 33 | Tina Orwall | Democratic | Des Moines | King (part) | 2024 | 2026 |
| 34 | Emily Alvarado | Democratic | West Seattle | King (part) | 2025 | 2026 |
| 35 | Drew MacEwen | Republican | Union | Kitsap (part), Mason, Thurston (part) | 2022 | 2026 |
| 36 | Noel Frame | Democratic | Seattle | King (part) | 2022 | 2026 |
| 37 | Rebecca Saldaña | Democratic | Seattle | King (part) | 2016 | 2026 |
| 38 | June Robinson | Democratic | Everett | Snohomish (part) | 2020 | 2026 |
| 39 | Keith Wagoner | Republican | Sedro-Woolley | Skagit (part), Snohomish (part) | 2018 | 2028 |
| 40 | Liz Lovelett | Democratic | Anacortes | San Juan, Skagit (part), Whatcom (part) | 2019 | 2028 |
| 41 | Lisa Wellman | Democratic | Mercer Island | King (part) | 2016 | 2028 |
| 42 | Sharon Shewmake | Democratic | Bellingham | Whatcom (part) | 2022 | 2026 |
| 43 | Jamie Pedersen | Democratic | Seattle | King (part) | 2013 | 2026 |
| 44 | John Lovick | Democratic | Mill Creek | Snohomish (part) | 2021 | 2026 |
| 45 | Manka Dhingra | Democratic | Redmond | King (part) | 2017 | 2026 |
| 46 | Javier Valdez | Democratic | Seattle | King (part) | 2022 | 2026 |
| 47 | Claudia Kauffman | Democratic | Kent | King (part) | 2022 | 2026 |
| 48 | Vandana Slatter | Democratic | Bellevue | King (part) | 2025 | 2026 |
| 49 | Annette Cleveland | Democratic | Vancouver | Clark (part) | 2012 | 2028 |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Washington State Senate”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Wash-StateSenate-Logo-2017.png by Unknown author, Fair use
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