How We Chose Our Endorsements
Every election season, voters are faced with important decisions about who will represent their communities in Olympia. We know that endorsements only matter when they are grounded in a thoughtful, transparent process, so we want to share how we arrived at the recommendations below.
Guided by Community Priorities
Before beginning our endorsement process, we surveyed our community to better understand what voters value most in elected leaders. The message was clear: people want representatives who will put kids and communities first, work across differences, and focus on solutions rather than partisan politics. Those priorities helped shape every step of our evaluation process.
Why We Focused on Open Seats
This election cycle includes an unusually large number of open legislative seats. In these races, neither candidate is an incumbent, which often means voters have less information available to help them make a decision. While we would love to weigh in on every race, we chose to focus our resources on these open-seat contests where our research and recommendations could be especially helpful to voters.
To evaluate candidates, we developed an endorsement questionnaire and invited candidates in the selected races to participate. We then conducted interviews with several candidates. Community volunteers also joined the interview process, helping ensure that local perspectives were represented throughout our discussions.
Recommendations Made With Care
The endorsements below are the result of careful research, thoughtful conversations, and input from community members who are committed to creating a brighter future for Washington’s students and families. We are proud to share these recommendations and hope they serve as a helpful resource as you prepare to cast your ballot.
State Senate
LD 42 Michael Alvarez Shepard (D)
State House of Representatives
LD 49 Kim D. Harless (House Position 1) (D)
LD 37 Jaelynn Scott (House – position 2) (D)
LD 32 Keith Scully (House Position 1 – dual endorsement) (D)
LD 32 Danica Noble (House Position 1 – dual endorsement) (D)-32
LD 29 Erin Chapman-Smith (House- position 2) (D)
LD 24 Patrick DePoe (House Position 2) (D)
LD 3 Luc Jasmin lll (House Position 2) (D)
Make a Plan to Vote
Your voice matters. Ballots will be mailed July 17 – take a moment to confirm that your voter registration is up to date by visiting vote.wa.gov. Being informed and participating in elections is one of the most powerful ways to help shape the future of our communities.
What’s Next
In the coming weeks, Stand will make endorsements for select incumbents for the primary and general elections – stay tuned!
