Democratic state Sen. Deb Krishnadasan was holding off Republican Rep. Michelle Caldier on Tuesday in an expensive battle cast as a bellwether of the political mood in Washington.
Krishnadasan led Caldier by a comfortable margin of 52.7% to 47.3% in a contest that drew nearly $4 million in spending by candidates and outside groups. Results will be updated as more votes are tallied.
The winner will represent the 26th Legislative District that spans parts of Pierce and Kitsap counties and includes Bremerton, Port Orchard, Purdy and Gig Harbor. It is one of Washington’s few swing districts where residents are represented by lawmakers from both parties.
The early results suggest Trump continues to drag down Republican candidates in suburban areas, and that progressives are in no mood to cede ground they’ve secured at the state level.
In eight other legislative races, Democratic incumbents were performing well overall Tuesday night.
Krishnadasan was winning handily in both counties in her district on Tuesday, unlike the August primary, where she trailed on election night and then moved ahead in later counts.
“We are encouraged by tonight’s results but know there are many ballots left to count,” Krishnadasan said in a statement. “We are optimistic that our campaign has beaten back one of the most expensive onslaughts of corporate-funded attack ads in state history.”
Her campaign later added that they expect the lead to hold.
As of Tuesday, candidates had collectively spent about $1.4 million in the race, with outside groups accounting for another $2.6 million.
If Tuesday’s results stick, it will be a blow to Republicans who viewed this contest as their best chance this year to chip away at Democrats’ 30-19 seat advantage in the state Senate.
That’s because Krishnadasan, a former school board director, was making her case to voters for the first time as a lawmaker, against Caldier, who had won six straight House races in the district.
And this was the first major election since the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved billions of dollars in new business taxes and a 6-cent increase in the state’s gas tax, along with controversial laws such as a cap on rent increases, unemployment benefits for striking workers and requiring a state-issued permit to buy a gun.
Caldier campaigned on the idea that Democrats overreached and thinning their ranks in the Senate would be the best means of preventing another round of taxes in 2026.
But it appears she may not be able to overcome constant attacks from pro-Krishnadasan forces associating her with President Donald Trump, his policies or the MAGA movement.
“Initial results are not what we wanted, but we will wait to see if the trend reverses over the coming days. We will closely monitor returns and continue to work on ballot rehab to ensure all votes are counted,” said state Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, who is the chair of the Senate Republican Campaign Caucus and serves as deputy leader of the Republican caucus.
Krishnadasan, who served six years on the Peninsula School District Board of Directors, was appointed to her seat after former state senator Emily Randall, a Democrat, was elected to Congress last year.
She voted against her party’s major tax bills, the gas tax, and the two-year state budget while backing the major policy bills. She stressed fiscal conservatism and trumpeted a desire to be a change agent in her caucus. She didn’t play the Trump card herself but benefited from the efforts of pro-Democrat forces that did in attacking Caldier.
Caldier won a seat in the House in 2014 and has been reelected five times, typically garnering votes from Democrats and independents.
But Krishnadasan won the August primary by 1,158 votes, which surprised Caldier. The Republican lawmaker attributed this to a low turnout and widespread frustration with the president among those who did vote.
Caldier sought to tie Krishnadasan with the massive tax hikes and expansive social policies, but was hard-pressed to make her case amid an onslaught of mailers and ads from New Direction PAC labeling her an “extremist” and pairing her with Trump.
The political committee, which supports incumbent and progressive Democrats, is funded largely by the Democratic caucuses of the House and Senate, the Service Employees International Union, and the Washington Education Association, which is the state’s largest union representing public school employees.
Then, in the campaign’s final days, this same group pivoted and attacked Caldier as a Republican In Name Only, or RINO, in a blunt attempt to deter hardline conservative GOP voters from supporting her.
