The outcome of the Nov. 5 general election was bittersweet for 18th District Representative Stephanie McClintock, who secured a second term while also expressing disappointment over the failure of several key ballot measures.
As of Friday, Nov. 15, McClintock had received 46,183 votes (55.63%) in her race against Democratic challenger Deken Letinich, who garnered 36,839 votes (44.37%) from the Nov. 5 general election.
With 346,732 registered voters and 277,329 ballots processed, nearly 80% of county voters participated in the 2024 general election. Reflecting on the turnout, McClintock expressed joy in seeing such high participation in Clark County.
“I’m just blown away and just very thrilled, excited. I’m very happy to have such a large group supporting me. It kind of just builds my confidence going into the Legislature that I have that much support behind me,” McClintock said.
Other 18th District legislative races were closer. Democratic candidate Adrian Cortes narrowly led the state Senate race with 50.21% of the vote, and Republican John Ley held a slim advantage in the Position 2 state representative race with 50.85%. McClintock credited her more decisive win to her focus on constituent outreach during her first term and her position as the district’s only incumbent.
Legislative priorities
At press time, McClintock was set to meet with the Republican Caucus to discuss committee seating. Last year, McClintock served on the House Capital Budget, Consumer Protection & Business and Education committees. As a former Battle Ground Public Schools board member from 2013-17, McClintock plans to prioritize improving public education in Washington through two bills.
The first bill would mandate schools provide exit surveys for parents pulling their children out of public schools. McClintock seeks to address declining trust in public education by learning what aspects parents disagree with.
The second bill seeks to empower schools to establish policies that limit cell phone use, which McClintock believes could improve academic performance and restore confidence in public schools. Recent data from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction showed students scoring below 50% in both math and science on standardized tests.
With a Democratic majority in the Legislature, McClintock hopes to build bipartisan support for her education-focused initiatives, noting that such measures are likely to resonate across party lines.
“Cutting taxes or supporting law enforcement seems to be a partisan issue, [but] things like cell phone restrictions are more bipartisan, which is great. We all want to see our schools succeed and our students succeed, and as the statistics come out more and this gets more attention, everyone’s getting behind it,” McClintock said.
Ballot measures
Reflecting on Washington’s four ballot initiatives, McClintock was disappointed that only one, Initiative 2066, appeared likely to pass.
This measure would require cities and counties to ensure natural gas is supplied to applicable businesses and residents. Additionally, the initiative would repeal sections of House Bill 1589, which the state Legislature passed last March. I-2066 would repeal the law that requires large utility companies, namely Puget Sound Energy (PSE), to merge their natural gas and electric utility customers into one rate plan. Under the law, PSE would be required to develop a plan by 2027 to assess the feasibility of cost-effective electrification options for its customers.
McClintock attributed the failure of the other initiatives to voter fatigue, noting the difficulty of navigating multiple measures on the same ballot.
“Having that many initiatives on the ballot, I think it was a lot for people … I think there was a lot to have to read and research. I think we would have had more success with those initiatives had we split those up and not had all four or five of them on this ballot,” McClintock said.
The three additional ballot measures expected to fail were:
Initiative No. 2109, which proposed repealing the 7% excise capital gains tax applied to assets valued over $250,000. Revenue from this tax currently funds early child care services in the state.
Initiative No. 2124, which proposed allowing employees in Washington to opt out of the state’s payroll tax to receive benefits under WA Cares, the state’s long-term health care insurance program.
Initiative No. 2117, which sought to repeal the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), a law aimed at reducing carbon emissions through a cap-and-trade system. The CCA works to reduce carbon emissions through “allowances,” which companies can purchase and trade at auctions, similar to stocks. Each year, the state reduces the amount of allowances, which raises the value and price. The funds are transferred to transportation improvement projects, including road improvements, across the state. Local Republican leaders have argued the law has caused gas companies to raise prices.
Locally, La Center is slated to receive $1 million from the Climate Commitment Act funds to build a shared-use path on Pacific Highway. The city would not have earned the amount if the initiative had passed. McClintock argued that repealing the CCA would not have impacted transportation funding as the state could reprioritize its budget.
“The money is there, and schools should be funded first, our roads should be funded first. There are some basic obligations of the state and funding for things that affect our constituents, and, to me, there’s a handful of [obligations], and in that handful is school funding and funding for roads. We probably would have had to cut some social programs if that had passed, and that would have been OK with me,” McClintock said.
