(The Center Square) – “Bad, but not disastrous.”
That’s how Washington State Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh described Tuesday’s election results that showed Democrats widening their majorities in the Washington legislature.
Before all the statewide race results came in Tuesday night, Walsh told The Center Square Washington might buck the national trend to the left.
“The legislative districts are on track, so Washington may end up being a bulwark against some of the blue wave that happened in the rest of the country,” said Walsh shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday evening.
As the night wore on, and more counties reported in vote totals, it became clear several Republican incumbents are likely to lose their seats.
In Legislative District 12, Republican incumbent Rep. Brian Burnett of Wenatchee is trailing Democrat Stacy Willoughby, with the challenger leading by just more than 1,400 votes with thousands left to count as of Wednesday.
“We knew this was going to be close. I still think there’s a really good chance you’re going to see the numbers change over the next four or five days and I’ll return to the legislature,” Burnett told The Center Square via text message Wednesday morning.
The former Chelan County sheriff said looking at the possibility Washington Democrats could take a super majority power in the legislature is devastating.
“They can override the veto from the governor. They can change the Constitution. We know that’s what they’re really after. They’re power hungry. They are money grabbing, and it’s just freaking sinking the Titanic the rest of the way down and that grieves me,” said Burnett.
In Legislative District 14, Republican incumbent Gloria Mendoza is trailing Democratic challenger Chelsea Dimas by about 1,600 votes.
In that same District Rep. Deb Manjarrez is behind Democrat Ezequiel Morfin 55% to 44%.
In District 17, Democratic challenger Diana Perez is leading incumbent Republican David Stuebe by a margin of 56% to 43%.
In District 18, Republican incumbent Stephanie McClintock is trailing Democratic challenger Randi Knott 54% to 45.6%.
Also in District 18, incumbent Republican Rep. John Ley is losing to Deken Letinich-the Democrat- by 55.7% to 44%.
“I want to thank the people of the 18th District for the privilege of allowing me to represent them for the past two years,” Ley said in an emailed statement to The Center Square. “There remains a lot of votes remaining to be counted, so we won’t know the final outcome for a couple days.”
He added that he “fought against raising your taxes” and was “proud to have joined the battle to protect girls in girls sports,” among several issues he highlighted.
Democrats celebrated their big wins.
“We are for the sixth consecutive cycle growing our majorities in the state legislature,” said Washington Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad in a Tuesday night interview with The Center Square.
“What a night for Democrats. Truly one of the best election nights in my lifetime,” Conrad added.
In Puyallup’s District 25, Democratic candidate David Berg is leading the incumbent Republican Michael Keaton. That race is close with Berg holding 50.7% to Keaton’s 49%.
Another extremely close one in LD 25 has Republican Rep. Cyndy Jacobsen leading her Democratic challenger Jenn Marie Strickling by just more than 100 votes.
In the 35th LD, Republican Drew MacEwen has 48% to his Democratic challenger Carolina Mejia at 51%.
Also in the 35th, GOP incumbent Dan Griffey has a narrow 50.18% lead on Democrat Jim Pierson at 49.70%. That separation is just more than 200 votes.
Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, is leading his Democratic challenger, Maria Littelsun, by about 400 votes.
Couture told The Center Square via text on Wednesday he believes he’ll pull out the win.
“Many predicted a full Democrat flip of the 35th District, given that Kamala Harris won the district in 2024. However, Republicans have two narrow leads in the House and one close race in the Senate. This overperformance in a devastating election for Republicans is a testament to the work that the current 35th district delegation has done for its constituents,” Couture said.
As to the wider GOP losses, Couture said, “Republicans got their asses handed to them.”
“Caught up in the riptide of national sentiment were good Republican representatives in our state that have nothing to do with national politics,” he said.
“However, Republicans in Washington need to take responsibility for this and previous losses, reflect deeply on the future of our party, and get back to work quickly ahead of the legislative session and 2028,” wrote Couture.
Another race between two Democrats in Legislative District 48, matters to the Republicans.
Moderate Democrat Amy Wallen, who often votes with Republicans, is trailing Democratic challenger Jessica Forsythe by 51% to 47%.
In a Wednesday phone call with The Center Square, Rep. Burnett, R-Wenatchee who is trailing his challenger in a close race, grew emotional in discussing his colleagues who have lost their seats.
“I have so much love and admiration for my caucus members that I’ve served with for the last few years. And knowing what they’ve done and the effort they put in…to see that people don’t care or respect them…I know the difference they’ve made and God knows, so I just thank them for their service,” said Burnett as he choked up.
If election night leads hold, House Democrats in Olympia will grow their lead from 59-39 to 66-32.
Only half of the state Senate seats were on the ballot, and while Democrats appears to be gaining seats, the party will not have a supermajority in the state Senate.