Washington State Senate

Washington State Senate
Washington State Senate
Washington State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper chamber
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 11, 2018
Leadership
Lieutenant Governor	Cyrus Habib (D) ; since January 11, 2017
President of the Senate pro tempore	Karen Keiser (D) ; since November 15, 2017
Majority Leader	Andy Billig (D) ; since November 15, 2017
Minority Leader	Mark Schoesler (R) ; since November 15, 2017
Structure
Seats	49
Political groups	Majority Caucus Democratic (28); Minority Caucus Republican (20); Democrat Caucusing; with Republicans (1);
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article II, Washington State Constitution
Salary	$52,766/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 6, 2018; (25 seats)
Next election	November 3, 2020; (24 seats)
Redistricting	Washington State Redistricting Commission
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Washington State Capitol; Olympia, Washington
Website
	Washington State Senate

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 nearly 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, though 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.

Leadership

The Lieutenant Governor of Washington serves as the President of the Senate, but only casts a vote if required to break a tie. In his or her absence, the President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate. The President Pro Tempore is nominated by the majority party caucus and elected by the entire Senate. The President Pro Tempore is a largely ceremonial position in the Senate. The primary leaders of the respective caucuses are the majority and minority leaders, which are elected by their respective party caucuses.

Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib is constitutionally the President of the Senate. The current President Pro Tempore is Karen Keiser. The Majority leader is Democrat Andy Billig. The Minority Leader is Republican Mark Schoesler.

Composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total

	Non-coalition	Coalition

	Democratic		Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	25	1	23	49	0

After 2018 election	28	1	20	49	0
Beginning of 66th legislature	27			49	1^[2]
February 5, 2019^[3]	28			49	0
Latest voting share	57.1%	42.9%

Members (2019–2021, 66th Legislature)

District	Senator	Party	Residence	Counties Represented	First elected	Next election
1	Derek Stanford	Democratic	Maltby	King (part), Snohomish (part)	2019†	2020
2	Randi Becker	Republican	Eatonville	Pierce (part), Thurston (part)	2008	2020
3	Andy Billig	Democratic	Spokane	Spokane (part)	2012	2020
4	Mike Padden	Republican	Spokane Valley	Spokane (part)	2011^	2020
5	Mark Mullet	Democratic	Issaquah	King (part)	2012#	2020
6	Jeff Holy	Republican	Spokane	Spokane (part)	2018	2022
7	Shelly Short	Republican	Addy	Ferry, Okanogan (part), Pend Oreille, Spokane (part), Stevens	2017†	2022
8	Sharon Brown	Republican	Kennewick	Benton (part)	2013†	2022
9	Mark Schoesler	Republican	Ritzville	Adams, Asotin, Franklin (part), Garfield, Spokane (part), Whitman	2004	2020
10	Ron Muzzall	Republican	Oak Harbor	Island, Skagit (part), Snohomish (part)	2019†	2020
11	Bob Hasegawa	Democratic	Seattle	King (part)	2012	2020
12	Brad Hawkins	Republican	East Wenatchee	Chelan, Douglas, Grant (part), Okanogan (part)	2016	2020
13	Judith Warnick	Republican	Moses Lake	Grant (part), Kittitas, Lincoln, Yakima (part)	2014	2022
14	Curtis King	Republican	Yakima	Clark (part), Klickitat, Skamania, Yakima (part)	2007^	2020
15	Jim Honeyford	Republican	Sunnyside	Yakima (part)	1998	2022
16	Maureen Walsh	Republican	College Place	Benton (part), Columbia, Franklin (part), Walla Walla	2016	2020
17	Lynda Wilson	Republican	Vancouver	Clark (part)	2016	2020
18	Ann Rivers	Republican	La Center	Clark (part)	2012†	2020
19	Dean Takko	Democratic	Longview	Cowlitz (part), Grays Harbor (part), Lewis (part), Pacific, Wahkiakum	2015†	2020
20	John Braun	Republican	Centralia	Clark (part), Cowlitz (part), Lewis (part), Thurston (part)	2012	2020
21	Marko Liias	Democratic	Everett	Snohomish (part)	2014†	2022
22	Sam Hunt	Democratic	Olympia	Thurston (part)	2016	2020
23	Christine Rolfes	Democratic	Bainbridge Island	Kitsap (part)	2010†	2020
24	Kevin Van De Wege	Democratic	Sequim	Clallam, Grays Harbor (part), Jefferson	2016	2020
25	Hans Zeiger	Republican	Puyallup	Pierce (part)	2016#	2020
26	Emily Randall	Democratic	Gig Harbor	Kitsap (part), Pierce (part)	2018	2022
27	Jeannie Darneille	Democratic	Tacoma	Pierce (part)	2012	2020
28	Steve O'Ban	Republican	Tacoma	Pierce (part)	2013†	2020
29	Steve Conway	Democratic	Tacoma	Pierce (part)	2010	2022
30	Claire Wilson	Democratic	Federal Way	King (part), Pierce (part)	2018	2022
31	Phil Fortunato	Republican	Auburn	King (part), Pierce (part)	2017†	2022
32	Jesse Salomon	Democratic	Shoreline	King (part), Snohomish (part)	2018	2022
33	Karen Keiser	Democratic	Des Moines	King (part)	2001†	2022
34	Joe Nguyen	Democratic	Seattle	King (part)	2018	2022
35	Tim Sheldon	Republican* (Dem*)	Potlatch	Kitsap (part), Mason, Thurston (part)	1997^	2022
36	Reuven Carlyle	Democratic	Seattle	King (part)	2016†	2022
37	Rebecca Saldaña	Democratic	Seattle	King (part)	2016†	2022
38	June Robinson	Democratic	Everett	Snohomish (part)	2020†	2022
39	Keith Wagoner	Republican	Sedro-Woolley	King (part), Skagit (part), Snohomish (part)	2018†	2022
40	Liz Lovelett	Democratic	Anacortes	San Juan, Skagit (part), Whatcom (part)	2019†	2020
41	Lisa Wellman	Democratic	Mercer Island	King (part)	2016	2020
42	Doug Ericksen	Republican	Ferndale	Whatcom (part)	2010	2022
43	Jamie Pedersen	Democratic	Seattle	King (part)	2013†	2022
44	Steve Hobbs	Democratic	Lake Stevens	Snohomish (part)	2006	2022
45	Manka Dhingra	Democratic	Redmond	King (part)	2017^	2022
46	David Frockt	Democratic	Seattle	King (part)	2011†	2022
47	Mona Das	Democratic	Renton	King (part)	2018	2022
48	Patty Kuderer	Democratic	Clyde Hill	King (part)	2017†	2022
49	Annette Cleveland	Democratic	Vancouver	Clark (part)	2012	2020

*Sheldon self-identifies as Democrat but has caucused with Republicans since Dec. 10, 2012

†Originally Appointed

^Originally Elected in Special Election

#Sworn in early to fill vacant seat

Past composition of the Senate

Seating Chart

Das

Billig

Schoesler

References

^ "Salary Information | Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials". salaries.wa.gov.
^ "Washington state Sen. Kevin Ranker resigns amid misconduct accusations". Seattle Times. January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
^ "Anacortes City Council member chosen to replace senator who stepped down amid harassment investigation". Seattle Times. February 5, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.

External links

47°02′09″N 122°54′16″W / 47.0358°N 122.9045°W / 47.0358; -122.9045

[1] "Salary Information | Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials". salaries.wa.gov.

[kevinranker-2] "Washington state Sen. Kevin Ranker resigns amid misconduct accusations". Seattle Times. January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2019.

[3] "Anacortes City Council member chosen to replace senator who stepped down amid harassment investigation". Seattle Times. February 5, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Members of the Washington State Senate
68th State Legislature (2023–2025) President of the Senate Denny Heck (D) President pro tempore Vacant Majority Leader Andy Billig (D) Minority Leader John Braun (R)
▌Derek Stanford (D) ▌Jim McCune (R) ▌Andy Billig (D) ▌Mike Padden (R) ▌Mark Mullet (D) ▌Jeff Holy (R) ▌Shelly Short (R) ▌Matt Boehnke (R) ▌Mark Schoesler (R) ▌Ron Muzzall (R) ▌Bob Hasegawa (D) ▌Brad Hawkins (R) ▌Judy Warnick (R) ▌Curtis King (R) ▌Nikki Torres (R) ▌Perry Dozier (R) ▌Lynda Wilson (R) ▌Ann Rivers (R) ▌Jeff Wilson (R) ▌John Braun (R) ▌Marko Liias (D) ▌Sam Hunt (D) ▌Drew Hansen (D) ▌Mike Chapman (D) ▌Chris Gildon (R) ▌Vacant ▌Yasmin Trudeau (D) ▌T'wina Nobles (D) ▌Steve Conway (D) ▌Claire Wilson (D) ▌Phil Fortunato (R) ▌Jesse Salomon (D) ▌Tina Orwall (D) ▌Joe Nguyen (D) ▌Drew MacEwen (R) ▌Noel Frame (D) ▌Rebecca Saldaña (D) ▌June Robinson (D) ▌Keith Wagoner (R) ▌Liz Lovelett (D) ▌Lisa Wellman (D) ▌Sharon Shewmake (D) ▌Jamie Pedersen (D) ▌John Lovick (D) ▌Manka Dhingra (D) ▌Javier Valdez (D) ▌Claudia Kauffman (D) ▌Patty Kuderer (D) ▌Annette Cleveland (D)
Majority caucus ▌Democratic (29) Minority caucus ▌Republican (20) Washington State Legislature Washington House of Representatives Washington State Senate

v t e Legislatures of the United States
United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate
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Legislative elections	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
List of U.S. state legislators Lists of past U.S. state legislatures

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