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What to know about Washington's primary election on Tuesday

By
FOX 13 Seattle
2026 Elections
Published August 4, 2026 12:30 AM PDT
Published August 4, 2026 12:30 AM PDT

The Brief

    • Washington voters will decide on a wide array of federal, state, and local primary contests on Tuesday, Aug. 4, using a top-two system where the leading two vote-getters advance to November regardless of party affiliation.
    • Key races on the ballot include 98 State House seats, 24 State Senate seats, five State Supreme Court positions, and competitive U.S. House races.
    • Ballots must be placed in an official drop box or postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

SEATTLE -
Washington state's primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 4. The top two vote-getters in each contest will move on to the general election in November.

For the August primary, registered voters will see local measures (questions, bonds, levies, etc.); federal offices for U.S. representative; state legislative offices for state senator and state representative; state judicial offices for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals; and several local offices, including county auditor positions.

By the numbers:

Washington voters are deciding primary races for 98 State House seats, 24 State Senate seats, five State Supreme Court positions, and two key U.S. House contests, with the top two in each race advancing to the November general election. 

A key U.S. House battleground this fall will be in the state’s 3rd Congressional District in southwest Washington, bordering Oregon to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is running for a third term in the seat she first won narrowly in 2022. She faces eight primary challengers, including Republican state Senate Minority Leader John Braun, who has a key endorsement from President Donald Trump.

2026 Washington state primary election races

The following are key races on ballots that FOX 13 Seattle will follow: 

U.S. House of Representatives

  • 1st Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., faces primary challenges from Democrats Hunter Gordon, Catherine Hildebrand, Benjamin Kincaid, and Bryce Nickel; Republican Mary Silva; and independent James Etzkorn.
  • 2nd Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., is challenged by Democrats Devin Hermanson and Tomas Scheel, alongside Republican Edwin Feller.
  • 3rd Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., defends her seat against Democrats Austin Braswell, Brent Hennrich, and Troy Rasband; Republicans John Braun, Lawrence Kellogg, and John Roco; Cascade Party candidate Antony Barran; and independent John Saulie-Rohman.
  • 4th Congressional District (Open Seat): With Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse retiring, candidates include Republicans Matt Boehnke, John Hughs, Amanda McKinney, Elpidia Saavedra, Jerrod Sessler, and Ken Vaz; Democrat John Duresky; Cascade Party candidate Devin Poore; independent Favian Valencia; and nonpartisan candidates Jacek Kobiesa and Zac Rossi.
  • 5th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., faces Democrats Carmela Conroy, Kevin Fagan, Richard Freudenberg, Bajun Mavalwalla, Michael McGarr, and David Womack, along with independents Andrew Bartleson, Ann Marie Danimus, Matthew Hayes, Nate Powell, and Kyle Usrey.
  • 6th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Emily Randall, D-Wash., is on the ballot alongside Republican Teresa Fox, "Trump Republican" Leon Lawson, independent Brian O'Gorman, and nonpartisan candidate Macy Jones.
  • 7th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., faces Democrat Gwen Kirkland, Republican Nirav Sheth, and Fifth Republic candidate David Blomstrom.
  • 8th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., is challenged by Democrat Keith Arnold and Republicans Trinh Ha, Bob Hagglund, Spencer Meline, and Andres Valleza.
  • 9th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., faces Democrat Melissa Chaudhry, Republican Douglas Michael Basler, independent Kshama Sawant, and Socialist Workers candidate Jacob Perasso.
  • 10th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., faces Democrats Adam Arafat and Alex Scheel, Republican Chris Chung, Union Party candidate Kurtis Engle, and nonpartisan candidate Derek Maynes.

Washington State Supreme Court

  • State Supreme Court races are nonpartisan. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the primary, they will appear alone on the November ballot.
  • Position 1: Incumbent Justice Colleen Melody faces Laura Christensen Colberg and Scott Edwards.
  • Position 3 (Open): Candidates include J. Michael Diaz, Jaime Hawk, and David Stevens.
  • Position 4 (Open): Primary canceled; candidates Ian Birk and Sean O'Donnell automatically advance to November.
  • Position 5: Incumbent Justice Theo Angelis is challenged by Sharonda Amamilo, Dave Larson, and Greg Miller.
  • Position 7: Incumbent Chief Justice Debra Stephens faces Todd Bloom, Karim Merchant, and David Shelvey.

State Senate Races

  • 7th District: Incumbent Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy, faces Republican challengers Brandon Ray Medina and David Swoap, as well as independent Ronald McCoy.
  • 8th District (Open): Republicans Nikki Torres and Gabe Galbraith vie for the open seat.
  • 21st District: Incumbent Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, faces Republican Riaz Khan.
  • 26th District: Incumbent Sen. Deborah Krishnadasan, D-Gig Harbor, faces Republican Gary Parker.
  • 29th District (Open): Democrats David Anderson and Sharlett Mena seek the seat left open by retiring Sen. Steve Conway.
  • 30th District: Incumbent Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, faces Republican Michael Rutland.
  • 31st District: Incumbent Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, faces Democrat Tamara Stramel.
  • 32nd District: Incumbent Sen. Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline, faces Democrat Cindy Ryu and Republican Ira McBee.
  • 35th District: Incumbent Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, faces Democrat Carolina Mejia.
  • 36th District: Incumbent Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, faces Republican Jill England.
  • 37th District (Open): Democrats Tatiana Brown and Chipalo Street compete for the seat left open by retiring Sen. Rebecca Saldaña.
  • 38th District: Incumbent Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, faces Republican Brad Bender.
  • 42nd District (Open): Democrats Eamonn Collins and Michael Shepard face Republican Erika Creydt and nonpartisan candidate Ryan Bowman.
  • 43rd District: Incumbent Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, faces Democrat Hannah Sabio-Howell and nonpartisan candidate Heather-Marie Wilson.
  • 44th District: Incumbent Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, faces Republican Sherri Larkin.
  • 46th District: Incumbent Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, faces Republican Sandra Stephens.
  • 47th District: Incumbent Sen. Claudia Kauffman, D-Kent, faces Republican Kristina Soltys.

What's next:

Ballots in the Washington primary elections must be postmarked by Aug. 4, placed in a drop box or returned to your county's elections office by 8 p.m.

The top two candidates in each primary contest will move on to the General Election in November.

The Source: Information in this story came from the Washington State Secretary of State, the Associated Press and original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle. 

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