'Seattle News Weekly': WA election results, political trends, tax tensions
‘Seattle News Weekly S1E13’: Recapping the 2025 November elections
Election day has come and gone. FOX 13's Hana Kim is joined by FOX 13 political analyst Sandeep Kaushik to talk about the recent political trends in Seattle and Washington state as whole, and how they were front and center this election cycle. The two also chatted about how this year's election is a sign of what's to come in next year's midterms.
SEATTLE - Days after the 2025 election on Tuesday, results across Washington state are still trickling in, but tensions are increasing in Olympia over potential big tax increases.
On the 13th episode of the "Seattle News Weekly" podcast, political analyst Sandeep Kaushik joins Hana Kim to unpack the results and look ahead to Olympia's next legislative session, where Kaushik says tensions are increasing.
They briefly discuss the race for Seattle Mayor, where, as of Thursday morning, incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell holds a 6% lead over challenger Katie Wilson.
The focus then shifts to the state legislature in Olympia, where Democrats maintain an "almost supermajority," despite Republican efforts to flip two key Senate seats: Legislative District 26 and Legislative District 5. Kaushik says, based on election results, those Republican efforts appear to have been unsuccessful.
With Democrats controlling both the legislative and executive branches, political tensions are increasing within the Democratic Party—specifically between centrist leadership and the increasingly progressive caucuses.
These tensions between Democrats, according to Kaushik, stem from the progressive Democrats pushing for more extensive policy changes, specifically advocating for higher taxes on the wealthy. On the other hand, the more moderate Democrats, which include Gov. Ferguson, are more aligned with a less aggressive tax increase.
The biggest point of contention at the Capitol is how to address the state's budget and where the priorities lie for new revenue. Specifically, they discuss how the more progressive side is pushing for a wealth tax, or high earners' income tax. In the last session, they pushed for a record $9.2 billion tax increase. For the next session, Kaushik says they want to go even further with their high-earners income tax.
Kaushik says an income tax is "ostensibly unconstitutional in Washington state."
On the podcast, they discuss how Governor Ferguson initially ran into conflict with his own party because he opposed the idea of "big tax increases" and sought a different tone than his predecessor. Although he signed off on the $9.2 billion package, the tension remains.
Kaushik brings up the voter fear in this instance.
They switch gears and talk about Gov. Ferguson and his conflicts with his own party.
The podcast concludes with a brief review of additional key races, including the King County Executive position and the defeat of several moderate and Republican incumbents in Seattle, with notes on the strong progressive ideological shifts.
Join us every Thursday to stay up to date on weekly news around the area.
Seattle News Weekly is a podcast that goes in depth and gives context to the stories that matter to the western Washington community. Check back every Thursday for a new episode on your favorite podcast platform, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Audible, or YouTube.
The Source: Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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