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, 2021
Leadership
President	Denny Heck (D) ; since January 13, 2021
President pro Tempore	Karen Keiser (D) ; since November 15, 2017
Majority Leader	Andy Billig (D) ; since November 15, 2017
Minority Leader	John Braun (R) ; since November 30, 2020
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	$56,881/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 3, 2020; (24 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2022; (25 seats)
Redistricting	Washington 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 state constitution allows both houses to write their own rules of procedure (article II, section 9) and to elect their own officers (article II, section 10) with the proviso that the lieutenant governor may preside in each house and has a deciding vote in the senate, but that the senate may choose a "temporary president" in the absence of the lieutenant governor. The prevailing two-party system has produced current senate rules to the effect that the President Pro Tempore is nominated by the majority party caucus and elected by the entire Senate.

Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck 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 John Braun.

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			48	1^[2]
February 5, 2019^[3]	28			49	0
Latest voting share	57.1%	42.9%

Members (2021–2023, 67th Legislature)[]

District	Senator	Party	Residence	Counties represented	First elected	Next election
1	Derek Stanford	Democratic	Maltby	King (part), Snohomish (part)	2019†	2024
2	Jim McCune	Republican	Graham	Pierce (part), Thurston (part)	2020	2024
3	Andy Billig	Democratic	Spokane	Spokane (part)	2012	2024
4	Mike Padden	Republican	Spokane Valley	Spokane (part)	2011^	2024
5	Mark Mullet	Democratic	Issaquah	King (part)	2012#	2024
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	2024
10	Ron Muzzall	Republican	Oak Harbor	Island, Skagit (part), Snohomish (part)	2019†	2024
11	Bob Hasegawa	Democratic	Seattle	King (part)	2012	2024
12	Brad Hawkins	Republican	East Wenatchee	Chelan, Douglas, Grant (part), Okanogan (part)	2016	2024
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^	2024
15	Jim Honeyford	Republican	Sunnyside	Yakima (part)	1998	2022
16	Perry Dozier	Republican	Waitsburg	Benton (part), Columbia, Franklin (part), Walla Walla	2020	2024
17	Lynda Wilson	Republican	Vancouver	Clark (part)	2016	2024
18	Ann Rivers	Republican	La Center	Clark (part)	2012†	2024
19	Jeff Wilson	Republican	Longview	Cowlitz (part), Grays Harbor (part), Lewis (part), Pacific, Wahkiakum	2020	2024
20	John Braun	Republican	Centralia	Clark (part), Cowlitz (part), Lewis (part), Thurston (part)	2012	2024
21	Marko Liias	Democratic	Everett	Snohomish (part)	2014†	2022
22	Sam Hunt	Democratic	Olympia	Thurston (part)	2016	2024
23	Christine Rolfes	Democratic	Bainbridge Island	Kitsap (part)	2010†	2024
24	Kevin Van De Wege	Democratic	Sequim	Clallam, Grays Harbor (part), Jefferson	2016	2024
25	Chris Gildon	Republican	Puyallup	Pierce (part)	2020	2024
26	Emily Randall	Democratic	Gig Harbor	Kitsap (part), Pierce (part)	2018	2022
27	Jeannie Darneille	Democratic	Tacoma	Pierce (part)	2012	2024
28	T'wina Nobles	Democratic	Fircrest	Pierce (part)	2020	2024
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	Democratic (Caucuses with Republicans*)	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†	2024
41	Lisa Wellman	Democratic	Mercer Island	King (part)	2016	2024
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	2024

* Sheldon self-identifies as a Democrat but has caucused with the Republicans since December 10, 2012

† Originally Appointed

^ Originally Elected in Special Election

# Sworn in early to fill vacant seat

Past composition of the Senate[]

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[]

Coordinates: 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]

show v t Members of the Washington State Senate
67th State Legislature (2021–2023) President of the Senate Denny Heck (D) President pro tempore Karen Keiser (D) 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) Sharon Brown (R) Mark Schoesler (R) Ron Muzzall (R) Bob Hasegawa (D) Brad Hawkins (R) Judith Warnick (R) Curtis King (R) Jim Honeyford (R) Perry Dozier (R) Lynda Wilson (R) Ann Rivers (R) Jeff Wilson (R) John Braun (R) Marko Liias (D) Sam Hunt (D) Christine Rolfes (D) Kevin Van De Wege (D) Chris Gildon (R) Emily Randall (D) Jeannie Darneille (D) T'wina Nobles (D) Steve Conway (D) Claire Wilson (D) Phil Fortunato (R) Jesse Salomon (D) Karen Keiser (D) Joe Nguyen (D) Tim Sheldon (ID) Reuven Carlyle (D) Rebecca Saldaña (D) June Robinson (D) Keith Wagoner (R) Liz Lovelett (D) Lisa Wellman (D) Doug Ericksen (R) Jamie Pedersen (D) Steve Hobbs (D) Manka Dhingra (D) David Frockt (D) Mona Das (D) Patty Kuderer (D) Annette Cleveland (D)
Majority caucus (28) Democratic (28) Minority caucus (21) Republican (20) Independent Democratic (1) Washington State Legislature Washington House of Representatives Washington State Senate

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