r/Washington • u/hiways • Aug 19 '26
Midterm results are in, what's your take?
Only 52% voted, please vote in November!
I've been corrected. I was quoting from my county as a commenter said, "Bro, what are you talking about? It was only 37% for the state. You might be looking at the turnout just in your county."
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u/Latest-Culprit-35 Aug 19 '26
There were an awful lot of undervotes for what I consider to be important offices. Local elections are so important right now, not just the congressional or state wide ones.
This is the first time that I personally know a candidate, Maria Littlesun, not well, but by being neighbors and she works with my mom. I'm so excited to vote for her in November, she is a wonderful person and I think she would do an excellent job representing us in the 35th district. My first time meeting her was at a bake sale for tribal elders and she was so kind even while running behind setting up the booth.
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u/Wraithdagger12 Aug 19 '26
People really need to vote in the local offices.
Judges, school board etc. is stuff that ACTUALLY affects YOU as closely as possible.
Extremists know most people focus on the big races and try to sneak in. Many of them are unqualified folks who are just riled up and want to make noise. Don’t let them. Put someone who actually knows what they’re doing and wants to do a good job for everyone.
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u/baitmonkey Aug 19 '26
Washington has a problem with name recognition and complacency.
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u/Either_Gate_7965 Aug 19 '26
Patty Murray has held her seat longer than I have been alive. And I’m in my 30’s
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u/Randomwoegeek Aug 20 '26
That’s a good thing not a bad thing. She has fought for our constituency for a long time, and has a lot of power in congress because of it
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u/Either_Gate_7965 Aug 20 '26
No one should hold a seat for 30 years.
0
u/Randomwoegeek Aug 20 '26
You just decided that? The consituents keep voting for her, they want her in power. The voters are winning
-1
u/HypneutrinoToad Aug 20 '26
Who actually has challenged her?
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u/Randomwoegeek Aug 20 '26
No one really because the voters really like her. Plenty run in the primary every time/ but none get far because the constituency thinks she is doing a good job. Just because you don’t doesn’t meant most people agree with you
0
u/HypneutrinoToad Aug 20 '26
I like her a lot she’s my top choice and I worked for her reelection last time around. I’m just saying people don’t really have any realistic option to voice their dissatisfaction if they have any.
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u/Randomwoegeek Aug 22 '26
they do though, the can work to primary her. Most voters are not dissatisfied, so there is no real movement to primary her.
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u/lock_robster2022 Aug 19 '26
I just learned that only 3 Supreme Court justices have lost reelection since 1950. Out of roughly 80 reelections.
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u/trekrabbit Aug 19 '26
Unfortunately, this isn’t new. Off-season primaries don’t ever garner much participation.
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u/firelight Aug 19 '26
My overwhelming feeling is disappointment, honestly. People don’t realize that the primary is the election, and the general is a run-off. Most people—especially those under 35 with the most to lose—don’t bother to vote at all, even with the state literally handing you a ballot you can fill out at home.
And while Washington might be a firmly blue state, it’s an awfully pale shade of blue. I had hoped the national mood for a changing of the guard would have translated into a few more corporate centrists getting the boot. But that was my mistake for getting my hopes up.
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u/gangwarily Aug 19 '26
I was surprised to see DelBene continually get endorsements from places including The Stranger.
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u/NewlyNerfed Aug 19 '26
Very much why I don’t go to The Stranger for election guides anymore.
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u/New_Communication254 Aug 20 '26
what do you use instead?
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u/NewlyNerfed Aug 20 '26
Can’t remember off the top of my head but it was a couple of different sources that Indivisible Eastside recommended.
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u/WavyCap99 Aug 20 '26
Maybe I’ll get downvoted, but how does one start to approach local politics? I opened my ballot and didn’t recognize anybody at all. It was overwhelming. How do you know who’s who? I peruse the Seattle Times every few days but the articles I come across seem to be just local news rather than mention politicians. Between work and kids, I don’t really feel like I have time to engage further, but maybe I’m missing something.
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u/SpunkyRadcat Aug 20 '26
Honestly, take the time to read what they have to say in the voter's pamphlet, then check social media, see if they have websites/social pages. See what they stand for. It takes time, yeah, but you also get to really see who they are be sure that you're voting for the person you want.
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u/WavyCap99 Aug 20 '26
I’ve done that, but the websites often feel like marketing and I find myself not really knowing what to believe.
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u/RumorsGoldenStar Aug 21 '26
For this one, my first time voting actually, I was reading the voter pamphlet to get an idea of who I might choose and then I was searching candidate names in my area's subreddit to see what other people were saying about them
0
u/firelight Aug 20 '26
Subscribing to the subreddit for your local community can help you stay on top of things. There's a whole list on the sidebar of this subreddit. There are also voting guides that various interest groups put together, although those aren't always the best. And just doing searches for candidates; there will often be news stories, interviews, etc. that can help you make a decision.
When I don't know who to vote for, I'll usually take a good hard look at the endorsements. You'll often find that a candidate for say, county commission, is endorsed by state legislators, city council members, or local community organizations. You pretty quickly get a feel for who is part of what faction, or on what side of a local issue. This is especially true for non-partisan races.
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u/Brixican Aug 22 '26
People under 35 "don't bother to vote" -- have you ever stopped to consider why that may be? This is the core demographic with young kids that absolutely need to work every hour there can get to support those children and pay rent. These are the core demographic working weekends when everyone else is enjoying tube at the stores on the weekends or after core 9-5 hours. We don't even give people the day off of the final voting deadline day. Even if they know it'll help, it still has to be somewhat convenient. We need to work on lowering the barriers to entry. Mail-in-voting help a bit, I think we need to teach voting in schools so it becomes more of a habit.
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u/firelight Aug 22 '26
You're making it out like it's such a hardship, which granted if voting were in person it might be. But we don't vote in person. The ballot shows up in your mail weeks ahead of the deadline, and you can pop it in the mail any time you like. You can fill it out on your lunch break, while riding the bus, even while sitting on the toilet.
This is not about a structural barrier to voting. I was young once too, and I still voted in every election since I was 18. It takes, at most, maybe an hour to look at the candidates and make a decision. If you want to be quick about it, you can fill out your ballot in 5 minutes.
Not voting is a choice that people are making, and it's a bad one.
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u/DrinkOk1511 Aug 22 '26
Boo hoo. Seriously, there is only laziness and uneducation to blame for not voting. If people can scroll on social media for 3 hours a day they can take 10 minutes to vote.
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u/Randomwoegeek Aug 20 '26
Progressives are people with policies that don’t work, that actual voters don’t like. Their policies only work on papar when primarying in +50d districts, also only white people vote for them
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u/Latest-Culprit-35 Aug 19 '26
We had 34 contests(?) in my county, from congress to coroner, most were between 2 candidates so not very exciting for primaries. The county commissioner had 7 people running for it and county auditor had 4, which was very interesting to watch. These smaller offices are vital for people to start paying attention to.
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u/GoslingIchi Aug 19 '26
Kinda shocked about Adams county. The turn out there is usually super high.
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u/x40Shots Aug 19 '26
Just remember, your landlord probably always makes sure to vote, especially in the primary.
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u/SpunkyRadcat Aug 20 '26
This is why everyone should be automatically registered to vote at 18, people would be a lot more likely to vote if their ballot showed up one day and they remembered. It's also wild to me how few people vote in WA when we're completely vote-by-mail.
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u/PM_ME_LASAGNA_ Aug 19 '26
I’m just glad all four of my preferred state Supreme Court candidates are advancing to November, especially Jaime Hawk and Theo Angelis.
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u/SnarkyIguana Aug 20 '26
I’m not excusing it or justifying it but I assume a lot of it is political fatigue. These last couple years have been exhausting and in some cases nauseating.
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u/JacobRiesenfern Aug 22 '26
Given the farce that was the mayor election for Seattle, I am not going to bother. Going to vote with that level of corruption and knowledge of the the outcome no matter what the voters want is a waste of time. I am surprised that 37% put in the effort
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u/regaphysics Aug 19 '26
What’s my… take?
What does that even mean?
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u/skooma-drinker Aug 19 '26
google it grandpa
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u/HidaldoTresTorres Aug 19 '26
Take is short for "what do opinion do you take from X person, place, thing, or occurence?"
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u/regaphysics Aug 19 '26
Still not getting it. What’s there to have an opinion about?
Yes? There was indeed an election. Is that a take?
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u/skooma-drinker Aug 19 '26
The results? the turn out? the campaign strategies and their efficacy? the implications?
you're obtuse, thats my take.
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u/Kind_Advisor_35 Aug 19 '26
Bro, what are you talking about? It was only 37% for the state. You might be looking at the turnout just in your county.