Dave Paul (D)

Dave Paul built his career around the belief that a good education changes the arc of a person’s life. He earned degrees from Seattle University, Miami University in Ohio, and the University of Illinois, then spent more than a decade at Skagit Valley College, ending as vice president of institutional planning, work that put him alongside veterans, first-generation students, and DREAMers trying to finish school and find jobs that pay the bills. That experience shaped a focus on affordability, workforce training, and opportunity that he carried into office in 2018.

As Chair of the House Postsecondary Education and Workforce Committee, and a member of the Transportation and Technology, Economic Development and Veterans committees, he created a summer Running Start program for tuition-free community college, passed landmark legislation to clear derelict boats from local waters, and secured historic ferry investments through Move Ahead WA, including $1.3 billion for three new hybrid-electric vessels — a lifeline for Island County commuters. With Naval Air Station Whidbey anchoring the district, he has made veterans a priority, delivering in-state tuition and full retirement benefits for service members and their families, and he has steered more than $200 million into community reinvestment and law enforcement training.

Paul treats the job the way voters in a purple-leaning district expect: pragmatic, collaborative, and measured by whether the services people rely on — ferries, schools, and safe communities — actually work. Rooted in Northwest Washington and focused on results over party-line fights, he has earned another term in the 10th.

Endorsements include the Washington State Labor Council, Machinists District 751, Teamsters 117, SEIU 775 and Local 925, the Washington Federation of State Employees, the Washington State PTA, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates of Washington, FairVote Washington, Washington Conservation Action, the Sierra Club, and the Alliance for Gun Responsibility.