Amy Walen is the rare legislator who pairs Democratic priorities with the skill to actually pass them, and she’s built the broad support to show for it. She chairs the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee, and her backers run from former Governor Christine Gregoire and Congressman Adam Smith to mayors and councilmembers across the Eastside.

Her record is concrete. When the Trump administration threatened Washington’s immigrant families, she co-sponsored the Keep Washington Working Act and wrote the law letting Dreamers earn professional licenses here. She wrote HB 1757 to turn empty commercial buildings into housing, took on the predatory collectors who chase families for debt they no longer owe, and has fought for affordable childcare, paid family leave, and tax relief for working families. 

A former Kirkland mayor who ran a company before she got to Olympia, Walen knows how to balance a budget without losing sight of who it’s for. We were glad to back her last cycle, and the case has only gotten stronger. She’s an effective, pragmatic Democrat who delivers, and she’s earned another term in the 48th.

Endorsements include former Governor Christine Gregoire, Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, Congressman Adam Smith, the Alliance for Gun Responsibility Victory Fund, Moms Demand Action, the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington, FairVote Washington, the Children’s Campaign Fund, Democrats for Diversity & Inclusion, and IUPAT DC5. 

Osman Salahuddin got to Olympia and went to work. Appointed to the seat in early 2025 and elected that November, he’s the youngest member of the Legislature and the only South Asian in the House. He grew up in Redmond, the son of immigrants. His mom’s a special-ed teacher and his dad runs a small business. He studied neurobiology at UW and worked as a researcher at Fred Hutch and UW Medicine before joining the Redmond City Council. Today he’s pursuing a law degree at UW while serving in the Legislature.

In short order he’s built a real record. He wrote bills to toughen sentencing for rape that results in pregnancy, to put trained clinicians on behavioral-health crisis calls, to let workers use sick leave for immigration hearings, and to give students a real vote on the board that runs the state’s community colleges.

Salahuddin is focused on the cost of housing, access to healthcare, and well-funded schools. We recommended him last cycle, and he’s more than justified that support. For a lawmaker barely two years in, he’s already shown he can move bills that matter, and he’s earned a full term of his own.

Endorsements include Governor Bob Ferguson, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council, LiUNA Laborers Local 242, the Washington State Nurses Association, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, and One America Votes. 

Sen. Vandana Slatter brings a scientist’s rigor and a clinician’s perspective to public service. She immigrated from Canada in 1988 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia, where she captained the women’s varsity fencing team and won gold at the BC Junior Women’s foil championships. She went on to earn a Doctor of Pharmacy and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington, interning for U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell along the way. A licensed pharmacist, she worked as an SEIU hospital pharmacist in Michigan and spent more than 20 years as a clinical scientist at leading biotech firms, including Amgen and Genentech. Gov. Christine Gregoire appointed her to the Washington State Board of Pharmacy in 2007. Bellevue voters elected her to the City Council in 2015, where she helped pass a $1.5 billion city budget and tackled affordable housing, public safety, transportation, and technology policy.

Appointed to the House in 2017, Slatter became the first Indian American elected to the Washington State House of Representatives. She chaired the House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee and co-chaired the Science, Innovation and Technology Caucus. Her record includes first-in-the-nation protections for the privacy of sensitive health and reproductive data, expanded postsecondary access for low-income students, creation of the Washington Health Corps to connect medical professionals with underserved communities, and statewide emissions targets aligned with climate science. She also championed legislation helping homeless youth access services, creating a tax exemption for low-income housing, and advancing regional electric and hybrid-electric aviation. Slatter serves on the boards of the Ruckelshaus Center, the UW Evans School Dean’s Advisory Council, and the Hopelink Foundation. She and her husband Greg, a research scientist, have lived in Northeast Bellevue since 2003.

Endorsements include Congresswoman Emily Randall, Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer, State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, Senate Majority Floor Leader Marcus Riccelli, Sen. John Lovick, the King County Democrats, the Washington Federation of State Employees, SEIU 925, UFCW 3000, IAM District 751, UAW Region 6, UA Local 32, Washington Conservation Action, Sierra Club, 314 Action Fund, Washington Bikes, and the Washington Hospitality Association.