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. 

Steve Bergquist is one of the only working classroom teachers in the Legislature, and he’s used that rare vantage point to become one of Olympia’s most persistent advocates for public education. He chairs the Early Learning and Human Services Committee, and after more than a decade representing the 11th District, he’s built a record of delivering for students and working families instead of just talking about them.

His record is concrete. He fought to increase special education funding, expanded school meal and summer nutrition programs so fewer kids go hungry, and raised the local levy cap to help districts keep essential services running. He championed the Tukwila and Renton Promise programs, which send local graduates to community college for free, and wrote legislation aligning them with the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship to widen access. Enrollment in Tukwila’s program more than tripled in its first year, and he’s now working to build a Kent Promise Program on the same model.

A fourth-generation resident of the district who still teaches history at Renton’s Lindbergh High School, Bergquist ran a small business before he got to Olympia and knows what it takes to make a budget work for real people. He coaches tennis and golf, co-founded a nonprofit to support students outside the classroom, and once raised more than $100,000 to save the district’s golf programs when the funding disappeared. He’s a practical, effective Democrat who keeps students at the center of the state budget, and he’s earned another term in the 11th.

Tedd Wetherbee grew up in a large family with an immigrant mother from Nicaragua, raised speaking Spanish and learning early what hard work and resilience actually mean. He started his first small businesses in college, worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in his early twenties, and then spent a decade in Lagos, Nigeria, building infrastructure and energy projects, including power systems and solar lighting for underserved communities.

Back home, he built businesses in Washington State that today employ members of this community, and he knows firsthand the pressures on the people who work for him and shop with him. His focus is squarely on the cost of living: practical solutions that bring down everyday costs, help small businesses grow, and make commonsense budget decisions so families can build stable, secure lives here.

Wetherbee isn’t running to build a political career. He’s running to solve problems for the district that gave his family its start, and Position 2 in the 26th would be well served by that.

Endorsements include the 26th Legislative District Democrats, the Pierce County Democrats, Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello, Pierce County Councilmember Marty Campbell, the Environmental Coalition of Pierce County, and former Kitsap County Democrats Chair Hannie Baxter.

Zach Hall came to Olympia to deliver for the 5th District, and in his first session, he has proven his worth. He grew up in Issaquah, graduating from the local public schools before earning a biology degree and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington. He got his start running local campaigns and working as a legislative aide to Rep. Lisa Callan—now his seatmate—then spent six years on the Issaquah City Council, serving as deputy council president and chairing the Eastside Fire & Rescue board, before being appointed to the House in 2025.

In one session, he sponsored and passed two bipartisan bills to lower energy costs. He worked with utilities on HB 2296, a “pay-as-you-save” measure that lets them front the cost of heat pumps and other efficiency upgrades so families repay them gradually on their monthly bills, and passed HB 2575 to cut outdated reporting mandates and save ratepayers money. He protected the funding and timeline to widen State Route 18, put $1 million toward urgent safety fixes along the corridor, and he backed reforms to build housing faster, modernize the power grid, and speed up light rail.

It’s a record of managing growth without losing what makes the district home. He listens first, he takes the budget seriously, and he keeps his focus on what constituents raise most: traffic, housing, and the cost of living. He’s earned a full term.

Endorsements include State Sen. Victoria Hunt, Rep. Lisa Callan, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, the Washington Education Association, WFSE, Teamsters 117, SEIU, and the Alliance for Gun Responsibility.