(The Center Square) – Washington Democrats have tightened their grip on Olympia, picking up several seats in the House to earn a supermajority of at least 66 of the 98 seats.
Several races are yet to be called with just a few hundred votes or less separating candidates in some races.
The loss of seats and close races have conservative lawmakers and candidates searching for answers after the Republican party suffered historic defeats across the country during this year’s midterm election.
In Legislative District 25 in Puyallup, incumbent Republican Rep. Cyndy Jacobsen was trailing Democratic challenger Jenn Marie Strickling by 92 votes as of Thursday afternoon.
Pierce County Elections Manager Kyle Haugh told The Center Square Thursday a recount is almost certain in that race.
“A hand recount is a quarter of a percent, and a machine recount is a half a percent. It’ll most likely be recounted in some way,” said Haugh.
“We’ve had members of both parties here this morning watching our folks. A big chunk of what we have are ballots that have to be remade because they were damaged or they just need to be remade so we can scan them,” said Haugh.
“I believe both the parties have been reaching out to voters to make sure they cure their challenged signature ballots,” he added.
Curing ballots involves contacting voters whose signatures do not match what the county has on file, or there is some other anomaly that precludes the ballot from being counted.
In a Thursday interview with The Center Square, Jacobsen said the race might not have been as close but for Washington Republicans failing in their messaging.
“Sadly, we have had one party rule in this state for over 40 years, so the way to get change is not to vote in more of the same,” said Jacobsen.
“We did not successfully convince voters that we are the antidote to the 40 years of one-party rule and that we are opposing things that will make their life more unaffordable,” she added.
Jacobsen said voters conflated national issues with local ones.
“In my mind, I thought common sense and fiscal responsibility would prevail because that is ultimately what we represent. It’s not the Republicans in Washington state’s fault that things are as out of control as far as affordability goes. That’s one-party control,” said Jacobsen.
Washington GOP Party Chair Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, told The Center Square he agrees Washington Democrats were successful in making the campaign be about the national movement.
“We tried to argue against that and we’ll continue to.,” Walsh said. “Our arguments worked in some places and not in others. The swingiest districts seemed to be the most susceptible to the Democrats messaging of nationalizing what we believe are local economic issues.”
“Trump, Trump, Trump, basically,” he said regarding what drove voters. “They listened to those messages.”
Walsh said Washington voters need to understand the affordability issues in Washington fall at the feet of majority Democrats.
“[It’s about] making it about the climate commitment act, and the clean energy transformation act, and all the things that are driving up utility bills and the cost of gas and diesel, and the cost of heating your home and the cost of buying groceries,” he said.
Democrats started the 2026 election with a 59-39 advantage in the state House. As of Thursday, they have secured at least 66 of 98 House seats, which gives the party a two-thirds supermajority.
Losses for the GOP
In the 14th Legislative District, Democrats Chelsea Dimas and Ezequiel Morfin unseated Republican incumbents Gloria Mendoza and Deb Manjarrez.
In the 17th Legislative District, Democrats Ben Christly and Diana Perez beat out Republican incumbents Kevin Waters and David Stuebe.
For the 18th Legislative District, Republican incumbents Stephanie McClintock and John Ley both lost their seats to Democratic challengers.
In the 25th Legislative District, it appears Democrat David Berg will defeat Republican incumbent Michael Keaton in the other House race.
Haugh, at Pierce County Elections said they are getting a number of late ballots from neighboring county election drop boxes, but said that is not unusual.
“All Washington voters can drop a ballot into any drop box in the state or hand delivered into any county auditor’s office. And it’s treated like any other ballot. It’s a very normal part of any election. Voters like that convenience to be able to drop off anywhere,” said Haugh.
Some 80% of Washington voters put their ballots into drop boxes this election cycle, according to the Secretary of State.
Walsh told The Center Square while there is no reason to believe those cross-county ballot counts are questionable, they are culling ballots to be certain.
“If we were voting in person, these matters would be less of an issue in closer races,” said Walsh.