Someone new will have to soon saddle up to represent the Olympia area in the Washington state Senate. Sen. Sam Hunt, a Democrat who represents the 22nd Legislative District, said on Tuesday he won’t seek reelection this year.
Hunt has held the seat since 2017 and before that served 16 years in the House. He chairs the State Government & Elections Committee. In a letter to colleagues, he likened the 10 elections he’s run in and his 24 years in the Legislature to riding a bucking bronco. “It is time for someone else to climb in the saddle,” he added.
State Rep. Jessica Bateman, a Democrat who has been active on housing policy, and represents the 22nd district in the House, announced on Wednesday morning that she would run for Hunt’s Senate seat.
Hunt said he was especially proud of the work he’d done on voter access and election security. “Washington is a model for other states to follow,” he said in a statement. He also highlighted his support for Washington’slandmark marriage equality law, approved by voters in 2012, and forcollective bargaining rights for state employees.
During this year’s session, one of the bills he’d pushed for was to make voting mandatory — but without penalties for people who did not follow the mandate. His goal with the legislation, which stalled in committee, was to increase voter turnout.
Hunt started out in the Legislature as a Senate staffer in 1980 and later worked for Democratic Gov. Booth Gardner and the state’s information technology agency.
He also currently sits on the Ways & Means and Early Learning & K-12 Education committees. The 22nd district covers Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and parts of unincorporated Thurston County.
Democratic Rep. Beth Doglio, who chairs the House Environment & Energy Committee, holds the other House seat in the district. Doglio told McClatchy on Tuesday that she would not run for the Senate job.
Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, said Hunt’s greatest legacy in the Legislature is the “way he operates as a person.”
“Even though he has very strong views,” Billig said, “he always works in a collaborative way.”
“I’ve learned so much from him,” he added.
House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, who served with Hunt in the House, lauded his commitment to K-12 education. She also noted Hunt’s longtime involvement in the Legislature.
“He has a deeper sense of the history of this place,” she said, noting Hunt had a knack for linking present-day policy debates with past ones. “He’ll be missed,” she added.
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