Washington Democrats notched a historic milestone this election, flipping enough seats in the state House of Representatives to achieve a supermajority in that chamber.
As of Monday morning, Washington state Democrats had won control of at least seven House seats previously controlled by Republicans, according to race calls by the Associated Press.
The party is on track to hold at least 66 seats in the Legislature’s lower chamber. It’s the first time they’ve had a two-thirds majority in the House since 1949. But a supermajority in the Senate is further off. Democrats would need to flip two Senate seats, something that is not possible this cycle but would grant the party significant constitutional and legislative powers.
Still, House Democrats will get some new abilities in the next session, like being able to make procedural changes to speed up passing certain legislation or expelling a member, said House Chief Clerk Bernard Dean.
“If you have a supermajority, it sort of becomes easier to move your policy agenda forward,” Dean said.
Democrats were able to flip four historically Republican-held House seats in Southwest Washington in the 17th and 18th Legislative Districts, along with two seats in Yakima in the 14th Legislative District, and one more on the Kitsap Peninsula.
“That's pretty remarkable,” said Dean Nielsen, CEO of CN4 Partners, a political consulting firm in Seattle; Nielsen represented two Democratic candidates in the Southwest Washington districts. “It's proof that the Democratic agenda, the progressive agenda, is what Washington state voters want, and they want more of it.”
At least three vulnerable Republican-held House seats were still too close to call Monday.
Shasti Conrad, chair of the state Democrats, celebrated her party’s early wins on Friday.
“Now, the hard work truly begins,” she said in a statement.
House Clerk Dean noted a supermajority does not mean the party will act in unison.
“Even if they have 66 votes, it's not as though the caucus always agrees on everything. So you can have that supermajority, but they still represent different districts, different interests,” Dean said. “Especially with more members coming from districts that were historically Republican, they may be more moderate and be maybe less inclined to support an uber-progressive agenda.”
Jim Walsh, who chairs the state Republicans and is on track to win re-election to his House seat, agreed with the clerk’s assessment.
“It may end up being as much a headache for the speaker as a blessing,” Walsh said. “Some of the very far left new legislators in the House are going to come in expecting that they can repeal the initiative to protect girls' sports. The speaker is gonna have to manage expectations of her radical left members.”
While the House election results were disappointing for state Republicans, Walsh said he did not think they were unexpected.
“The House is the more populous chamber,” he added. “It swings dramatically, sometimes operatically from high to low, whereas the state Senate is designed to be a more deliberative body.”
A supermajority in both chambers carries significantly more power, such as being able to override a governor’s veto, amend the state Constitution with the approval of voters, and amend initiatives within two years of their passing.
Democrats flipped one Senate seat this election and are hoping to pick up two more seats in the upper chamber in the 2028 election.
