The August primary election is always expected to provide a sneak peak of the November elections, giving everyone a sense of voter sentiment heading into the busy fall campaign season. AWC is strictly nonpartisan and doesn’t get involved in campaigns, but the Government Relations team are understandably avid watchers of political races and try to read the signs to get a sense of how the elections will impact cities and our legislative agenda.

This year, election expectations were especially intense as pre-primary signs seemed to indicate a strong showing for Republican candidates amid frustrations with Democrats at both the state and federal levels. However, a clear wave didn’t materialize as the vote counts continue to trickle in. No indications of a big wave of change seems to suggest voters are more comfortable with the status quo than expected. Many local and national factors may play into that – economic uncertainty, high-inflation, and concerns about crime were expected to hit Democratic candidates, but concerns about reproductive rights, climate policies, and election integrity could have also turned voters away from Republican candidates.

The Washington Observer is an interesting source of for those looking for a deeper analysis and a little inside baseball on election results.

What does all this mean?

It’s hard to say, but there are still some significant changes coming in November. First at the congressional level, incumbent Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler did not advance in the 3^rd District, so that seat will have a new face in our congressional delegation come January.

At the state level, Washington will not have a Republican in the race for Secretary of State—instead it will be a Democrat and an Independent facing off.

Finally, at the legislative level, there will still be a lot of change because so many incumbents, around two dozen, didn’t run for re-election. A few of those folks are running for a different office and so still may be in the Legislature, but in the Senate instead of the House.

For the most part, the primaries didn’t seem to show indications of a significant wave one direction or another. There are a few swing districts that may be in-play for a switch between the Ds and the Rs, but generally things are looking pretty stable. For a full rundown on election results, you can visit the Secretary of State’s election webpage. Primary election results will be certified on August 19.

Survey says…Thank you

As we mentioned last month, AWC conducts a variety of surveys of our members to collect data, information, and feedback on a wide range of topics. We know that these surveys take a lot of work and so many can create survey fatigue, so thank you!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to share your cities’ information. The data you provide is really important and helpful. The information is shared back with cities to help you spot trends and spur new ideas and it also shared with legislators to help explain cities needs. And good news, we are pretty close to finished with all of the big surveys. There will still be a few targeted information requests this fall, so keep an eye out for those. Thanks again for all of your help with our surveys!

What’s coming up?

In September we will report on the results of the work of the Legislative Priorities Committee and their recommendations for AWC’s 2023 legislative agenda. We will also be kicking on the return on our in-person Cities on Tap regional meetings. Watch for registration opening soon for a location near you.