2017 Washington's 45th state senate district special election

2017 Washington State Senate
45th District special election

← 2016 November 7, 2017 (2017-11-07) 2018 →

Washington's 45th state senate district
 
Candidate Manka Dhingra Jinyoung Lee Englund
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 27,755 22,361
Percentage 55.2% 44.5%

Senator before election

Dino Rossi
Republican

Senator

Manka Dhingra
Democratic

A special election was held on November 7, 2017, to fill the vacant seat in the Washington State Senate representing the 45th district. The seat was left vacant after the death of incumbent Andy Hill in October 2016. Dino Rossi, a former candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 and for governor in 2004 and 2008, was appointed to fill the seat until the election. He announced that he would not run for the seat. The election was then contested between Manka Dhingra of the Democratic Party and Jinyoung Lee Englund of the Republican Party, who advanced as the top two finishers in the August primary. Dhingra won the election by more than ten percent, giving the Democratic caucus a 25–24 majority for the 2018 session.

Hill, a Republican, held the district from 2011 to 2016, helping give the Republican Party a one-seat majority coalition in the state senate with a Democrat. The election attracted interest from national Democratic and Republican donors, contributing more than $9 million in the state's costliest ever state legislative race.[1][2]

  1. ^ Burns, Alexander; Johnson, Kirk (November 4, 2017). "Poised for West Coast Dominance, Democrats Eye Grand Agenda". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  2. ^ Strauss, Daniel (July 3, 2017). "The next national special election clash". Politico. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.