Washington Supreme Court 2026: Candidate and Election Update
Washington State
Supreme Court
2026 Election Update
Contents
How Washington Supreme Court Elections Work
Structure of the Court
The Washington State Supreme Court is the court of last resort for all state legal matters. Established November 9, 1889, it consists of nine justices who are directly elected by the people to six-year terms. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, where appointments are for life.
Justices are selected through contested nonpartisan statewide elections. "Nonpartisan" means no party label appears on the ballot, but these elections carry profound political and policy consequences. The Chief Justice is selected by peer vote and serves a four-year term in that role.
Washington justices must retire at the end of the calendar year in which they turn 75. When a vacancy occurs mid-term, the Governor appoints a replacement who must then stand for election at the next general election.
Top-Two Primary
Washington uses a top-two primary system. All candidates appear on the same August primary ballot regardless of background. The two candidates with the most votes advance to the November general election. This applies to all seats, including those where an appointed incumbent is running.
Judicial candidates face a key constraint: they cannot make specific promises about how they will rule. That makes endorsement networks, bar ratings, professional background, and judicial record some of the best signals voters and advocacy organizations use to evaluate candidates.
A Note on Judicial Questionnaires & Interview Questions
We have a library of sample questions for judicial questionnaires and candidate interviews. These tools are available to clients for use in questionnaires, endorsement interviews and other evaluation processes – please reach out for access.
What's At Stake
The Washington Supreme Court has final authority over state constitutional questions. Decisions carry the same legal weight as legislation signed by the Governor.
Washington's court is a national leader. A 2007 study found Washington's decisions were the second most widely cited by appellate courts across all other states, behind only California.
This court will likely rule on the constitutionality of Washington's new millionaires tax, civil rights enforcement, immigration protections, reproductive rights, and election administration disputes.
Powerful interests are already engaged and this race is on track to be the most expensive judicial cycle in state history. For context, the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election drew over $100 million in outside spending and a presidential endorsement.
2026 Ballot at a Glance
Five of nine seats are on the 2026 ballot. This is a historically high number of seats up in a single cycle. Two are open seats, two are special elections for recently appointed justices, and one is a reelection bid by the Chief Justice.
| Seat | Outgoing Justice | Race Type | Candidates to Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. 1 | Mary Yu (ret.) First LGBTQ+ justice in WA history |
Special Election 2-yr term |
Justice Colleen Melody (appt'd) vs. Scott Edwards |
| Pos. 3 | Raquel Montoya-Lewis (retiring) First Native American elected to statewide office in WA |
Open Seat 6-yr term |
J. Michael Diaz Jaime Hawk David Stevens (conservative) |
| Pos. 4 | Charles W. Johnson (mandatory retirement) On the bench since 1991 |
Open Seat 6-yr term |
Ian Birk Sean O'Donnell (both progressive) |
| Pos. 5 | Barbara Madsen (ret.) First woman ever popularly elected to WA Supreme Court |
Special Election 2-yr term |
Justice Theo Angelis (appt'd) vs. Dave Larson (perennial conservative) |
| Pos. 7 | N/A — incumbent running | Regular Reelection 6-yr term |
Chief Justice Debra Stephens Sole announced candidate as of May 2026 |
Note: Candidate filing deadline is May 8, 2026. The field in all races may expand. All fundraising figures are from WA Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) reports as of late April 2026.
Position 1: Special Election
Justice Colleen Melody
Biographical information sourced from courts.wa.gov and WA State Bar News.
Justice Colleen Melody became the 100th justice of the Washington Supreme Court on January 1, 2026, following her appointment by Governor Bob Ferguson. A Spokane native, she holds both her undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Washington, where she graduated first in her class. After clerking for Ninth Circuit Judge Ronald M. Gould, she joined the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division before returning to Washington to lead the state Attorney General's Wing Luke Civil Rights Division for 11 years.
Her tenure at the AGO included co-leading the multistate lawsuit to protect abortion medication access nationwide, and she personally spearheaded challenges to the federal Muslim Travel Ban, the Transgender Military Service Ban, the effort to end birthright citizenship, and the attempted repeal of DACA.
Melody has raised nearly $154,000 for her campaign as of late April. Her sole declared challenger, Seattle attorney Scott Edwards, has reported approximately $306. Edwards previously challenged Washington's capital gains tax and has litigated against income taxes.
Key Endorsers
- Governor Bob Ferguson
- Attorney General Nick Brown
- All sitting Washington Supreme Court justices (entire bench)
- Former Governor Jay Inslee
- Multiple state executives and legislators who voted for the Millionaires Tax
For the full and current endorsement list, visit colleen-melody.com/endorsements. Note: her campaign site does not list individual legislators by name.
Position 3: Open Seat
Judge J. Michael Diaz
Biographical information sourced from diazforjustice.com.
J. Michael Diaz was born in Lima, Peru and immigrated to Seattle as an infant with his family, settling first in Ballard, then White Center/Burien. His family spoke Spanish exclusively at home. He was the first lawyer in his large Latino family. He earned his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Notre Dame, studied classical philosophy at Princeton, and earned his law degree from Cornell Law School.
Diaz spent a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Seattle, where he helped found the office's Civil Rights Program and prosecuted a wide range of civil rights matters, earning the EOUSA Director's Award for extraordinary professional achievement. President Obama nominated him to a federal district court judgeship, but the nomination expired under Senate Republican obstruction. Governor Inslee appointed him to King County Superior Court and later to the Division I Court of Appeals, where he has served since 2022.
He is the candidate personally endorsed by Justice Montoya-Lewis to succeed her. He has raised approximately $108,000.
Key Endorsers
- Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis (personal endorsement)
- Governor Bob Ferguson
- Attorney General Nick Brown
- Former Governor Jay Inslee
- Former Governor Christine Gregoire
- Former Governor Gary Locke
- Justices Sheryl Gordon McCloud, Steve Gonzalez, Sal Mungia, Colleen Melody, Mary Yu (ret.), Faith Ireland (ret.), Bobbe Bridge (ret.)
- Former SPD Chief Kathy O'Toole
- Civil rights activist Fé LopezGaetke, founding Director of Seattle Community Police Commission
For the full and current endorsement list, visit diazforjustice.com/endorsements
For More Information — Judge Diaz
Judge Jaime Hawk
Biographical information sourced from judgehawk.com.
King County Superior Court Judge Jaime Hawk entered the race on April 8, 2026. Governor Inslee appointed her to King County Superior Court in July 2022. A longtime federal public defender and civil rights attorney before becoming a judge, she previously served as Legal Strategy Director for the ACLU of Washington. Throughout her Superior Court tenure she has presided over complex cases and led community engagement and access-to-justice initiatives.
Her entrance into the race is significant beyond her qualifications: with Justices Yu and Montoya-Lewis both leaving the bench, advocates have noted that the court risks losing its majority-women composition. Hawk's campaign frames itself explicitly around protecting that diversity. She has raised approximately $55,000.
Key Endorsers
- Governor Bob Ferguson
- Justice Mary Yu (ret.)
- Justice Helen Whitener
- State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti
- 70+ current and former judges from across Washington
For the full and current endorsement list, visit judgehawk.com
For More Information — Judge Hawk
Judge David Stevens
Stevens is the conservative candidate in this race. He publicly told The Jason Rantz Show that the court lacks "diversity of thought" and declined to object to being called a conservative. He has been endorsed by the Washington State Republican Party, and one of only two candidates in this cycle to receive that designation. He has reported roughly $580 in contributions.
Position 4: Open Seat
Judge Ian Birk
Biographical information sourced from ianbirk.com.
Ian Birk is a fifth-generation Washingtonian. He earned both his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Washington, graduating early, earning his bachelor's at 19. After clerking for the Washington Supreme Court, he spent over two decades at Keller Rohrback LLP representing individuals, families, and small businesses against corporate interests in insurance, consumer protection, and workplace discrimination cases.
He was appointed to Division I of the Court of Appeals in 2022 and elected without opposition that same year, and has served for three years. He has authored over 200 opinions and sat in all three divisions of the Court of Appeals, Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane, giving him genuine statewide reach that few candidates in this cycle can match. For over a decade, he volunteered with King County Bar Association Neighborhood Legal Clinics, providing free legal services to people who could not afford an attorney.
Birk has raised approximately $201,000, the most of any candidate in this cycle. He has been rated "Exceptionally Well Qualified" by Washington Women Lawyers and the Cardozo Society.
Key Endorsers & Bar Ratings
- Justice Mary Yu (ret.) — "He has a keen legal mind, coupled with deep commitment to fairness and due process for all."
- Justice Steve González, WA Supreme Court
- Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud, WA Supreme Court
- Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, WA Supreme Court
- Justice Sal Mungia, WA Supreme Court
- Justice Faith Ireland (ret.)
- Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer
- King County Executive Girmay Zahilay
- Former Governor Jay Inslee
- Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen
- State Sens. Alvarado, Frame, Saldaña, Slatter, Stanford
- State Reps. Berry, Farivar, Fitzgibbon, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Pollett, Richards, Scott, Simmons, Thai
- Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth
- King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda
- IAM Local 751
- Rating: "Exceptionally Well Qualified" — Washington Women Lawyers & Cardozo Society
For the full and current endorsement list, visit ianbirk.com/endorsements
For More Information — Judge Birk
Judge Sean O'Donnell
Biographical information sourced from odonnellforjustice.com.
Sean O'Donnell earned his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from Seattle University School of Law. He spent 12 years as a King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor, during which he handled the state's first-ever human trafficking prosecution and the first case involving commercial sexual abuse of a minor. He was a member of the Green River Task Force that prosecuted Gary Ridgway, the most prolific serial killer in Washington history.
Since first elected to King County Superior Court in 2013, O'Donnell has served on the bench for 13 years. He has served as Chief Criminal Judge and Chief Unified Family Court Judge. His peers elected him President of the Washington Superior Court Judges' Association, which represents over 200 judicial officers statewide. He has also served as a justice pro tem on the Washington Supreme Court. That is the closest equivalent to on-the-job training short of actually sitting on the court. He chairs both the Washington State Bar Association's AI Task Force and the Supreme Court's AI Task Force.
O'Donnell has raised approximately $143,000 and has 475+ total endorsers. He has been rated "Exceptionally Well Qualified" by the King County Bar Association and the Veterans Bar Association.
Key Endorsers & Bar Ratings
- Justice Helen Whitener, WA Supreme Court
- Former Governor Christine Gregoire
- Commissioner of Public Lands John Upthegrove
- Mayor Bruce Harrell (Seattle)
- Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello
- Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth
- King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci
- King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg
- Victims' advocate Lisa Dugaard
- BG Jack Nevin, US Army (ret.) & Pierce County Superior Court Judge (ret.)
- Rating: "Exceptionally Well Qualified" — King County Bar Association & Veterans Bar Association
For the full and current endorsement list, visit odonnellforjustice.com/endorsements
Other Declared Candidates
Attorney David Shelvey has also registered with the PDC and previously ran for Position 2 in 2024.
For More Information — Judge O'Donnell
Position 5: Special Election
Justice Theo Angelis
Biographical information sourced from courts.wa.gov and governor.wa.gov.
Theo Angelis, 53, began serving on the Washington Supreme Court on April 4, 2026, becoming the first justice of Middle Eastern descent in the court's history. His father emigrated from Greece to the United States at age 15 and became a Greek Orthodox priest; his mother's parents were refugees from Turkey. He holds degrees from Claremont McKenna College, the London School of Economics, Oxford University, and Yale Law School, and clerked on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
He was a partner at K&L Gates for 26 years, leading its Appellate and Intellectual Property practices. Opposing counsel in his cases described him as "the smartest lawyer I've ever faced." Beyond his private practice, he has devoted thousands of pro bono hours to immigration cases, including a class action to secure appointed counsel for children in immigration proceedings. He is the current editor of the Washington Lawyers Practice Manual, whose sales support Neighborhood Legal Clinics serving 8,000+ clients annually.
Key Endorsers
- Governor Bob Ferguson
- Former Governor Christine Gregoire
- King County Executive Girmay Zahilay
- Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen
- Five sitting Washington Supreme Court justices
Source: Multiple outlets citing PDC and campaign records, April 2026. His campaign site is not yet publicly accessible for a full list.
Angelis will face perennial conservative candidate Dave Larson, who has now run for this court in 2000, 2016, 2020, and 2024 (narrowly losing to Justice Mungia in 2024). Larson is one of two candidates the Washington State Republican Party has formally recommended. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Sharonda Amamilo has also announced for this seat, endorsed by Justice Helen Whitener and judges and attorneys across western Washington, with approximately $10,600 in contributions reported to the PDC.
Angelis has institutional backing, exceptional credentials, and no judicial record to scrutinize. His immigration pro bono work and anti-federal-overreach background are directly relevant to your clients' interests. Larson is a known quantity who has never won; his Republican Party endorsement does not typically carry weight in statewide judicial races in Washington. This seat should hold, but outside money could make it more competitive than it appears.
Position 7: Chief Justice Reelection
Chief Justice Debra Stephens
Biographical information sourced from PDC records and courts.wa.gov.
Chief Justice Debra Stephens is the only announced candidate for this seat as of May 2026. The filing deadline is May 8. She is running for what would be a new 6-year term. She has approximately $26,500 in her campaign account, all carried over from her last reelection bid in 2020.
Stephens authored the court's 2023 majority opinion upholding Washington's capital gains tax, with direct relevance to the millionaires tax litigation now taking shape. She has no public endorsements listed for 2026 yet, and no active campaign website as of this writing.
Absent a late challenger, Stephens appears uncontested. The filing deadline on May 8 could change this: conservative groups may attempt to recruit a candidate given the stakes of the income tax litigation. Worth monitoring closely through the filing period.
About This Report
Prepared by RNJ Strategies, May 2026. Sources include official candidate websites (ianbirk.com, odonnellforjustice.com, diazforjustice.com, judgehawk.com), Governor's Office press releases (governor.wa.gov), WA Courts official biographies (courts.wa.gov), WA Public Disclosure Commission records (pdc.wa.gov), Wikipedia, Ballotpedia, Washington State Standard, Axios Seattle, KUOW/Northwest News Network, State Court Report (Brennan Center for Justice), NPI Cascadia Advocate, Lynnwood Times, Seattle Red 770 AM, and Washington Observer. This report reflects information available prior to the May 8, 2026 filing deadline. An updated edition will be issued following filing close.
