Capitol Hill’s summer politics were quiet — The fall ballot fights will not be

While area leaders all but have their campaign races tied up headed into November there will still be a busy fall political season across Capitol Hill and the Central District.

Maps from the August primary tell the story of the highest profile individual seat up for grabs on Capitol Hill. Two-decade incumbent State Sen. Jamie Pedersen’s 67% showing in the primary is evident in the results for each election precinct across Capitol Hill and most of his 43rd District save for the blocks of central Broadway where first-time challenger and “Tax the Rich” proponent Hannah Sabio-Howell managed a flat-footed tie.

CHS reported here on the funding surge behind Pedersen, the party’s current Majority Leader in the state Senate, an architect of the Millionaires Tax, and a veteran lawmaker who has been part of 43rd District leadership for twenty years, as state Democratic leaders helped lock down the race. Institutional donors and statewide PACs can now shift their war chests to competitive general election battlegrounds elsewhere in the state.

Despite the distant second place finish, Sabio-Howell still has a race to run, nipping at Pedersen’s flank. “Our opponent & the establishment that backs him spent $500,000 to try to drown us out. So what do we do from now to November 3rd? Get louder. Demand better from a state controlled entirely by Democrats,” she said in a campaign update. “Reject false choices between funding one priority at the expense of another. Refuse to accept bold action that only precedes an election year.”

“The pundits are giving their takes about races like ours, so here’s a take from us,” read another. “Nothing moves if we don’t push, and no one spends $500k if they’re not scared of us.”

While spending on the 43rd District race will undoubtedly cool. the major push to strengthen turnout and support here for statewide political battles on the fall ballot is just getting started.

Initiative 001 seeks to restore parental rights measures regarding public school curriculum review, record access, and parental notifications for student health services while Initiative 638 proposes prohibiting transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports and instituting biological sex verification requirements for student athletes.

Both measures bring debates over schools, parental notification, and transgender youth participation in sports from state legislatures to statewide ballot initiatives and both will seek overwhelming opposition and turnout in strongholds like Capitol Hill and Seattle.

CHS reported earlier this year on the Capitol Hill-based Gender Justice League’s work to help lead the state’s pushback against the initiatives.

Campaigns will also see Capitol Hill’s younger, more likely to rent voters as a potential center of strength in a key Seattle ballot battle.

The 2026 Seattle Transit Measure proposes a 10-year renewal funded by a 0.3% sales tax championed by Mayor Katie Wilson to allow the city to purchase increased bus service on key routes.

If approved by voters, officials say the proposal will expand Seattle’s capacity from 180,000 to 280,000 annual bus trips — a 47% increase in total service. The plan boosts frequencies on 10 to 15 key routes, expands late-night and weekend service, and prioritizes electric buses in South Seattle and the Duwamish Valley. The measure will “double the number of free ORCA cards provided to low-income households” by expanding subsidized passes to 12,000 additional residents, while allocating funds to “support the recommendations of the King County Regional Transit Safety Task Force.”

The proposed sales tax bump arrives amid grumbles of tax fatigue in the region. For a median two-person Seattle household, approval would mean a jump from about $29 to around $58 a year at the register.

If approved, Seattle’s total combined sales tax rate would reach 10.80% — 6.5% to the general state fund, 3.9% to city public safety, housing, and cultural services, the newly approved 0.10% sales tax starting in 2027 to fund county road repair and maintenance, and 0.30% to the renewed levy.

Campaigns looking for any Capitol Hill and Central District boosts will hope these issues will motivate voters to get involved. Across King County as a whole, turnout in the August Primary was a dismal 37%.

The General Election is Tuesday, November 3rd.