My 2026 Washington Supreme Court Endorsements

Personal opinion • October 3, 2026

I want an elected court, not a selected one.

Washington voters should make their own choices about who serves on our Supreme Court. We should take that responsibility seriously.

As of October 3, 2026, six of the court’s nine current justices—two-thirds—first reached the Washington Supreme Court through gubernatorial appointment. Only three first reached it by election. Several appointees subsequently won elections.

Our state constitution provides for the election of Supreme Court justices and for the governor to fill vacancies until an election. But an appointment should not settle the question for voters. When a seat reaches the ballot, we have a choice to make. We should exercise it.

You work for your paycheck. You should care who decides whether it receives the constitutional protections your property deserves. The court’s interpretation of our constitution matters to your money, your rights, and the limits on government power.

My concern is broader than any one tax. I want a court that takes constitutional limits seriously, protects individual rights, and respects the people’s power to legislate by initiative. Those are reasons to pay attention to judicial elections, even when other races receive more headlines.

My endorsements

Five Supreme Court seats are on the 2026 general-election ballot. Here are my personal endorsements, in position order:

• Position 1: Scott Edwards
• Position 3: David Stevens
• Position 4: Sean O’Donnell
• Position 5: Dave Larson
• Position 7: Todd Bloom

Remember: Stevens, not Stephens. David Stevens is running for Position 3. Debra Stephens is running against Todd Bloom for Position 7. They are different candidates in different races.

Stephens wrote the court’s September 17, 2026 majority opinion striking down I-2066, the voter-approved initiative protecting access to natural gas. The court held that the measure violated the constitution’s single-subject requirement and invalidated it in its entirety.

She also wrote the majority opinion in Quinn v. State, decided March 24, 2023, which upheld Washington’s capital-gains tax as an excise tax rather than a property tax subject to article VII’s uniformity and levy limits.

Those two decisions are reasons I am not voting for Debra Stephens. I am voting for Todd Bloom in Position 7.

Judicial elections can feel remote from everyday life. Your paycheck, your household choices, and your constitutional rights are anything but remote. The people deciding these cases deserve the same attention we give candidates for the legislature or the governor’s office.

The general election is November 3, 2026. Read the candidates’ statements, make your choices, and fill out the judicial portion of your ballot.

Don’t skip these races. Save this list and share it with your friends.

Related: Why I Support Initiative 645.

My original endorsement post on X: