Bob Ferguson opened session by thanking workers for fixing disasters… and then immediately proposed creating a new one with a 9.9% income tax.

State of the State: Praise the Roads, Tax the People

Gov. Bob Ferguson kicked off his first State of the State address by applauding WSDOT crews for reopening roads after historic flooding, praising their grit, speed, and dedication. Fair enough. The workers did their jobs. Then he pivoted to what Democrats always pivot to: a brand-new tax.

Ferguson used the speech to push his so-called “millionaire’s tax,” a 9.9% income tax on anyone earning more than $1 million a year, claiming it would raise up to $3.5 billion annually and make Washington’s tax system “more fair.” Conveniently, the money wouldn’t even show up until at least 2029 because of lawsuits and implementation delays, but Democrats are already counting the cash like it’s in the bank.

Less than 0.5% of Washingtonians may pay it today, but Republicans know how this movie ends. As Sen. Keith Wagoner pointed out, Washington voters have rejected an income tax over and over again, and the courts have struck it down. This is just the thin end of the wedge toward a full-blown income tax on everyone.

Wagoner also reminded lawmakers that Ferguson promised in 2025 he wouldn’t sign a budget built on new or higher taxes. Five months later, he signed the largest tax increase in state history. So much for fiscal restraint and “efficiency.”

Right now, a family of four in Washington already pays more than $5,000 above the national average in combined state and local taxes. And Ferguson’s answer to affordability is… more taxes.

The message from Democrats was clear:

Celebrate government workers.
Declare the state “strong.”
Then demand billions more from taxpayers.

It’s the classic Olympia playbook: praise resilience, ignore reality, and pretend a new tax will somehow make life cheaper. Read more at Center Square.

Voters to Olympia: Stop Spending, Stop Taxing, Start Listening

A brand new statewide poll shows what most people already know: voters are worried about the economy, fed up with high taxes, and sick of runaway government spending. In other words, the exact opposite of the Democrat legislative agenda.

When asked what the top priority should be this session, voters didn’t say “more programs” or “new taxes.” They said:

Improve the economy
Lower taxes
Balance the budget

Meanwhile, with a $2 billion shortfall looming, nearly two-thirds of voters want lawmakers to cut spending, not raise taxes. Only 5% support tax hikes. Yet somehow Democrats keep acting like higher taxes are what the people are begging for.

It gets worse for the majority party:

67% say state government already spends too much
52% say Washington is headed in the wrong direction
43% have considered leaving the state because of decisions made by the governor or legislature

That’s not “progress.” That’s an exit survey.

Voters also think Washington is falling behind neighbors like Idaho and Montana on business and tax policy, which is awkward considering Democrats constantly lecture everyone about how “competitive” Washington supposedly is.

On education, voters give the system a failing grade:

55% say public schools are fair or poor
69% support expanding school choice
84% want full transparency in school spending and outcomes

So naturally, Democrats keep fighting both.

Housing is another disaster zone. Nearly everyone agrees affordability is a crisis, but voters are split between more government control and less regulation for builders. Translation: even voters are unsure whether Democrats’ regulatory addiction is helping or hurting, but no one thinks the status quo is working.

Put simply, this poll shows a massive disconnect between what voters want and what Democrats deliver:

Voters want lower taxes. Democrats want higher ones.
Voters want spending cuts. Democrats want bigger budgets.
Voters want accountability. Democrats want more bureaucracy.

The Washington Poll was designed to give lawmakers a reality check. The only question now is whether Democrats will read it… or ignore it like they do everything else that contradicts their ideology. Read more at Center Square.

When Voters Speak, Democrats Hit the Mute Button

Democrats in the Washington Legislature are now openly admitting what voters have long suspected: if an initiative doesn’t fit their ideology, they’ll just ignore it. The Citizen Action Defense Fund is calling them out for it, arguing their refusal to even hold hearings on two major citizen initiatives is flat-out unconstitutional.

The initiatives deal with restoring parental rights in schools and protecting girls’ sports. Whether Democrats like them or not, the state constitution is pretty clear: initiatives are supposed to take priority over almost everything else in the Legislature. But Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen and House Speaker Laurie Jinkins have already declared they won’t touch them.

Pedersen shrugged it off by saying voters will “get a chance to vote,” as if that magically excuses lawmakers from following the constitutional process. Translation: We’ll ignore them now and deal with them later if we have to.

Jinkins went a step further, scolding critics for “not reading the constitution,” while simultaneously arguing that ignoring initiatives is totally normal because it’s been done before. That’s not a legal defense—that’s a confession.

CADF’s response was blunt: the law is simple, the Constitution is clear, and the Legislature is violating it by prioritizing hundreds of regular bills over initiatives that legally come first. They’re now considering lawsuits or even asking the state Supreme Court to force Democrats to follow the Constitution they claim to revere.

And just to add insult to injury, Democrats started casting doubt on the signature process, despite more than 400,000 signatures being submitted for each initiative. First they dismiss the initiatives. Then they question whether they’re even legitimate. It’s the classic stall-and-smear routine.

Let’s not forget the hypocrisy:

In 2024, Democrats passed three citizen initiatives under public pressure.
One of them was a parents’ bill of rights.
In 2025, they watered it down with HB 1296 after voters had already approved it.

So now they’re back to their default setting: ignore voters, reinterpret the Constitution, and dare the courts to stop them.

Democrats love “democracy” when it comes from Olympia. When it comes from the people, it suddenly becomes inconvenient, optional, and constitutionally “confusing.” Read more at Center Square.

When Downtown Dies, Democrats Tax the Corpse

With downtown Seattle office vacancies hitting a staggering 35%, incoming Mayor Katie Wilson’s solution is exactly what you’d expect from a Democratic Socialist: a vacancy tax. Not lower crime. Not better public safety. Not a friendlier business climate. Just another tax.

The logic is almost impressive in its simplicity. Offices are empty? Clearly the problem is greedy building owners, not Seattle’s sky-high crime, open-air drug markets, collapsing public order, or years of anti-business policies. So slap them with a fine and call it “progress.”

Never mind that no property owner leaves space vacant on purpose. Empty offices mean lost money. If they could rent them, they would. But companies don’t want their employees walking through fentanyl encampments, dodging theft, or working in a city that treats business like a moral failure.

Instead of fixing the root causes, Wilson’s plan doubles down on the same policies that emptied downtown in the first place. It’s like fining a farmer for a drought and calling it agricultural reform.

And just to make it worse, while crime has finally started to inch downward, Wilson has already hinted at loosening drug enforcement again. So the city creates chaos, slightly cleans it up, then promises to bring the chaos back… and taxes you for not thriving in it.

Cities that recovered after COVID—especially in Texas and Florida—did so by cutting taxes, restoring safety, and making it easier to do business. Seattle’s approach is the opposite: punish, regulate, and extract until nothing is left.

This vacancy tax won’t revive downtown. It will:

Push more owners to sell and leave
Drive costs onto the few remaining tenants
Accelerate capital flight
Shrink the city’s long-term tax base

Seattle Democrats keep proving one rule of governance:
If their policies break the economy, their solution is always to tax what’s still standing. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Short Session, Short on Competence

In a recent op-ed, GOP Chair and State Rep. Jim Walsh explains how, on the eve of what’s supposed to be a “short session,” Washington Democrats are already proving it will be long on chaos and short on credibility. Instead of focused budgeting and fine-tuning laws, Olympia is rolling into 2026 with confusion, ego, and a leadership vacuum.

Governor Bob Ferguson, after spending years angling for the corner office, now seems awkward and overwhelmed by actually having it. His pre-session press conference was a masterclass in unpreparedness. Asked about his pet project—a constitutionally shaky state income tax—he contradicted himself in real time. It’s only for millionaires… but somehow might have to expand to everyone to work. Wealthy people won’t leave… but courts will decide and maybe voters too. Confidence level: zero.

Then came the meltdown over citizen initiatives protecting girls’ sports and restoring parental rights. Instead of responding like a governor, Ferguson mumbled, lashed out at reporters, and walked out of the room. That’s not leadership. That’s stage fright mixed with entitlement.

House Speaker Laurie Jinkins and Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen weren’t any better. They pretended not to understand why voters oppose an income tax, insisted Washingtonians want higher taxes, and dismissed fraud concerns because bureaucrats haven’t admitted wrongdoing. That’s like saying there’s no crime because the criminal hasn’t confessed.

When asked about the voter-approved initiatives, they made it worse:

They openly suggested ignoring them.
They acted annoyed that voters even dared speak.
Pedersen claimed he can’t tell the difference between men and women.
Jinkins invented legal language that doesn’t exist.

This isn’t governance. It’s performance art.

Pedersen’s history only adds to the absurdity. From saying parents have “no rights,” to bragging about making “pie crust promises” that are meant to be broken, he keeps accidentally admitting what Democrats usually try to hide: they don’t feel obligated to tell voters the truth.

The pattern is clear:

No preparation
No accountability
No respect for voters
Total confidence that power protects them from consequences

Democrats are walking into this session convinced they don’t need to persuade, explain, or listen. They just need to rule.

Arrogance isn’t strength. It’s a warning sign. And Olympia is flashing it in neon as the 2026 session begins. Read more at Seattle Red.

Seven Challengers, Same Democrat Playbook

Rep. Michael Baumgartner is heading into a crowded primary, but if you listen closely, most of the Democratic challengers are basically auditioning to be different flavors of the same big-government script.

Democrat Bajun Mavalwalla, a retired Army intelligence officer, kicked off his campaign by accusing Baumgartner of ignoring “kitchen-table issues,” then immediately pivoted to the classic Democrat solution: more healthcare subsidies and more government involvement in the economy. Apparently, in Olympia-speak, “helping working families” always means growing the bureaucracy.

Another Democrat, David Womack, a retired Air Force colonel and former hospital CEO, talks about protecting the Constitution from government overreach… while running in a party that specializes in expanding government power. That contradiction alone deserves its own debate stage.

Then there’s Anthony Whisenhunt, a beekeeper from Malden, adding some rural flavor to a Democrat field that still centers on the same urban-driven policies that have made living in Washington more expensive and complicated.

On the “independent” side, Ann Marie Danimus reemerges after previously running as a Democrat, now branding herself as a bipartisan problem-solver while continuing to focus on regulating money in politics and reshaping business influence—more process talk, less about fixing the real damage Democrats have done to affordability and public safety.

Even within the GOP, Spokane Republican Anthony Jensen has entered the race, proving that competition is alive and well—but only one side seems serious about limiting government and defending taxpayers.

So while the field looks crowded and diverse on paper, the Democrat candidates all circle the same talking points:

Government knows best
Subsidies solve everything
More regulation equals compassion

Voters aren’t choosing between bold new ideas. They’re choosing whether they want more of the same policies that made Washington expensive, uncompetitive, and increasingly out of touch with the people who actually pay the bills. Read more at Seattle Red.

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