6th District Representative, Position 1
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Volz (R) | 36,800 | 53.45% |
| Kay Murano (D) | 32,044 | 46.55% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
About The Race
The Candidates
Mike Volz
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 59
- City:
- Spokane, Washington
Education: Graduated from Ritzville High School in 1983. Graduated from Eastern Washington University in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in business with a dual concentration in accounting and finance. Graduated with a masters of business administration in 2005 from Gonzaga University. Is a certified public accountant.
Political experience: Elected state representative for 6th Legislative District in 2016 and re-elected every two years since. Lost run for Spokane County auditor to Vicky Dalton in 2006.
Work experience: Chief deputy county treasurer for the last 10 years. Previously worked four years as assistant director of finance at Spokane Transit Authority, seven years as senior finance manager and accountant at Spokane County Treasurer’s Office, one year as a financial analyst for Empire Health Services, two years as controller for small music company The Production Group, and three years as private security guard for Argos Systems. Served three years as military police officer in the Army in West Germany in the 1980s and at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Served in the National Guard after Army.
Family: Married to Diane Volz. Has three children
Campaign finances: Raised $76,950 as of Sept. 12, 2024, according to the PDC. Top donors include Amazon, BNSF Railway, Washington State Troopers Political Action Committee, Kaiser Aluminum, Avista Corp., Puget Sound Energy, Washington Indian Gaming Association, STCU, Washington Association of Realtors, Tulalip Tribes of Washington and the Washington Hospitality Association.
Kay Murano
- Party:
- Democratic
- City:
- Spokane, WA
Education: Graduated from high school from Northwest Christian School. Earned bachelor’s in business administration from Trinity Western University in British Columbia.
Political experience: First time running for office.
Work experience: Worked two years as executive director of Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium; three years as development director at Volunteers of America; eight years program assistant, accountant and grant writer at Catholic Charities; two years as office assistant at Bloomsday Association; and three years as an accountant at GM Nameplate in Seattle.
Family: Married to Joe Murano. Has one child.
Complete Coverage
Mike Volz has solid lead in race against Kay Murano for 6th District House
Republican Mike Volz is holding a solid 6.5 percentage point lead in the race for a Spokane Legislative seat against Democrat Kay Murano.
Control of Washington Legislature could hinge on late ballot counts
Control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Washington Legislature might not be known for days, or even weeks until all the state’s bhallots are counted.
Editorial Endorsements: Holy, Volz and Graham for District 6
Voters in Washington’s 6th Legislative District have clear choices when they step into the ballot box. Jeff Holy, Mike Volz and Jenny Graham would best represent the region.
Rep. Mike Volz defending 6th District seat against challenger Kay Murano
A Republican incumbent state representative will defend his seat in the West Plains against a Democratic challenger who hopes to grow awareness of housing issues at the state level. Mike Volz, who first won his 6th District seat in 2016 and also works as the Spokane County chief deputy treasurer, said education issues got him into politics and he plans to continue his efforts if re-elected November.
Primary shows close race between Mike Volz and Kay Murano for 6th District House seat
A one-term Republican incumbent state representative will defend his seat in the West Plains against a Democratic challenger who hopes to grow awareness of housing issues at the state level.
6th District candidates answer student questions in EWU forum
Five candidates vying for the West Plains’ three open seats answered Eastern Washington University student’s questions on social policy and criminal justice reform in a public forum Wednesday.
Task force looks at public records versus private information
Task force grapples with protecting private information from constituents as it reviews public records law.
Spin Control: Enough credit and blame to go around on McCleary
With the McCleary case over, Democrats and Republicans differ on who gets credit or blame.
Democrats eye West Plains seats following departure of Sen. Michael Baumgartner
A trio of Democrats has filed for office in the state’s 6th Legislative district, which encompasses much of the West Plains. They’re spurred by Demcoratic victories in early contests and what appears to be a contested Congressional race in Eastern Washington, as well as a somewhat open field following the announced departure of Sen. Michael Baumgartner.