Democrats on their way to grow their majority in Washington’s Legislature if current election results hold

General election results show Democrats in Washington are on track to growing their already-strong majorities in the state Legislature.

Heading into the election last week, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 29-20 in the Senate and 58-40 in the House.

A handful of races for seats in the state Legislature are still too close to call, and a couple that are so close they will likely go to an automatic recount.

So far in the state Senate, Democrats have held onto their nine-seat majority lead and could pick up another seat or two depending on how races that are currently too close to call shake out.

In the state House, Democrats are poised to win another seat if current election results hold, which would boost their majority over Republicans to a margin of 59-39.

Senate Democrats on Sunday elected a new majority leader to take over for outgoing majority leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane. Billig announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election to the state Senate after serving 14 years as a lawmaker – six of which he led the Senate’s Democratic caucus.

On Monday, Senate Democrats voted for Sen. Jamie Pedersen, of Seattle, to take over for Billig.

Pedersen has spent the last 11 years serving in the state Senate. Before that, he served in the state House. He’s served as the majority floor leader in the Senate since 2022.

Pedersen’s election has put Washington on the map as the first state in the nation to have two members of the LGBTQ+ community serving as legislative leaders at the same time. He joins Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins, who became the first woman and lesbian to hold that position in the history of Washington state.

“I’m eager to build on the bipartisan progress we have made since Democrats took back control of the Senate in 2018. I am humbled to lead this diverse and talented group of senators,” Pedersen said. “We are excited to see our majority grow. I am confident this new energy and passion will help Senate Democrats continue to put people first and tackle the issues Washingtonians care about most – affordable housing, great public schools, behavioral health, gun violence prevention, climate change and more.”

Billig’s departure as majority leader will be a loss for the representation and influence Spokane County has in the Legislature. And the retirement of longtime Republican state Sen. Mike Padden, of Spokane Valley, will be another loss for the county’s power in the state Capitol. Padden announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election.

Taking Padden’s place to represent the 4th Legislative District will be Republican state Rep. Leonard Christian, a real estate broker who was easily elected to the Senate in last week’s election.

Billig will be replaced in the Senate by state Rep. Marcus Riccelli, who easily won Billig’s 3rd Legislative District seat.

The Legislature will convene on Jan. 13. The state’s 147 lawmakers will spend 105 days drafting and passing legislation in Olympia.