The two incumbent Democrats in Washington’s 5th Legislative District will both return to Olympia for another term, based on initial election results released late Tuesday (Nov. 8).
In the position 1 race, Rep. Bill Ramos, a two-term Democrat out of Issaquah, carries 59% of the vote against Republican Ken Moninski, an aviation company owner from Maple Valley.
Meanwhile, in the position 2 race, Rep Lisa Callan, also a two-term Democrat out of Issaquah, carries 54% of the vote against Republican Chad Magendanz, a computer science teacher and former state legislator.
Results will not be finalized until later this month, but are unlikely to change. Ramos and Callan are almost certain to continue representing the 5th Legislative District, which includes Snoqualmie, Maple Valley, Black Diamond, most of Issaquah and parts of Fall City and North Bend.
The Nov. 8 results are almost identical to primary results from August.
This is the second general election in a row that Ramos has bested Moninski, with the two having faced off during the 2020 general election. Ramos won both this summer’s primary and the 2020 election with nearly 60% of the vote.
Callan similarly won 55% of the vote in a head-to-head primary with Magendanz.
Magendanz formerly served as a representative for the 5th District between 2013 and 2017, holding the position Callan currently occupies. He vacated that seat in 2016 to unsuccessfully challenge Mark Mullet for a state Senate position. In his last effort for office in 2018, he challenged Ramos, losing by just 3%.
12th Legislative District
Candidates for Washington’s 12th Legislative District Pos. 2. Rep. Mike Steele (left) and challenger Robert Amenn. Courtesy photos.
Incumbent Mike Steele has a commanding lead over his challenger in Washington’s 12th Legislative District and will head back to Olympia for a fourth term.
Results show Steele, a Republican from Chelan first elected in 2016, has a 63 point lead over fellow Republican Robert Amenn of Gold Bar.
With both Amenn and Steele sharing a party and Amenn reporting no fundraising, according to state records, there was little question the incumbent would retain his seat.
Amenn works as a chief technology officer at a tech start-up and is a former Gold Bar City Council member. Steele works as a financial officer for his family’s apple and cherry orchard and as executive director for the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce.
In the other 12th district race, Rep. Keith Goehner, a two-term Republican from Dryden, is running unopposed. He currently carries 94% of the vote.
Prior to being elected in 2018 and 2020, Goehner spent 16 years serving on the Chelan County Commission. He owns and manages a pear orchard and is a former elementary school teacher.
It will be the first time Steele or Goehner will represent portions of the Snoqualmie Valley. Most of North Bend, Carnation and Fall City were relocated into the 12th District after the state’s redistricting process that followed the 2020 Census.
The redesigned 12th Legislative district is a massive 9,000 square miles including portions of King, Snohomish, Skagit and Chelan Counties. The Snoqualmie Valley makes up its most western border.
