WA-01 covers the north and east suburbs of Seattle. The 2026 primary on August 4 puts all seven candidates on a single ballot, regardless of party, and the top two advance to November. Here's the race, the candidates, and what's at stake.
Washington's 1st Congressional District covers the north and east suburbs of Seattle—parts of King and Snohomish counties, including portions of Bellevue, Kirkland, Bothell, Redmond, Woodinville, Marysville, Mountlake Terrace, and Arlington. The district has elected Rep. Suzan DelBene since 2012, and the Cook Partisan Voting Index rates it as D+15—one of the more solidly Democratic districts in the country. That doesn't make 2026 a foregone conclusion. The August 4 top-two primary puts seven candidates on a single ballot regardless of party: the incumbent, four Democratic challengers, one Republican, and one independent. The top two advance to November. And in a district where voters tell pollsters they're tired of partisan gridlock, the question of who advances—and how—is genuinely open.
A solidly Democratic district doesn't mean a settled race. It means a race that will be decided largely by what voters in this district—across every part of the political spectrum—actually want from their representation in Congress.
WA-01's August 4 primary puts every candidate on one ballot regardless of party, and the top two advance to November. We track the candidates currently filed for the primary—incumbent Rep. Suzan DelBene and two Democratic challengers, plus an independent. No Republican has filed, which means the general election could end up as two Democrats facing off. We provide this information so voters can make an informed choice. Independent Center Voice does not endorse candidates. Information below is sourced from each candidate's public statements and campaign materials, and will be updated to reflect the certified primary results after August 4.
U.S. Representative for Washington's 1st District since 2012; former Microsoft executive and former director of the Washington State Department of Revenue; chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Elected to U.S. House in a 2012 special election and re-elected every cycle since
Home care aide and union member from Redmond who has lived in WA-01 his entire life
First-time candidate, 2026
Self-described moderate reform Democrat challenging the incumbent in the August 4 top-two primary; campaign centers on public safety, affordability, and government accountability
First-time candidate, 2026
Engineer and 5th-generation Washingtonian; husband and father; running as an independent after historically voting Democratic
First-time candidate, 2026
The list below combines what WA-01 voters say matters most—drawn from voter file data and Washington sentiment tracking—and the issues the next member of Congress from WA-01 will be voting on. We don't tell you what to think about them. We do tell you they matter.
18% of WA-01 voters carry the LGBT Support flag, and Washington sentiment tracking shows ~80% cross-partisan support for limits on government and corporate surveillance technology.
From the buy-borrow-die tax loophole used by ultra-wealthy households to the broader debate over how concentrated wealth should be taxed, this is one of the most consequential federal debates the next Congress will engage with.
The federal debt has crossed $39 trillion, and compounding interest payments now exceed roughly $1 trillion per year. Whether the next Congress treats this as urgent will shape every other federal policy fight.
Term limits, a ban on congressional stock trading, tighter campaign finance rules, and measuring government programs by results rather than dollars spent cross every demographic in WA-01.
By far the most-flagged issue in the WA-01 voter file—nearly half of voters carry the Immigration Reform flag. Federal immigration policy and visa programs for the region's tech employers are on the docket.
The cost of housing, gas, food, and healthcare keeps rising; wages have not kept pace. WA-01 sits in one of the country's most expensive metro areas. Federal policy runs through the next member of Congress's votes.
Washington doesn't register voters by party. Every WA-01 voter receives the same primary ballot. Roughly 60% of those voters are classified as persuadable in 2026.
Washington is one of a handful of states that has never asked voters to declare a party at registration. Combined with the state's top-two open primary, that means every candidate from every party—Democrats, Republicans, independents, and others—competes on the same primary ballot for the same voters. In WA-01, that structural feature meets a district-level reality: roughly three in five registered voters in the district are classified as persuadable in 2026—including voters of every ideological leaning. Even in a district that has elected the same representative for 14 years, the underlying electorate is more open than the partisan lean suggests. Independent Center Voice exists to make sure those voters have a clear picture of what's on their ballot. We don't tell anyone how to vote. We make sure the information is there.
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