Richard DeBolt | |
---|---|
Minority Leader of the Washington House of Representatives | |
In office January 9, 2006 –January 13, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Bruce Chandler |
Succeeded by | Dan Kristiansen |
In office January 12,2004 –January 10,2005 | |
Preceded by | Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
Succeeded by | Bruce Chandler |
Member of the WashingtonHouseofRepresentatives from the 20th,Position 1 district | |
In office January 13,1997 –January 11,2021 | |
Preceded by | David J. Chappell |
Succeeded by | Peter Abbarno |
Personal details | |
Born | Richard Charles DeBolt November 3,1965 Tacoma,Washington,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Richard Charles DeBolt [1] (born November 3,1965) is an American politician of the Republican Party. He was a member of the Washington House of Representatives,representing the 20th district from 1997 to 2021. [2] [3] He was House Republican Leader from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2013.
DeBolt was first elected to office in 1996. [4] He ran for office with the goal of focusing on economic development and business-friendly policies,and he has said that increased employment is key to solving issues such as uninsured residents. [5]
In 2006,he was re-elected minority leader over Mike Armstrong and Bruce Chandler after the Democratic Party won a 62-36 majority in the House. [6] He held this position until 2014 when he stepped down due to health issues. [7]
In 2012,the Washington Supreme Court ordered the State Legislature to fully fund K-12 public education in the McCleary v. Washington decision. Although the Legislature increased funding,they did not fully comply with the mandate and,two years later,were found to be in contempt. [8] This was a campaign issue in the 2014 election,with DeBolt pledging not to institute new taxes to fund schools,in contrast with his opponent. [9] DeBolt argued that the State Supreme Court's actions were politically motivated and represented a violation of the separation of powers,and he sponsored a bill to require State Supreme Court Justice candidates to declare their political party while running for office. [8] [10]
In 2013,DeBolt was selected to be the Ranking Republican on the House Capital Budget Committee,a position he held until his retirement from the legislature. [11] [12]
In 2019,in response to Governor Jay Inslee's proposed climate change legislation,DeBolt sponsored the Carbon Free Washington Act,which would provide financial incentives to businesses to reduce carbon use. He argued that providing incentives would lead to a better result than instituting mandates. [13]
After 24 years in office,he retired from the House in 2021 and became Executive Director of the Lewis Economic Development Council. [14] [15]
DeBolt was born in 1965 in Tacoma,Washington,to a military family. After graduating from Cheyenne East High School,he studied International relations at University of Wyoming. In 1989,he married his wife,Amy,with whom he has two children,Sophie and Austin. [12]
He has been involved with United Way of Lewis County,including serving as a board member [9] [16] and securing $3 million of funding for a pre-school. [17]
Jay Robert Inslee is an American politician,lawyer,and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012,and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He is the longest-serving current governor in the United States.
Robert Marion McKenna is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 17th attorney general of Washington from 2005 to 2013 after serving on the Metropolitan King County Council from 1996 to 2005. A member of the Republican Party,he ran for Governor of Washington in 2012,losing to Democrat Jay Inslee.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is an association of small businesses in the United States. It is headquartered in Nashville,Tennessee,with offices in Washington,D.C.,and all 50 state capitals. The stated goal of NFIB is to advance the interests of small businesses. There has been debate about how representative of American small businesses NFIB is,noting its very conservative and pro-Republican record.
Timothy Markham Sheldon is an American farmer,businessman,and politician who served as a member of the Washington State Senate,representing the 35th District between 1997 and 2023. The district includes all of Mason County and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties. A member of the Democratic Party,Sheldon caucused with the Republican-dominated Majority Coalition Caucus and afterwards the Republican Caucus from 2012. He previously represented Mason County as a Mason County Commissioner for District 2 from 2005 to 2017 and served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997.
Bradley Allen Klippert is an American politician,minister,law enforcement officer,and military officer who formerly served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 8th Legislative District.
Michael James Baumgartner is an American politician and diplomat serving as the 28th Spokane County Treasurer. A member of the Republican Party,he previously served as a member of the Washington State Senate,representing the 6th district from 2011 to 2019 and was his party's nominee in the 2012 election for the United States Senate,unsuccessfully challenging Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell.
James Truman Wilcox III is an American politician from Washington. Wilcox served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 2011 –2025,representing the 2nd district.
Anna M. Rivers is an American politician and educator serving as a Republican member of the Washington State Senate from when she was appointed to represent the 18th district in 2012,upon the resignation of Joe Zarelli. Prior to this she was a member of the Washington House of Representatives. In her first full term,a Majority Coalition Caucus was formed,taking control away from the Democrats in the state senate. Rivers was appointed to be majority whip for the session,a rare appointment for a freshman senator. She won re-election for another four-year term in 2012,with 67% of the vote against 32% for her opponent,Ralph Schmidt.
Edmund Thomas Orcutt is an American politician of the Republican Party. He is a member of the Washington House of Representatives,representing the 18th district,serving since 2002. Due to redistricting,Orcutt now resides in the 20th district in Washington. In the 2012 election,Orcutt ran for the seat in that district,and won,with 68% of the vote. Orcutt began representing the 20th district,in his sixth full term,in January 2013.
Daniel P. Kristiansen is a former American politician of the Republican Party. He was a member of the Washington House of Representatives,representing the 39th district,and the former House Minority Leader.
Drew Christian MacEwen is an American politician of the Republican Party. He is a member of the Washington State Senate,representing the 35th district,which covers the entirety of Mason County and parts of Kitsap and Thurston counties.
Daniel Milton Newhouse is an American politician and agricultural scientist serving as the U.S. representative for Washington's 4th congressional district. The district covers much of the central third of the state,including Yakima and the Tri-Cities. Before his election to Congress,Newhouse served as director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture and as a member of the Washington House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Mary Lurintha "Mary Lou" Dye is an American politician from Washington. She is a Republican member of the Washington House of Representatives from District 9.
Andrew K. Barkis is a Republican member of the Washington House of Representatives. He was appointed by the Thurston County Commission in February 2016 to succeed fellow Republican Graham Hunt,who resigned.
The 2020 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 3,2020. It followed a top-two primary held on August 4. Incumbent governor Jay Inslee,the Democratic candidate,defeated Loren Culp,the Republican candidate by a wide margin. Inslee,who was eligible to run for a third term due to the lack of gubernatorial term limits,initially launched a campaign for president of the United States in the 2020 election. When he dropped out of that race in August 2019 due to extremely low polling numbers,he announced he would seek a third term as governor. Several other Democratic political figures considered entering the race if Inslee did not run,including Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson;no other major Democratic candidates entered the race. Republican Loren Culp,the police chief of Republic,Washington,placed second in the top-two primary and advanced to the general election alongside Inslee.
Jacquelin Michelle Maycumber is an American politician of the Republican Party. She is a former member of the Washington House of Representatives,representing the 7th Legislative District.
General elections were held in the U.S. state of Washington on November 3,2020. A primary was held on August 4.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington were held on November 8,2022,to elect the 10 U.S. representatives from the state of Washington,one from each of the state's 10 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives,elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. Going into this election,the Democratic Party represented seven seats,while the Republican Party represented three seats.
The 2024 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5,2024. The top-two primary was held on August 6. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jay Inslee was eligible to seek re-election to a fourth term but decided that he would not do so. The Democratic nominee,state Attorney General Bob Ferguson,defeated the Republican nominee,former Congressman Dave Reichert,to succeed Inslee. Inslee,who previously served in the U.S. House,was first elected governor in 2012 and won re-election in 2016 and 2020. Washington has not had a Republican governor since John Spellman left office in 1985,the longest streak of Democratic leadership of any state in the country and the third-longest streak of one-party leadership after South Dakota and Utah. Ferguson defeated Reichert with 55.51% of the vote in the general election. He also became the first Democrat to win Clallam County since 2000.
Initiative No. 2109 (I-2109) was a ballot initiative in the U.S. State of Washington that appeared on the ballot on November 5,2024. The initiative was brought to the state legislature by Let's Go Washington,a Redmond-based political action committee founded by businessman and hedge-fund manager Brian Heywood. The initiative would have repeal SB 5096,which created a 7% capital gains tax on the sale of long-term capital assets worth more than $250,000 in Washington state since 2021. Real estate sales are already exempt from the tax.