By Bill Lucia | Editor
Results in last week’s primary suggest Republican candidates here are fighting headwinds created by President Donald Trump, who remains unpopular with many Washington voters. State-level contests seem to be hinging heavily on how people feel about the other Washington, as opposed to Olympia. Legislative races in southwest Washington illustrate the point. There, four Republican incumbents trail Democratic opponents. One is GOP Rep. David Stuebe, who told the Standard he recently got a call from a constituent asking about his stance on the war in Iran. “Why aren’t people in tune? Why aren’t they looking at what’s happening with the state?” Stuebe questioned.
Also in today’s edition…
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez goes on the attack against John Braun.
President Trump issues an executive order calling for rollbacks of childhood vaccine requirements.
And, Todd Blanche is sworn in as U.S. attorney general.
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Washington lawmakers in the House chamber on the first day of the 2026 legislative session. With several incumbent House Republicans trailing in the Aug. 4 primary, Democrats are positioned to add to their majority in 2027. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
By Aspen Ford and Jerry Cornfield
Republicans’ difficulties have Democrats buzzing about the possibility of gaining a two-thirds majority in the state House. Democrats hold 59 of the 98 seats in the chamber. With 66, they’d have a supermajority, enabling them to bypass Republicans in trying to advance goals such as constitutional amendments protecting abortion and lowering the voter approval threshold for passing school bonds.
House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-West Seattle, said his party expects to flip seats, but played down the possibility of hitting the 66-seat mark.
Republican leaders say their party is still in the fight heading toward November. “I do think there is some dissatisfaction with everybody in charge,” said House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn. “People are hungry for change. Our goal is to get out the message. Based on our polling and modeling, our message is winning over voters who go into this election with an open mind.”
By Jerry Cornfield
Only a week after the primary, Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is out with a six-figure ad buy attacking her Republican opponent John Braun over his past comments on abortion. “He’ll never stop until abortion is banned nationwide,” says an announcer in the ad, which will appear online and on television. Braun does not support a nationwide abortion ban, his campaign manager said Monday. The 30-second spot is an early salvo in what will be a pricey, high-stakes battle between the two-term congresswoman and the veteran state Senate leader for the 3rd District seat in southwest Washington. House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, campaigned for Braun in the district last week and said the race is one of 18 nationwide that will decide which party controls the U.S. House.
By Aspen Ford
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed an emergency proclamation Monday to temporarily suspend some state laws to fast-track the recovery from wildfires ravaging central and eastern Washington. The announcement comes as fires have burned over 700,000 acres in Washington this year, destroying more than 871 homes. The services include expanded cash assistance, housing protections and help with recovering personal identification documents. Ferguson said his office hopes to submit an application by mid-September to the federal government requesting a major disaster declaration. That could unlock broader federal aid to help with fire recovery.
By Shauneen Miranda
President Trump on Monday moved to reshape guidance surrounding childhood vaccines. An executive order he signed Monday calls on federal programs and funding to “support maximal parental choice over childhood vaccines.” It came as Trump continued to erroneously connect vaccines with autism, and as his administration has sought to de-emphasize childhood vaccinations’ importance.
The order recommends all children receive immunizations for 11 diseases, including for “measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus, and varicella.” It calls for loosening other vaccine recommendations. What the order can legally accomplish was unclear, as it’s up to states to decide which recommendations to follow. It was met with criticism from many health experts and at least one Republican lawmaker.
“This executive order is wrong. The President does not have the expertise to make these changes,” GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician and chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said on social media. “Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism.”
Todd Blanche appears at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)
By Sam Gauntt
Todd Blanche took the oath of office as U.S. attorney general at a brief ceremony in the Oval Office Monday, following the Senate’s narrow vote to approve his nomination as the nation’s top law enforcement official over the weekend. Blanche, who served as acting attorney general and was President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer before joining the government, succeeds Pam Bondi — whom Trump ousted in April.
ICYMI
$20M in long-term care money for WA immigrants to cover fewer than 200 people | by Jake Goldstein-Street
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