Taxes and spending are top priorities for candidates in Washington's 26th Legislative District

The race to represent Washington's 26th District is shaping up to be a nailbiter this November.

The district, which covers Gig Harbor, Bremerton, Port Orchard, and the Key Peninsula, has been represented by Democratic state Sen. Deb Krishnadasan since December 2024, when she was appointed to the seat after Emily Randall was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

She's facing Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier, who has served the district for six terms in the state House.

If the primary is any indication, the race is going to be a close one — Krishnadasan finished only about 1,000 votes ahead of Caldier in August.

This has drawn major spending, with candidates having collectively raised nearly $1 million — and outside PACs have raised even more.

The Microsoft-led Washington Coalition for Responsible Taxes & Spending PAC has provided financial support on behalf of Caldier over Democrat tax proposals. Labor groups, meanwhile, are donating to Krishnadasan.

Taxes and spending have become key issues in the race. Here's where both candidates stand.

Deb Krishnadasan

Before serving in the senate, Deb Krishnadasan was a board member for the Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor.

Krishnadasan touts her ability to pass bipartisan legislation. She sponsored bills relating to emergency care for pregnant people and childcare center occupancy limitations, both of which received Republican support.

Krishnadasan went against her party when she voted in opposition to the tax package proposed by the Democrats that aimed to address the $16 billion hole in the state budget. Lawmakers found cuts, but also raised taxes by $9 billion over the next four years — making it the biggest increase in state history.

Krishnadasan said her decision was rooted in the affordability crisis.

“The idea of putting additional taxes on people who are struggling the most is something I didn’t feel good about,” she said. “At the same time, with the federal cuts we’re already seeing — and more anticipated — these cuts are going to hurt families and people that are struggling most in our state.”

Shortly after the new tax package was signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson, the state budget forecast estimated that tax collections for the two-year operating budget were going to be hundreds of millions of dollars lower than anticipated.

At this moment, Krishnadasen wants to hold off on any proposed plans for addressing this shortfall as “any projection is pure speculation.” She said that when the state has a clearer picture, her approach will be to work across the aisle to find savings, increase efficiencies in the government, and take the pressure off working families and small businesses.

"People in those situations shouldn't have more taxes right now," she said. "They should have less."

One of the more hotly contested bills that passed in the last session was the cap on rent increases, which is more commonly known as rent control. The final bill placed a 7% to 10% limit on rent increases per year. Republicans are strongly opposed to the bill, believing it could discourage badly needed development.

Krishnadasan voted for it, believing that it will deter landlords from implementing "extreme and egregious" rent increases — and that will, in turn, bring more stability to their renters.

“Most of the landlords I talked to only raise rent 2 to 3% [per year],” she said.

Another bill that drew attention was the 2024 Parents' Bill of Rights, prompted by an initiative effort led by Brian Heywood of Let’s Go Washington.

Democrats in the legislature made changes to that bill this year, saying it would bring the bill into compliance with state law.

RELATED: Changes to WA 'parental rights' law heads to Gov. Ferguson after tense final vote

Heywood is contesting those changes, saying it limits parents’ access to what their children are being taught, especially around gender and sexual orientation.

RELATED: New WA initiatives seek to undo rewrite of parental rights law, block trans girls in sports

Krishnadasan believes the bill as it's currently worded does allow for parents to review the textbooks and curriculum their children are being taught, and offers them the right to opt their child out of certain components.

“Parents are the most important teachers for our children, so I want them involved in that,” she said. “As a school board member, I work to make sure that all students feel safe in school, free from discrimination, and that they are in a supported environment and where they can focus on learning. I think this bill strikes a good balance.”

Listen to Soundside's whole interview with Krishnadasen here.

Michelle Caldier

Michelle Caldier, a Republican, has represented the 26th Legislative District in the state House for 11 years.

Campaign flyers from a group supporting Krishnadasen have made claims that Caldier is a MAGA Republican devotee and Trump supporter.

Caldier says that makes no sense, given the Republican party has run other candidates against her and called her a Democrat in disguise.

“When I first got elected, I made a promise to the people that I would always put them first," she said. "I put them first before my leadership. I put them first before the party, and I put them first before extremists."

Caldier says her motivation for trying to unseat Krishnadasen is to reduce the number of Democrats in the Senate. She wants to bring more balance to the government.

Democrats currently hold over 60% of the seats in the Senate. This allows them to issue bonds and take on debt without voter approval.

Democrats would need a two-thirds super majority to send amendments to the state constitution to voters, pass an emergency clause on a bill to prevent a public vote, override a gubernatorial veto, or amend or repeal a voter-approved initiative within its first two years.

"This election has nothing to do with me or my opponent," Caldier said. "This has everything to do with whether or not you want balance in our state government."

One of her biggest concerns with the influence Democrats have over state legislation is on taxes.

Democrats cut more than $782 million from Medicaid in the last budget, according to calculations from state Rep. Travis Couture, the state House Republican budget lead. Much of the cut funding went to services for seniors and people with disabilities.

Democratic Representative Nicole Macri told The Olympian that she believes state Republicans are trying to distance themselves from unpopular federal cuts to Medicaid.

Republicans in the U.S. Congress passed the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which cut between $3 billion and $5 billion per year for Washington state.

Caldier contends that state Democrats should have to answer for their cuts.

“Trump is the gift that keeps on giving to the Democratic party in Washington state,” Caldier said. “They can blame everything on Trump because people in our state don't like Trump.”

For Caldier, who grew up in foster care, is an amputee, and legally blind, cuts to Medicaid are personal.

“Our state has not put our disabled or elderly — our most fragile — first and foremost,” she said.

As a serving member of the Appropriations Committee, Caldier says she would’ve preferred to have seen the cuts come from programs that were state-driven, rather than programs that had federal matching funds.

“We definitely need to look and say, 'Are we getting the best bang for our dollar, or is there a similar federal program that we could utilize where our dollar would maybe stretch further?'” Caldier asked. “Is this what people would want their money spent on?”

Caldier believes the same approach should apply to tax increases. She’s particularly frustrated with the use of the funds from the Climate Commitment Act, such as a $90 million conversion of a diesel ferry to a hybrid engine.

“They added the ability for it to be charged. However, there is no infrastructure to charge it, so it's still running on diesel. So we didn't save the environment," she said. "We do not use our tax dollars wisely.”

“One of the things people don't realize is a lot of the policies that we pass actually increase our budget,” she added.

Caldier pointed to legislation that raised the minimum wage as an example, saying that ended up increasing the state budget, as the state is the largest employer of minimum wage earners.

Caldier said she and her Republican colleagues would have addressed the state’s $16 billion budget deficit through cuts alone.

“I feel like we should be spending people's tax dollars the way that we would spend them ourselves, and that is currently not what's going on,” she said. “And without any Republican in the room, it will continue that way.”

Listen to Soundside's whole interview with Caldier here.