Washington’s Senate Democratic caucus will soon have three openings.

Sens. Karen Keiser, Patty Kuderer and Emily Randall are all planning to leave the state Senate in the coming months, opening the door for three appointments ahead of the January session. 

Keiser announced earlier this year that she would be retiring at the end of this year. Kuderer and Randall were both elected to higher offices: Kuderer as state insurance commissioner and Randall to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Each is in the process of stepping down with Keiser’s last day Dec. 10, and Randall’s Dec. 8. Kuderer is still determining her final day, but said she will step down by Jan. 7 at the latest. House lawmakers have indicated they’re interested in the seats that Keiser and Kuderer are vacating, meaning there could be changes in that chamber too.

While the three senators begin transitioning out of office, their local political parties and county officials will get to work appointing replacements, a multi-step process outlined in the state Constitution.

In short, local precinct officers will vote for their top three candidates and provide those names to a county governing body, which has the final say in who gets appointed. The replacement must be of the same party and district as the legislator who is leaving.

If a majority of the county officials can’t agree on a replacement, the governor must pick one within 30 days. 

Whoever is chosen in this case will likely have less than a month to prepare for the legislative session scheduled to start Jan. 13. 

All three of the leaving senators are up for reelection in 2026, so each appointee will serve until then. 

Keiser’s retirement

Keiser will leave behind a 30-year career in the state Legislature.

“I’m feeling a little liberated,” she told the Standard last week.

Keiser represents the 33rd Legislative District, which covers communities south of Seattle, including SeaTac, Des Moines and Kent. 

The local Democratic party will meet this Saturday for a candidate forum where they will hear from people interested in the Senate appointment.

Both state representatives in the district, Tina Orwall and Mia Gregerson are expected to be in the running. If one of them is chosen to succeed Keiser, someone else from the pool of candidates will likely be chosen to fill the state representative spot. 

After the forum, the precinct officers will schedule a day to vote on their top three recommendations for the seat. Those names will be given to the King County Council, which Keiser said will meet on Dec. 10 to appoint the replacement. 

Kuderer prepares for insurance commissioner role

Kuderer will take over as insurance commissioner on Jan. 15. Between now and then, she said she still has a lot to do to finalize her work in the Legislature. 

“I’m not leaving because I didn’t like the work,” she said. “I’m leaving because I was so excited about this opportunity. Insurance commissioner was the only office I’ve ever been interested in other than the Legislature.” 

The 48th Legislative District Democrats are planning for her replacement, a process similar to Keiser’s. The party will likely settle on their recommendations next month. Those will be sent to the King County Council, which will have final say on the appointment. 

Both of Kuderer’s seatmates, Reps. Amy Walen and Vandana Slatter, are interested in the position. If one of them is appointed, the council will concurrently appoint someone to fill their position in the House.

Randall looks to ‘the other Washington’

Randall is heading to Washington, D.C. to represent the 6th Congressional District, which covers the northwest corner of the state. She is replacing Democratic U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer who is retiring.

In her resignation letter to Gov. Jay Inslee, Randall said she will take the lessons she learned from the Legislature to “the other Washington” and hopes her replacement finds as much joy in the position as she did. 

“I have never taken my elected position for granted,” Randall wrote. “The elections I won were close, and I have endeavored to build relationships with constituents of all political stripes.”

The 26th Legislative District Democrats in Kitsap and Pierce counties have started organizing to find a replacement. The local precinct officers are supposed to meet Dec. 8 to submit recommendations to the counties in the district. 

Once the recommendations are finalized, the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners and the Pierce County Council will hold a joint meeting to vote on the replacement. 

The Kitsap County Board of Commissioners has three members, and the Pierce County Council has seven members. To ensure each county has an equal say, every vote from a Pierce County Council member will equal three-sevenths of a vote. 

Three people eyeing the job are Laurel Kingsbury, a Peninsula Metropolitan Park District commissioner, Deborah Krishnadasan, a former Peninsula School District board member, and Renee Hernandez Greenfield, a tribal member who has worked in early childhood education.