Congressional Democrats: Waiting to Get Things Done Again

Our state’s elected officials stick around. The “Gold Dust Twins,” Senators Henry M. Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson, served together for 28 years. Nowadays, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have been in office since 2001.

With seniority comes power, and the opportunity to get stuff done. Ditto in the House, where Rep. Adam Smith has chaired the Armed Services Committee and has been in the House since 1996. Rep. Rick Larsen, serving his 13th term, is in line to chair the House Transportation Committee if Democrats retake the House.

It’s a big “if.” The Republicans go into November midterms enjoying a 53-47 Senate advantage, plus a favorable electoral map; the GOP has a 221-214 House advantage. The Dems need only to flip four seats for Adam Smith to reclaim Armed Services and Larsen to gain Transportation’s chair.

These lawmakers got stuff done early in this decade, when they held committee chairs. Sound Transit’s light rail service would have terminated in Tukwilla were it not for Murray. Cantwell authored the CHIPS Act, with incentives to get American firms back into manufacturing computer chips. Adam Smith been playing defense, pushing back on Trump’s bid to politicize the military. He made common cause with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley. Smith is known for going on Fox News and in cool, rational terms, blowing away jargon-spouting far-right talking heads.

In the Senate, Cantwell sits on three A-list committees. She is a member of the Senate Finance and the Energy and Natural Resources Committees. She has an unusual friendship and working relationship with independent-minded Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican who sometimes defies Trump.

The two Northwest senators have fought like cats in a bag over oil drilling in the wild Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but they cooperated in securing money to build one icebraker and design another, as global warming has increased shipping in northern waters.

Murray will chair the powerful Senate Apprropriations Committee should the Dems retake Congress’ upper chamber. She stands to be the state’s provider. Years ago, when Warren Magnuson held the post, he secured money to build the great third powerhouse at Grand Coulee Dam, create a Trident submarine base, and flood money to the UW School of Medicine.

Democrats need to run the board to make a transfer of power to happen in the Senate. They’ll again target GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine; the Dems are running popular ex-Gov. Roy Cooper for an open North Carolina seat. Ex-Sen. Sherrod Brown seeks a comeback in Ohio. Texas becomes a target if scandal-plagued, far-right Attorney General Ken Paxton is the Republican nominee. Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is wearing a target since ex-Rep. Mary Peltola, first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, declared for his Senate seat. Meanwhile, Democrats must hold vulnerable seats of senators retiring in New Hampshire and Michigan.

All this gets expensive; so the money primary will bring to Seattle and Bellevue mansions all of the challenging Democrats, including Georgia’s targeted Democratic Sen. Jon Osoff. They’ll be hosted by a crack Democratic fundraiser, Suzi LeVine, U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under President Obama. 

Adam Smith has an easier hill to climb: Just four GOP-held seats stand between himself and the Armed Services chair, and Democrats’ chances to check Trump excesses. We do have a vulnerable Democrat in this House hunt: Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, a moderate to liberal Democrat who represents the Republican-leaning Third District in Southwest Washington. She is targeted by Republicans, who have found a presentable candidate in State Sen. Jon Braun. Seattle liberals are gritting their teeth and ponying up for MGP.

Lastly, there is Central Washington, hard-hit by Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” with patients losing Medicaid coverage and suffering DOGE meat-axe cuts to the Bureau of Reclamation and Veterans Affairs. Rep. Dan Newhouse is retiring after six terms, so can Democrats field a top-notch candidate for a district held by Republicans for three decades?

This story also appears in Cascadia Advocate.