Fuse has released our list of early endorsements for the 2025 primary election. They are all strong progressive leaders in important races who we are proud to support.
State Legislature
Sen. Vandana Slatter for State Senate (LD 48)
State Senator Vandana Slatter is running for election to the 48th Legislative District Senate seat that she was appointed to fill after a vacancy was created by Senator Patty Kuderer’s election as Insurance Commissioner. She is a community leader who has served on the boards of many organizations and nonprofits, including the Children's Institute for Learning Differences, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, Global Social Business Partners, and the Cancer Center at Overlake Hospital Foundation. During her time in the House, Sen. Slatter has prioritized funding education, workforce development, and protecting reproductive care, where she was a key leader in passing the My Health My Data Act, which protects against the unauthorized and harmful use of personal health data.
Sen. Deborah Krishnadasan for State Senate (LD 26)
State Senator and Former Peninsula School Board president Deborah Krishnadasan is running to retain the seat she was appointed to after former Sen. Emily Randall was recently elected to the U.S House of Representatives. Sen. Krishnadasan grew up on a Puyallup farm in a union household and has been a local education advocate who has worked for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Microsoft. Her top priorities as a Senator are to fully fund special education, make it easier to build homes and childcare facilities, and protect our forests from wildfires.
Rep. Osman Salahuddin for State House (LD 48, Pos. 1)
Representative Osman Salahuddin was appointed to fill Slatter’s vacant House seat. A lifelong resident of Redmond and a former Redmond City Council Member, Rep. Salahuddin has a Bachelor of Science in neurobiology from the University of Washington, where he also served as the student body president. His top priorities in the Washington State Legislature are to build diverse housing options that are affordable to working families, fight back against MAGA attacks on immigrant and LGBTQ+ neighbors, and invest in health care, including behavioral health facilities.
Rep. Edwin Obras for State House (LD 33, Pos. 1)
Representative Edwin Obras has worked in the human services field for over 25 years both in non-profits and for the City of Seattle in areas of homelessness, anti-hunger, capacity building, youth development, community safety, and services to support survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. He was appointed to this seat after Tina Orwall moved to the Senate. Rep. Obras is being challenged for re-election by current Mayor of Burien Kevin Schilling. Schilling has overseen a roll back on progressive policies at the city level, and has championed an antagonistic and punitive approach to criminalizing homelessness in Burien.
Rep. Brianna Thomas for State House (LD 34, Pos. 1)
Rep. Brianna Thomas was appointed to fill the vacancy created when Rep. Emily Alvarado was appointed to the state Senate. She has a long track record of fighting for progressive values. Prior to her appointment to the Legislature in 2025, Representative Brianna Thomas worked as a staffer in the Washington State Senate, policy advisor in the Seattle Mayor’s Office, field director at the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund, and a campaign manager for the $15 minimum wage in SeaTac.
Rep. Janice Zahn for State House (LD 41, Pos. 1)
Former Bellevue City Councilmember and Chief Engineer at the Port of Seattle, Janice Zahn was appointed to fill a vacancy left by former Rep. Tana Senn. In Zahn’s first legislative session, she proposed legislation focused on improving data collection to understand homelessness and ensuring capital construction projects like ferry terminals get built on time and on budget. She supported legislation for universal health care, investments in public education, and reforming Washington’s recycling system. She is a committed supporter of rebalancing our upside-down tax code through progressive revenue.
Seattle City Council
Dionne Foster for Seattle City Council (Pos. 9)
Dionne Foster is the Director of the Washington Progress Alliance and has been at the forefront of making Washington’s tax system more progressive by passing and protecting a capital gains tax in order to fund critical childcare and K-12 investments. Foster is challenging councilmember Sara Nelson, a vocal advocate for corporate interests who led multiple attempts to roll back wages and protections for working people. Electing Foster will create a more balanced City Council by adding another voice for working families to make progress on building more affordable homes, fighting pollution, and hiring more behavioral health care professionals to help folks struggling with addiction and mental health crises. As the city faces down the potential for massive cuts from the Trump administration, Seattle needs new leadership that will protect our values and fund our budget with progressive revenue so that we can protect and accelerate investments in housing, climate action, and human services. As the proven and true progressive leader in this race, we’re proud to give Foster our full endorsement!
Alexis Mercedes Rinck for Seattle City Council (Pos. 8)
Alexis Mercedes Rinck was elected to the Seattle City Council in the special election last fall, beating more conservative incumbent Tanya Woo. She was elected for one year to fill the remainder of former council member Teresa Mosqueda’s term. Her previous experience includes working as Assistant Policy Director at the University of Washington and at the King County Regional Homeless Authority. Rinck is running on a progressive agenda, including advocating for worker and renter protections, more affordable homes, making the wealthiest corporations pay what they owe in taxes, and shielding Seattle from attacks by the Trump administration.
Spokane
Zack Zappone for Spokane City Council (District 3)
Councilmember Zack Zappone has been a strong leader on the Spokane City Council - advocating for more affordable homes, public safety, and public transportation in his first term. Zappone was a champion for improving housing affordability with multiple programs incentivizing building new affordable homes and breaking down barriers to new construction. The first out queer person to be elected to this office, Zappone will continue to fight for working families and build a future in Spokane that is more walkable, provides low-cost bus service, reduces climate changing emissions, and has active public spaces where diverse people can build community. He believes we need to continue to support and strengthen the Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and Inclusion, especially in the face of the challenges from the Trump Administration.
Nikki Lockwood for Spokane School Board
Nikki Lockwood is running for re-election to the Spokane Public School board. She is proud of the equity work that has happened during her time on the board. She originally ran to increase equity, informed by her lived experience as a Mexican-American woman, mother of a student with a disability, and her experience organizing with the Spokane Alliance against the school to prison pipeline. Lockwood’s core values include valuing all people, respecting diversity, and the inherent dignity of all students. She also values a government that is led with shared power and supports a strong public education system
Nicole Bishop for Spokane School Board
Nicole Bishop was appointed to the Spokane Public School Board earlier this year after Melissa Bedford's exit. Bishop is the daughter of a hardworking single mother who taught her that education is the foundation of opportunity and that we have a responsibility to lift up those who need it most. She is a proud alum of Spokane Public Schools, and knows firsthand what it means to feel seen, supported, and encouraged by educators who believe in your potential. But she also knows that not every student experiences that sense of belonging. Too many young people in our district face barriers that make it harder for them to succeed — barriers like poverty, housing instability, and systemic inequities that disproportionately impact students of color, students with disabilities, and those from low-income backgrounds. She is committed to making Spokane Publics Schools a district for all students
Belleveue
Naren Briar for Bellevue City Council
Naren Briar is a Bellevue native and child of Kurdish refugees. She is challenging long time conservative Councilmember Conrad Lee, who recently made a $50,000 donation to Trump's inaugural committee. Briar has worked for Meta and been recognized for her work to help women and girls in refugee camps. She is running because she believes that Bellevue is at an inflection point on issues of housing, transportation, and serving people with mental and behavioural health needs. If elected, she is committed to focusing on increasing the number of affordable homes, expanding access to transit, and developing transit-oriented housing in Bellevue.
For questions about our endorsement process please reach out to our Deputy Director Damiana Merryweather at damiana@fusewashington.org
Fuse's criteria for endorsements include:
- Supporting candidates who have outstanding leadership qualities and will fight for working people, a healthy environment, and a better future for our children.
- Supporting women, people of color, young people, and LGBTQ+ candidates running for office.
- Supporting strong progressive candidates in competitive races against more conservative opponents.
- Supporting progressives in races where the balance of power in the elected body is at stake and where Fuse’s efforts could help gain or protect a progressive majority.
Our 2025 endorsed candidates will be included in our Progressive Voters Guide when it is released in early July. You can help us support all of these candidates by making a donation to the Progressive Voters Guide here!
