Opinion: Supreme Court slate – Your primary vote may decide Washington’s future

Nancy Churchill profiles four Republican-backed candidates for Washington Supreme Court seats ahead of the August 4 primary. Photo courtesy Nancy Churchill

🎧 Washington’s Supreme Court Primary: Four Seats, One Chance

Nancy Churchill says the stakes could not be hire for the races for the four State Supreme Court positions on the ballot

Nancy Churchill
Dangerous Rhetoric

The August 4 primary is no sleepy summer election. Four Supreme Court seats face voters now: Positions 1, 3, 5, and 7. The winners in August will be on the November ballot. The November winners will help decide Washington’s future for years to come.

Nancy Churchill

Every incumbent justice reached the bench through appointment by Democratic governors or with their strong backing. The court that emerges will rule in 2027 on the new 9.9 percent millionaires tax. Low turnout in judicial primaries gives extra power to informed voters who show up.

The stakes could not be higher

Think of our state Constitution as a sturdy dam built to hold back the flood of unlimited taxation. For generations it protected family farms, cattle operations, small business owners, and working people from a direct grab at their earnings. Now that dam faces its greatest test.

The capital gains tax ruling already showed the court’s willingness to re-label taxes to get around the rules. The income tax referendum petition was turned away in May. The winner in these races will sit on the court when the full challenge arrives.

Other cases loom too — the $3.9 billion LEOFF 1 pension sweep, the sheriff decertification bill and fights over voter-approved initiatives. Your property, your liberty, and your grandchildren’s future hang in the balance. A court more loyal to political insiders than to the rule of law puts every rural acre at risk.

The Constitutional slate

Voters have a clear choice. The Washington State Republican Party has made official recommendations for these races. A popular slate shared widely reminds citizens to support judges who respect the State Constitution and the rule of law.

Here are the four candidates who stand for constitutional fidelity over political activism.

Position 1: Scott Edwards — Reject the fox in the henhouse

Incumbent Colleen Melody comes straight from the attorney general’s office where she helped shape the income tax strategy. A person should not judge her own case. Scott Edwards has actually litigated against the capital gains tax and Seattle’s income tax efforts. He knows the arguments from the courtroom.

Edwards brings strong academic credentials and tax policy expertise. He believes judges must act as a check on legislative and executive overreach. His campaign is straightforward: decisions guided by law and record, never politics or pressure. The court must serve as a fair and balanced check on government, not cheer it on.

The Washington State Republican Party held a special meeting to recommend Scott Edwards. Choose the lawyer who has already fought these taxes.

Position 3: Judge David Stevens — Constitution over politics

This open seat offers a rare chance to restore balance. Judge David Stevens is the only candidate who treats the Constitution as the fixed standard rather than a starting point for new policy. Speaking about the current court justices, he has said plainly, “We don’t have any diversity of thought on there. We’re not getting the other side now.”

Stevens notes that public policy belongs to the political branches and the people, not the courts. If adhering to the United States and Washington constitutions is conservative, then he guesses he is — but he quickly adds that sticking to those documents is simply how judges should interpret the law. He brings experience as an elected Superior Court judge, prosecutor, and public defender. The Washington State Republican Party recommends him.

One seat can begin to restore the diversity of thought the court needs.

Position 5: Judge Dave Larson — The judicial backstop

The Supreme Court needs justices grounded in real trial court experience. Judge Dave Larson brings 41 years in the law, 18 years as a judge, and 16 years running a municipal court. He holds the highest “AV Preeminent” peer rating.

“You cannot grasp what goes through a trial judge’s mind without having lived it,” he has noted. The court risks becoming a ship lost at sea if it loses touch with the realities of the trial bench. Larson calls the judiciary the lighthouse in the storm — the firm guardian of the Constitution when other branches overreach.

The appointed incumbent in this race has zero prior judicial experience and ties to the very officials pushing the new tax. Eastern Washington needs that steady backstop. The Washington State Republican party recommends Dave Larson in position five.

Position 7: Todd Bloom — Focus on taxation

This race carries heavy weight for every family, ranch, and small business. The winner will almost certainly face the constitutional challenge to the new state income tax and whether progressive politicians finally break through the 1933 Culliton barrier that has blocked a state income tax for nearly a century.

Chief Justice Debra Stephens has sat on the court since 2008. She joined the 7-2 majority that upheld the capital gains tax by rebranding it an “excise” tax to dodge the Constitution’s income tax ban. She also signed the May 4 order blocking the referendum effort. The Washington Education Association, which made passing an income tax a top priority, has backed her.

Todd Bloom offers a fresh alternative. He is an attorney, CPA, financial planner, and retired Navy Lieutenant Commander with advanced degrees in law, taxation, and military strategy. For nearly twenty years he served as a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitrator deciding complex financial disputes. He sits on the Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors. Bloom stresses that judges must faithfully apply the law as written and deliver fair, impartial hearings. The Washington State Republican Party recommends him.

Eastern Washington families already feel pressure from rising costs, wolf management failures that hurt cattle producers, and layers of regulation. A state income tax would add another direct hit to earnings. The justice who takes this seat helps decide whether that tax survives constitutional scrutiny. The dam does not have to break.

Time to stand guard at the ballot box

The Supreme Court positions are nonpartisan races on the ballot, but the stakes are deeply partisan in outcome. Low-information voting in judicial races has let activist tendencies grow. That changes only when voters do the work.

August 4 is not far away. Your primary ballot should arrive this week. Low primary turnout means a handful of determined voices can decide everything. Your single vote carries extraordinary power — wield it like a sturdy fence post that strengthens the whole line!

Read the official voter guide. Check campaign finance reports. Watch my candidate interviews. Share reliable information with your neighbors. Ask the simple question: Do we want judges who find ways around the Constitution or judges who apply it as written?

Vote this slate: Scott Edwards for Position 1, Judge David Stevens for Position 3, Judge Dave Larson for Position 5, and Todd Bloom for Position 7. Your primary ballot is the narrow gate that decides who advances.

Washington was built by people who refused to let distant power run over local life and family responsibility. That spirit still lives in our rural counties and small towns. Small actions still grow into big protection for the freedoms we hold dear. Vote! Stand guard at the ballot box this August. The dam holds if we do.

Nancy Churchill is a writer, educator, and conservative activist in rural eastern Washington state. She chairs the Ferry County Republican Party and advocates for effective citizen influence through Influencing Olympia Effectively. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on Substack and X.