WA Senate Leader Andy Billig not running for reelection

OLYMPIA — Sen. Andy Billig, who has led majority Democrats in the Washington Senate since late 2018, said Monday that he won’t run for reelection this year.

Billig represents the 3rd legislative district in Spokane and is one of several state lawmakers who have said they aren’t seeking reelection as the 2024 short session approaches its March 7 conclusion.

“I think that an important part of leadership is knowing when is the right time to step aside and let others lead,” Billig said in an interview Monday. “And that time is now. I’m as excited and energized by this job as the day I arrived 14 years ago, and that’s just how I want to leave.”

Billig was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2010. He was elected to the Senate two years later. Since Democrats took control of the Senate in 2018, Washington has had a “trifecta,” with Democrats controlling both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s mansion. He was elected the chamber’s majority leader late that year.

Billig has led the party in the Senate as Democrats have pushed to pass significant priorities in recent sessions, like banning automatic weapons, a tax on capital gains and creating a market system to cap greenhouse gas emissions. (Both the capital gains tax and the carbon market face a repeal effort via citizens’ initiative.)

“It feels like in almost every policy area, we’ve made progress and we’re helping to lead the nation,” he said.

He said he was “especially gratified” by the Legislature’s work on increasing access to the ballot, through policies like same-day voter registration and automatic voter registration.

Other legislators not running for reelection include former House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, of Yelm; Sen. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia; and Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda.

Several other lawmakers are seeking election to statewide or federal offices.

“A caucus and a Legislature needs a mix of experienced legislators and new, enthusiastic members,” Wilcox wrote in a retirement announcement last week. “I know a few very high-quality Republicans and Democrats who can maintain their enthusiasm indefinitely, but I’ve found that I have a certain capacity to do that and think I’ve reached that point.”