Any Washington State resident who has been paying attention knows that the Far-Left Democrat Legislature finally passed into law the “Millionaires Tax” that they have been lusting after for decades. My previous post here told you how the Public Employee Unions and their Democrat henchmen have disguised an Income Tax as a tax only on “Millionaires” so you will think that it does not apply to YOU. Of course, you don’t earn a million dollars a year, do you? But if you read the fine print, the law is actually an Income Tax for which everyone will be required to fine a state return every year; the current “exemption” is one million dollars Per Household (two people filing jointly each have an exemption of $500,000 each). If the tax (unconstitutional under the current State Constitution which specifies that direct taxes must be applied to all taxpayers equally) makes it past the State Supreme Court review, and lawsuits against it have already been filed), then the state can lower that exemption at any time with a simple majority vote.
Now to the Supreme Court. Since he was “elected” governor, Bob Ferguson has been able to appoint FIVE new Supreme Court justices, ALL of whom are up for election this year. Previous judges resigned or retired, just so Ferguson could appoint new ones to the court, guaranteeing a Far-Left Majority for years to come. Those Five New Judges will be on the Primary Ballot in August, and it is imperative that ALL thinking Washingtonians who don’t want a new income tax to take more of their hard-earned money that is already too heavily taxed, MUST VOTE against all five candidates.
So I am providing you here with information on the people who are running against Ferguson’s Hard Left appointees, so you will know who to vote for IN THE PRIMARY.
Most Washington voters will skip the primary this August. The people (aka Democrats) spending $430,000 to influence a specific race are counting on that. I will not be skipping the primary and neither should you.
Today I look at Position 5 for the State Supreme Court. The two leading candidates for Washington Supreme Court Position 5 are separated by $7,403. Theo Angelis, Governor Ferguson’s March 2026 appointee, has raised $143,610 per PDC. Dave Larson, a retired municipal court judge who nearly defeated a sitting justice in 2024, has raised $136,207.
Seven thousand dollars between them. Here is the documented background on both.
Angelis spent 26 years as a partner at K&L Gates, the same law firm where Governor Ferguson worked before becoming Attorney General. Per PDC, Angelis donated $2,100 to Ferguson’s 2024 gubernatorial campaign. Ferguson appointed him to the state’s highest court in March 2026. He has no prior judicial experience. His endorsers include Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, who wrote the income tax bill. Speaker Laurie Jinkins. Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck. Over three dozen state legislators. Every endorser is a current officeholder who caucuses with Democrats or a sitting justice appointed by a Democratic governor. Not one Republican endorsement has been confirmed.
Larson has the Washington State Republican Party’s official recommendation. WAGOP broke from avoiding early endorsements specifically to back him and David Stevens in Position 3, citing the income tax case, the LEOFF 1 pension termination lawsuit, and the sheriff decertification challenges all heading to this court. Larson has run for the Supreme Court four times. In 2024 he came within striking distance of defeating Justice Mungia despite being significantly outspent.
Two other candidates are in the race. Sharonda Amamilo, a Thurston County Superior Court judge endorsed by Justice Whitener, has raised $14,981. Greg Miller, an appellate attorney who filed May 7, has raised $0. In a four-person primary where the top two advance, a near-even split at the top with Amamilo drawing from the same donor pool as Angelis is the dynamic that makes this race genuinely competitive. Primary August 4. Top two advance. General November 3. I publish the full research and sourced breakdowns on Substack every week. Search Shane Kidwell if you want the deeper dive.
RUSHBABE’S RECOMMENDATION: VOTE FOR DAVE LARSON FOR SUPREME COURT.
5 people will determine if WA state has an income tax for the first time in our states history. The media doesn’t talk about those 5 positions much… I’ve been doing some digging on each and today wanted to share about WA Supreme Court Position 1. But first let me connect some dots…
The Solicitor General of Washington state emailed the income tax bill’s sponsor last December telling him how to write the bill so voters could not challenge it through referendum. His name is Noah Purcell. Remember that name.
The email is a public record. The Supreme Court cited it in a footnote on May 4 and chose not to look at it.
The justice running for Position 1 is Colleen Melody. For eleven years she ran the Civil Rights Division inside the Attorney General’s office, under Bob Ferguson, when he was AG. Her division led Washington’s challenges to the Muslim travel ban, the transgender military service ban, the effort to end birthright citizenship, and the attempt to repeal DACA.
Ferguson became governor and appointed her to the Supreme Court in November 2025. Per PDC (Public Disclosure Commission): Melody has raised $168,517. Purcell donated to her campaign. Remember who Purcell is? The Solicitor General…
Current AG Nick Brown donated. Both are officials whose office advises on and will argue the income tax case. She is the only judicial candidate either of them backed this cycle. Additional thousands in donations came from AGO staff. She is endorsed by every sitting Supreme Court justice, Ferguson, former Governor Inslee, and multiple state legislators who voted to pass the income tax.
The Washington State Republican Party has called for her recusal from income tax rulings given her professional ties to the office that designed the bill.
Her challenger Scott Edwards has raised $11,124 per PDC. He is the tax attorney and former UW law professor who litigated against the capital gains ruling and against Seattle’s income tax. His career is the documented counterpart to Melody’s on the tax question.
A third challenger, Laura Christensen Colberg, a family law attorney and 18-year pro tem commissioner in Snohomish County, has raised $0. She told Center Square she wants to bring a different perspective to what she called the generally liberal high court. Melody holds a 15-to-1 fundraising advantage over her nearest challenger. Primary August 4. Top two advance. General November 3. I publish the full research and sourced breakdowns on Substack every week. Search Shane Kidwell if you want the deeper dive.
RUSHBABE’S RECOMMENDATION: VOTE SCOTT EDWARDS FOR POSITION 1
Another day, another post the WA Democrats don’t want you to read…
The court that will decide whether Washington’s income tax is constitutional is the same court that just told you that you could not vote on it through referendum. Five of those nine seats are on your ballot this year.
Today we discuss Position 3…
There is a completely open seat on the Washington Supreme Court this year. Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis served one term and walked away. No incumbent. No appointee. Three people competing for a seat that runs through 2033.
Here is what the documented record shows on each.
J. Michael Diaz has raised $127,935 per PDC. He is a Division I Court of Appeals judge and a former federal judge nominated to the bench by President Obama. He previously practiced at K&L Gates, the same firm connected to Governor Ferguson and Position 5 incumbent Sound familiar?
Jaime Hawk has raised $102,249 per PDC. She is a King County Superior Court judge, former ACLU of Washington legal strategy director, and former public defender. She is endorsed by Governor Ferguson, the governor who signed the income tax, the LEOFF 1 pension termination, and the Special Appropriations budget this session. State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti donated the $4,800 PDC maximum to her campaign. Pellicciotti publicly called restoring state reserves the top financial priority for 2026 and backed the income tax as the mechanism to do it.
David Stevens has raised $10,908 per PDC. He is a Mason County Superior Court judge and former county prosecutor, elected to his current bench rather than appointed. He has the Washington State Republican Party’s recommendation.
On The Jason Rantz Show he named Clarence Thomas as his favorite justice, Antonin Scalia second, Samuel Alito third. On the current court’s direction: “We don’t have any diversity of thought on there. We’re not getting the other side now.” On his own philosophy: “If adhering to the United States Constitution, the Washington State Constitution, is conservative, then I guess I am.”
Diaz and Hawk together have raised $230,184. Stevens has $10,908. But in a three-person primary where the top two advance, if Diaz and Hawk split the progressive majority closely enough, Stevens has a realistic path. This is the documented pattern that nearly produced an upset in 2024.
Primary August 4. Top two advance. General November 3.
I publish the full research and sourced breakdowns on Substack every week. Search Shane Kidwell if you want the deeper dive.
RUSHBABE’S RECOMMENDATION: VOTE DAVID STEVENS FOR POSITION 3
The media and democratic party of WA want you to skip the primary election in August… I would argue it is the most important primary in the history of our state.
Two weeks ago the Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court signed the order telling you that you cannot vote on the income tax through a referendum.
Her name is Debra Stephens. She was appointed to the court in 2007 by Governor Christine Gregoire. She was re-elected in 2014 with the endorsement of the Washington Education Association, the union that named passing the income tax as its top legislative priority for 2026. She ran without meaningful opposition in 2020.
In 2023 she was part of the 7-2 majority that upheld the capital gains tax by recharacterizing it as an excise tax rather than an income tax. Tax Foundation analysts said that ruling appeared to signal the court’s willingness to reconsider the 1933 constitutional ban on income taxes in Washington.
Two weeks ago she signed the order that closed the referendum path.
She is seeking her fourth full term through 2033. The income tax constitutional challenge is working through the courts right now and will eventually reach whoever holds this seat.
Her four challengers all show $0 in contributions in the current PDC cycle (Public Disclosure Cycle).
Scott Edwards is a tax attorney and former UW tax law professor who litigated against the capital gains ruling she was part of and against Seattle’s income tax. His entire legal career has been built on challenging Washington’s attempts to expand tax authority.
Todd Bloom is an attorney and Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors member who ran in the 2024 court primary.
Karim Merchant is a criminal defense attorney who states he is committed to fighting government overreach.
David Shelvey is a Sumner attorney who also ran in 2024.Five people on this ballot. Top two advance August 4. General November 3.
The ballot says nonpartisan. The documented record says something more specific.
I publish the full research and sourced breakdowns on Substack every week. Search Shane Kidwell if you want the deeper dive.
RUSHBABE’S NOTE: I have caught Kidwell listing candidates running for more than one Supreme Court position! I have asked him to check his posts and update. Names in BOLD are running for only one position.
Finally, RushBabe49 recommends that ALL Washington State voters who do not want an unconstitutional income tax need to VOTE IN THIS YEAR’S PRIMARY, ESPECIALLY FOR ALL THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES!
When in doubt of who to vote for, always CHECK WHO ENDORSES THEM!! Don’t vote for candidates who worked for Ferguson, worked at K&L Gates, or the ACLU, which are all far-Left organizations and individuals. This year’s Primary may be the most important in the history of Washington State. Get out there and vote in August!! Thank you for your attention to this matter.
More helpful information for Washington voters.
Calling-all-RushBabes 