Washington State Senate | |
|---|---|
| Washington State Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 9, 2023 |
| Leadership | |
President pro tempore | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 49 |
 | |
Political groups | Majority Caucus
Minority Caucus
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Authority | Article II,Washington State Constitution |
| Salary | $56,881/year + per diem[1] |
| Elections | |
Last election | November 5, 2024 (25 seats) |
Next election | November 3, 2026 (24 seats) |
| Redistricting | Washington Redistricting Commission |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| State Senate Chamber Washington State Capitol Olympia,Washington | |
| Website | |
| leg.wa.gov/senate | |
TheWashington State Senate is theupper house of theWashington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of approximately 160,000. The state senate meets at theLegislative Building inOlympia.
As with thelowerHouse of Representatives, state senators serve withoutterm limits, and senators serve four-year terms. Senators are elected from the same legislative districts as House members, with each district electing one senator and two representatives. Terms are staggered so that half the Senate is up for reelection every two years.
Like otherupper houses ofstate and territorial legislatures and the federalU.S. Senate, the state senate can confirm or rejectgubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions, and boards.
Thestate constitution allows both houses to write their own rules of procedure (article II, section 9) and to elect their own officers (article II, section 10) with the proviso that the lieutenant governor may preside in each house and has a deciding vote in the Senate, but that the Senate may choose a "temporary president" in the absence of the lieutenant governor. The prevailing two-party system has produced current senate rules to the effect that the president pro tempore is nominated by the majority party caucus and elected by the entire Senate.
Lieutenant GovernorDenny Heck is constitutionally the president of the Senate. The current president pro tempore isSteve Conway. The majority leader is DemocratJamie Pedersen. The minority leader is RepublicanJohn Braun.
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Vacant | |||
| End of previous legislature | 29 | 20 | 49 | 0 | |
| Begin 69th legislature | 30 | 19 | 49 | 0 | |
| April 19, 2025[2] | 29 | 48 | 1 | ||
| June 3, 2025[3] | 30 | 49 | 0 | ||
| Latest voting share | 61.2% | 38.8% | |||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
47°02′09″N122°54′16″W / 47.0358°N 122.9045°W /47.0358; -122.9045
