A Pasco state senator says she doesn't plan on moving anytime soon to run in a new legislative district after a boundary change effectively ousted her from the 15th District.
Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, sent a news release this week endorsing a fellow Republican in the neighboring 14th Legislative District, clarifying that she does not plan to move across town in Pasco this year in order to run in that district.
She didn't say if she eventually plans to challenge a longstanding Republican in the 16th District where she now lives. The Eastern Washington Latina still has two years left on her term representing the 15th despite the fact that she now lives in the new 16th.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik in Western Washington approved new legislative boundaries following a 2023 decision to fix voting maps after finding the boundaries drawn by state redistricting commission had "cracked" apart Yakima Valley Latino communities.
The 14th District seat will be up for election this fall.
Torres spoke about her future in the Legislature in this week's statement.
"I wish I could move into the new (Legislative District) 14, but family obligations prevent me from doing so," she said in the statement provided by the Washington Senate Republican Campaign Committee.
"Because of my decision not to move, my deepest hope is that Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima) will run and continue being the great senator serving the 14th District as he has for the last 17 years," she said.
King serves as ranking member on both the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee and Transportation Committee, and also serves on the chamber's Rules Committee.
"He works hard and is greatly respected by both parties," Torres said. "There is no better candidate for the job ...."
Torres could run for the 16th District's senate seat, but that position is currently being represented by Senate Republican Deputy Whip Perry Dozier, who plans to run for re-election this year.
Torres won election to her first term in the Washington Legislature in 2022, replacing retired Sen. Jim Honeyford. She previously served on the Pasco City Council and works as a manager at Western Governors University.
The court ruling and new map have become a lightning rod for Washington state politicians, with Republicans and Torres denouncing it as partisan gerrymandering and a "mockery of the Voting Rights Act," and Democrats blessing the decision as a benefit to Central Washington Latinos.
Race for WA 14th, 15th districts
The new map will have a widespread impact on legislative district races later this year.
Thirteen of Washington's 49 legislative districts saw changes with the court-appointed map, and five state lawmakers found their properties and homes drawn out of the district they represent. More than a half-million voters were moved between districts, too, according to the Washington State Standard.
The Washington Legislature is made up of 147 lawmakers in the state House and Senate.
Each legislative district elects two representatives and a senator to represent it. They are part-time, paid positions, convening in January in Olympia for either a 60-day or 105-day session.
The filing period for candidates wanting to run for office this year begins Monday, May 6, and ends Friday, May 10. That paperwork must be submitted with the Washington Secretary of State's Office.
So far, nine candidates have filed fundraising paperwork with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission to run for five seats in the 14th and 15th legislative districts.
The candidates in the Yakima Valley — which include four incumbents — have so far raised more than $360,000 from contributors.
Lasnik's new map is expected to give Democrats a double-digit point advantage over Republicans in the new 14th Legislative District, which encompasses downtown and east Pasco, downtown Yakima, the Yakama Indian Reservation, Sunnyside and Grandview.
So far, three Democrats have announced their candidacy for the 14th. That includes Sunnyside resident Chelsea Dimas and Raul Martinez, who are running to become the district's representative, and Yakima resident Maria Beltran.
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