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No endorsement

The race

Two state House seats are at stake in Washington's House District 29, each for a two-year term, elected by position: voters choose separately for Position 1 and Position 2, so this article calls each position separately and endorses per seat — the seat count is two. Washington uses a top-two primary: the two highest finishers in each position advance to the general election regardless of party, which is why some positions below show two candidates of the same party and no candidate of the other. The confirmed general-election roster, per Ballotpedia — Washington House of Representatives elections, 2026 (roster strength: compilation (Ballotpedia)), is: Pos. 1: Melanie Morgan (Democratic Party); Krista Perez (Democratic Party); Pos. 2: Joe Bushnell (Democratic Party); Patrick Stickney (Democratic Party). Incumbents as marked in the Ballotpedia general-election table: Pos. 1: Melanie Morgan (Democratic Party). Where an incumbent is marked but absent from a position's roster above, that position is open; the row notes in the research file carry the detail.

Spot-verification, October 25, 2026: this roster was corroborated against Ballotpedia House general-election table (Morgan incumbent vs. Perez; Bushnell vs. Stickney); no correction resulted.

Roster note from the inventory: Pos. 2 has no incumbent marked (i) on the general ballot in Ballotpedia general table.

The candidates, claim by claim

### Position 1

Melanie Morgan (D), incumbent. Melanie Morgan is the incumbent for this seat, marked (i) on the Ballotpedia general-election table, and appears on the confirmed general-election roster (Ballotpedia general-election table, accessed October 25, 2026). Morgan is listed as a DSA "endorsee" - not a member - on Wikipedia's List of Democratic Socialists of America public officeholders. An endorsement is a cluster fact, not a personal program; see the call below.

Pros: A sitting incumbent whose constituents know the record. Cons: No documented break with the Democratic Party toward this publication's values was located in the compiled record — no Manchin-test break. The organizing vote adds to a Democratic caucus whose program this publication opposes; that caucus weight is lighter in the House than in the Senate, but it does not create an exception where no break exists. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist — a reliable party-line vote, which is the standing reason the exception for a Democrat is not earned here. The DSA listing for Morgan is endorsee-only: an endorsement cluster is Enabler-class evidence, never the Extremist tier, and it is not priced as one.

Krista Perez (D), nominee. Krista Perez appears on the confirmed general-election roster for this district (Ballotpedia general-election table, accessed October 25, 2026). No detailed voting-record, biography, or signature-claim file for this candidate was verified at this sourcing depth, and none is invented here.

Pros: A willing nominee giving the district's Democratic voters a choice on the ballot. Cons: No documented break with the Democratic Party toward this publication's values was located in the compiled record — no Manchin-test break. The organizing vote adds to a Democratic caucus whose program this publication opposes; that caucus weight is lighter in the House than in the Senate, but it does not create an exception where no break exists. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist — a reliable party-line vote, which is the standing reason the exception for a Democrat is not earned here.

### Position 2

Joe Bushnell (D), nominee. Joe Bushnell appears on the confirmed general-election roster for this district (Ballotpedia general-election table, accessed October 25, 2026). No detailed voting-record, biography, or signature-claim file for this candidate was verified at this sourcing depth, and none is invented here.

Pros: A willing nominee giving the district's Democratic voters a choice on the ballot. Cons: No documented break with the Democratic Party toward this publication's values was located in the compiled record — no Manchin-test break. The organizing vote adds to a Democratic caucus whose program this publication opposes; that caucus weight is lighter in the House than in the Senate, but it does not create an exception where no break exists. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist — a reliable party-line vote, which is the standing reason the exception for a Democrat is not earned here.

Patrick Stickney (D), nominee. Patrick Stickney appears on the confirmed general-election roster for this district (Ballotpedia general-election table, accessed October 25, 2026). No detailed voting-record, biography, or signature-claim file for this candidate was verified at this sourcing depth, and none is invented here.

Pros: A willing nominee giving the district's Democratic voters a choice on the ballot. Cons: No documented break with the Democratic Party toward this publication's values was located in the compiled record — no Manchin-test break. The organizing vote adds to a Democratic caucus whose program this publication opposes; that caucus weight is lighter in the House than in the Senate, but it does not create an exception where no break exists. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist — a reliable party-line vote, which is the standing reason the exception for a Democrat is not earned here.

OUR CALL

Position 1: We make no endorsement for this seat. No Republican is on this general ballot — Washington's top-two primary advanced two Democrats, Melanie Morgan and Krista Perez. A Democrat earns an endorsement here only through the Manchin test (a documented in-service break with their party toward our values) or the Extremist Rule, and neither fires on this file: no Manchin-test break was located for either candidate, and no candidate here meets the Extremist tier (no documented DSA membership, self-described democratic-socialist identification, or authored socialist program was located for either). Both are priced Enabler class. Service records that exist in the file — incumbency included — are printed above as fact; under our doctrine they do not substitute for the Manchin test.

Position 2: We make no endorsement for this seat. No Republican is on this general ballot — Washington's top-two primary advanced two Democrats, Joe Bushnell and Patrick Stickney. A Democrat earns an endorsement here only through the Manchin test (a documented in-service break with their party toward our values) or the Extremist Rule, and neither fires on this file: no Manchin-test break was located for either candidate, and no candidate here meets the Extremist tier (no documented DSA membership, self-described democratic-socialist identification, or authored socialist program was located for either). Both are priced Enabler class. Service records that exist in the file — incumbency included — are printed above as fact; under our doctrine they do not substitute for the Manchin test.

For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 4, 2026

Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

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