Bellevue—Common-sense conservative candidates, supported and highlighted by the WAGOP, achieved big wins in school board elections recently, as did conservative city council candidates across the state.

In Federal Way, WAGOP Supported candidate Joan Marie Murphy, a former special education teacher, defeated teacher-librarian Gavin Downing for a position on the school board, by more than ten percentage points, or 1,800 votes, with 10,098 total ballots cast in her favor.

In Skagit County to the north, WAGOP supported candidate Lindy Mullen Doyle leads incumbent challenger Christina Jepperson in a tight race for Sedro-Woolley School Board.

“Earlier this fall, we identified 36 bellwether school board races based on political leaning, geography, voting coalitions, etc. that would help determine the future of Washington State’s political direction and the movement our Republican Party is making,” said WAGOP Chairman Jim Walsh. “If we succeeded in these races, then it means our revamped messaging and new boots-on-the-ground political strategies are working. I’m ecstatic to be able to say that THEY ARE WORKING.”

Conservative candidates are also gaining traction in city council races across the state. In Yakima, District 5 and District 7 challengers Rick Glen and Reedy Berg handily beat incumbents Soneya Lund and Holly Cousens with 56.62% and 53.27% of the vote, respectively.

Similarly, in Yakima’s District 1, Leo Roy, a political newcomer, defeated incumbent City Council member Dulce Gutierrez with 58.3% of the vote to Gutierrez’s 41.08%.

With three seats on the Yakima Council turning over, the balance of power on the seven-member board is sure to shift—and that’s not just a good thing for common-sense conservatives, it’s a great thing for the citizens of Yakima.

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