Shift Washington

In an interview from June, Chad Magendanz joins the podcast to discuss his run for the state senate's 5th legislative district. Chad discusses his background, including submarining, teaching, legislating, and school boarding. Chad gives a rundown of the 5th district and the issues facing the state of Washington. How does Chad define himself in a sea of political labels? What does he think scho...

Snoqualmie City Councilmember Rob Wotton joins the show to discuss his race for King County Council. We learn how Rob has been a longtime champion of small businesses and how that led him to run for office. We discuss the troubling business climate, stifling cost of living, and rising crime levels in King County, and, given these trends, why always siding with the majority isn't the leadership...

Rep. Andrew Barkis joins the pod to explain why Washington is in a housing "crisis." He describes the impact of long-standing single-party rule leading to more and more central planning gone awry. We talk rent control...excuse us, rent "stabilization"...before transitioning to transportation. How would a road usage bill actually work?

Rep. Chris Corry joins the show for another legislative update. Chris serves as the Republican Deputy Leader, and he explains what exactly that job entails. We dive into various policy topics centering around a rhetorical question: Can the government love your children? We discuss the recent controversy sparked by Sen. Pedersen's comments on Fox News, men in women's sports, and failures of...

All aboard for this issue-focused episode as we welcome Charles Prestrud from the Washington Policy Center for an all-things transportation discussion. We talk about transportation funding in the overall landscape of the budget. Especially considering the shortfall, how do we balance basic transportation needs along with federal mandates? Will tariffs have much of an impact? How's it going wit...

Rep. Travis Couture joins the show to break down the hot-button topics arising in the early days of the legislative session. Travis tells us about his background and how he became the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee. We discuss the recent controversial rules change in the state house, in which Democrats changed a long-standing rule to make it easier for the majority to end deb...

Rep. Skyler Rude joins the podcast to provide an overview of proposed educational legislation under consideration. Skyler tells us about the challenge and possible gamesmanship to the "parent's rights" initiative which passed last year. We also discuss the benefits of restricting cellphones in schools, the importance of financial education for our youth, and how apprenticeships can supplement stan...

We are stoked to welcome House Republican Leader Rep. Drew Stokesbary to the podcast for another legislative preview. Drew shares how he became interested in politics and ultimately ran for office. He helps break down the current budget situation and what factors led to the projected deficit. We discuss basic economics around hot topics such as rent control and wealth tax and how Republicans can t...

Just in time to kick off the 2025 legislative session, Senate Minority Leader John Braun joins the podcast to give us a legislative preview. We learn about Senator Braun’s background and how he came to run for office and climbed up the leadership ladder to his current role as minority leader. We get an inside-baseball breakdown of what a caucus leader actually does and insights into the general op...

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords…but for those who don't, we have Jai Jaisimha with the Transparency Coalition is here to talk all things artificial intelligence ("AI" for those in the know). We learn how his organization promotes safety for children, transparency in AI development, and state legislatures play a massive role. Jai tells us about his early start in the AI world at the Uni...

Republican strategist, veteran campaign guru, Shift Washington founder, and general all-around political renaissance man Randy Pepple joins the show. Randy gives his thoughts about the state of Republican politics in Washington and whether the GOP can compete with the King County behemoth. Randy discusses " The Blueprint " which transformed Colorado into a Democratic stronghold, and what lessons c...

Attorney Jackson Maynard joins the podcast to discuss the Citizen Action Defense Fund. We learn about Jackson's background and how he became involved with CADF to litigate constitutional issues in Washington. For the main event, Jackson breaks down the case of Smith vs WSDOT, the whistleblower case that made headlines over the financial impact of the Climate Commitment Act. Mr. Smith's calculation...

We welcome Dale Whitaker to the podcast to discuss his candidacy to be Washington's next Secretary of State. Dale tells us why he decided to run for this position and discusses whether election security is really an issue in Washington. How can we use technology to improve faith in our elections? How does one differentiate between election "integrity" and being an election "denier?" What have Wash...

At long last, we welcome the Notorious JHB to the pod! Fresh off a Seattle Times endorsement, Jaime Herrera-Beutler joins the show to discuss her race to be the next Commissioner of Public Lands. Exactly what does the Commissioner of Public Lands do? What can be done to reduce wildfires? What does managing a forest look like? Is using a mouse outdated? Jaime answers all those questions and more! V...

The unflappable Pete Serrano joins the latest podcast. We hear a bit about Pete's background and what inspired him to go to law school, his background as an environmental lawyer, and what eventually led to his decision to run for office. Pete helps us break down the mission of the Attorney General's office and how it impacts the everyday lives of Washingtonians. We also discuss the AG offi...

What debates? We go full counter-programming by welcoming the inestimable Ashley Stubbs for our first-ever video podcast. Ashley is here to tell us all about the world of campaign collateral. We look through Ashley's treasure chest of trinkets, merch, swag, tchotchkes, knickknacks, and junk that campaigns produce. We discuss their effectiveness, creativity, and what actually cost Mayor Pete th...

We welcome Patrick McLaughlin to the podcast for a deep dive into the world of regulations. Patrick is the Director of Policy Analytics and a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He has launched a new project reviewing the multitude of regulations at the state level and breaking down the corresponding economic impacts. Where does Washington rank and what can we...

Judge Dave Larson enters the chambers of our podcast to tell us about his candidacy for a seat on the Washington State Supreme Court. We learn how he first became interested in the law, ultimately became a judge, and why he is running for the Supreme Court.  We discuss whether judges are truly "elected" in this state and what it is like campaigning for a judicial position. We also discus...

Your humble hosts break down the results of the Washington state primary election. Why are people reflexively voting for Cantwell? What did we learn in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th congressional races? Who exactly is George Kessler? We touch on all those federal questions and pontificate about the major state races including OSPI, commissioner of public lands, and that other one.

Jacquelin Maycumber joins the podcast to discuss her race for the 5th congressional district. We ask Jacquelin why she wants to join such a dysfunctional body and how Congress can get back to doing it's job. We touch on national debt and entitlement reform as well as the border and fentanyl crisis. Jacquelin describes what the GOP should stand for and what conservatism means to her before she help...

David Olson joins the podcast to discuss his candidacy to lead the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. We learn what exactly the OSPI does, what "putting kids & parents first" means, and the implications of I-2081. We discuss how the OSPI should address learning loss and the growing trend of restricting cell phones and social media in schools and how David was at the forefront of t...

Leslie Lewallen joins the show to discuss her race to represent Washington's 3rd congressional district. We hear how Leslie grew interested in politics and eventually ran for the Camas city council. Leslie tells us why she decided to run for Congress after Republicans lost the seat in 2022 and why she would even want to work in such a dysfunctional, frustrating place. We discuss problems facing Wa...

Michael Baumgartner joins the show to discuss his race to represent Washington's 5th congressional district. We ask Michael why on earth he'd want to work in such a dysfunctional place, and about his thoughts on the fentanyl crisis and the border. We boldly go where your average podcast wouldn't dare by asking about social security before broaching the topic on everybody's mind: the Jones Act. We...

A very special bonus episode as Ken speaks with U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Raul Garcia amid his Freedom From Fentanyl Walk. Raul is embarking on a grueling trek from Central Washington to Seattle to raise awareness to this national crisis. And if you missed that: he's walking. We learn how his body and mind are holding up and Raul shares the story of his own family's struggle with addiction. What i...

PATRIOT: Listen to this podcast NOW and your listening will be matched 3X! Tired of the constant barrage of alarmist and threatening fundraising texts and emails? That is why we called in an expert! Amy Harris from Red Strategies joins the podcast to do a campaign finance deep-dive. While discussing the root of all evil, we touch on the importance of money to a campaign, the trouble with bloviatin...