Sound Politics

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On this week's episode: early results are trickling in for the August primary. How did incumbents fare against a slew of challengers?

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We now know that Seattle Police Department Chief Shon Barnes has resigned. It caps off a dramatic day at the city where it was unclear whether the Chief Barnes had a job. We're wading through it on this week's Sound Politics.

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Two former Democratic Governors of Washington -- Christine Gregoire and Gary Locke -- have concerns about how much Democrats in Olympia are spending and whether a huge new program like the "millionaires tax" will fix the state’s budget woes.

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Washington Republicans come in many flavors, and right now, all of them are competing to represent the center of the state in Congress.

On this week’s Sound Politics, we meet the top candidates for an open seat in the 4th Congressional District, and untangle the drama behind the all-important Trump endorsement.

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Across the country, progressive Democrats are ousting establishment candidates who have, in some cases, been in office for decades.

Could we see the same dynamic play out in Washington? Or are establishment Democrats here too progressive to be challenged to the left?

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The Supreme Court says states like Idaho can ban trans girls from sports.  But what does that mean for our state and the initiative we will vote on in November?

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Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer ...

Voting by mail is under attack -- from the Supreme Court, from President Trump -- and big changes could be coming this year. Should you be worried about dropping your ballot in the mail?

Guest: Jake Goldstein Street, reporter at The Washington State Standard

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College sports is chaos right now. But Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Washington's Maria Cantwell are trying to do something about that with the Protect College Sports Act. It just passed the Senate Commerce Committee and heads to the Senate floor next. What's in the bill? And what do politicians gain when they take on this type of legislation?

Guest
Danny O'Neil, Seattle sportswriter and author of The Dang Ap...

Mayor Wilson joins Sound Politics to talk about Seattle's preparedness for the World Cup, CCTV cameras, and her goal to stand up 500 shelter beds before the first match

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Cathar...

Both parties are rushing to gerrymander their Congressional districts as fast as they can. Nobody thinks this is good for Democracy. Is there a better way?

The team at More Equitable Democracy thinks there is, and it is being used right across the Columbia in Portland, OR.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson....

As state legislatures across the country rush to redraw Congressional maps, will Washington follow their lead? Democrats in Olympia think it’s possible, but they need to win some local elections first.

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Washington’s state prisons have come under the eye of the federal Department of Justice for housing a little over a dozen trans women in a women’s prison. There’s a lot of anger over this policy on the right. And lawsuits on both sides of the issue claiming peoples’ constitutional rights are being violated.  We’ll dig into the facts with the Seattle Times' Lauren Girgis.

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The discourse has gotten really heated about progressive politics versus business growth. But is this overblown? We talk to a former tax-the-rich Democrat who now reps Seattle's business community: Joe Nguyen.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member...

Washington state Democrats feel hopeful, some are talking about winning a two-thirds supermajority, a real longshot this year. But first: they will look to fend off attacks from inside their own party.

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Since Governor Ferguson took office in 2025, he’s done few media availabilities or sitdowns with podcasts like the one you’re listening to. He’s also overhauled how the state government communicates with the public. What does that mean for people trying to understand what’s going on in Olympia?

Read Melissa Santos' reporting at Axios Seattle here.

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Very few people pay attention to Supreme Court elections in the Evergreen state. In 2024, two of three judges ran unopposed.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Ou...

As Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson marks her 100th day in office, we look at where she stands on key campaign promises about shelter and CCTV cameras.

Here's that link we promised to a piece about Joel Connelly in MyNorthwest. https://mynorthwest.com/local/joel-connelly-seattle-p-i-dies/4228791

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The legislative session in Olympia is over, and do you know where your legislator is now? Because it turns out they are probably herding bison (if you live in Moses Lake), or practicing forestry (If you're living in Centralia), or law or medicine.

Washington has a part-time legislature, and most lawmakers have day jobs. But some say that should change, and “state legislator" should be a full time job. This year's effor...

The so-called millionaires tax has been signed into law, but the fight over it is barely beginning. Now, it moves to the courts -- and potentially onto your ballot.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. ...