State Representative Pos. 1
August 4, 2026 · Legislative (House) District 37; Washington · State house district · primary
How do we calculate vote impact?
Vote impact = representation (how much weight one vote carries here, the smaller the district's population, the higher the representation) + decisiveness (how likely this race is to be close, based on past results and number of candidates).
Representation: Low · 0 out of 100
This district is large for its type, so each vote is a smaller slice of the outcome. About 164,798 people live here.
score = 100 × ln(largest population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(largest ÷ smallest), rounded to 2 decimals = 100 × ln(164,798 ÷ 164,798) ÷ ln(164,798 ÷ 152,644) = 0, comparing state house districts in WA (grades: 66+ high, 33+ average, otherwise low)
Decisiveness: Unknown
No past results for this contest yet.
Low representation + unknown decisiveness → Below average vote impact.
Some data is missing, so this rating is based on partial information and capped at "High".
This office is responsible for:
- Voting on state laws and the state budget
- Representing their district in the statehouse
- Serving on committees that shape bills before final votes
- Helping district residents deal with state agencies
Affected Areas: Environment and Public Health, Reduce Wealth Gap, Anti-Corruption, Government Efficiency, Healthcare Affordability, Government Spending Reduction, Public Safety and Crime Control, Housing Affordability, Social Programs and Welfare, Public Education Quality, Gun Control, Women's Reproductive Rights, Election Integrity, Personal Income Tax Reduction, Data Privacy, Civil Rights, Corporate Accountability, Public Infrastructure
Candidates
Kelabe Tewolde
DEMOCRATIC · declared
Kelabe Tewolde is an educator and housing advocate from Southeast Seattle. He has spent about eight years at Rainier Scholars, a college-access nonprofit, where he works in leadership development with students in grades 6 through 12. A lifelong Seattle resident raised in a working-class household by a mother who came to the United States as a refugee, he earned a B.A. in Political Science from Colgate University. He has served on the Seattle Planning Commission since 2022, where he co-chairs the Land Use and Transportation Committee, after earlier serving as the commission's Get Engaged member. His advocacy focuses on affordable housing, public school funding, health care access, and community-based violence prevention.
Sharon Tomiko Santos
DEMOCRATIC · Incumbent · declared
Sharon Tomiko Santos is a Washington State Representative who has served the 37th Legislative District in Seattle since 1998, when she became the first Japanese American woman elected to a mainland state legislature. She chairs the House Education Committee and serves on the Consumer Protection & Business and Finance committees. Before joining the Legislature she worked in banking, served on the staffs of local elected officials, and held senior management roles in nonprofit organizations, with a long record of civil rights and social justice advocacy. Her policy work focuses on education equity, affordable housing and anti-displacement, civil rights, and economic and environmental justice.
Election sources
Source: voter.votewa.gov