After years of uninterrupted Democratic control in Olympia, Washington is now staring down an $80+ billion budget, multi-billion-dollar deficits, and—naturally—a brand-new income tax. Mission accomplished?

The Washington State Republican Party is eyeing a handful of swing districts in 2026, arguing that flipping just 4–5 seats could finally slow the legislative freight train. And honestly, when one party is just a few seats away from a supermajority, “checks and balances” starts to look more like a historical concept than a current reality.

Let’s review what Democrats have delivered with their near-total control:

• A budget that’s more than doubled since 2016

• A $2 billion spending increase… during deficits

• A shiny new 9.9% income tax (don’t worry, they promise it’s only for millionaires… for now)

• Creative accounting tricks—raiding reserves and pension funds—to pretend it all balances

And if that wasn’t enough, they also pushed policies expanding government power, including letting unelected bureaucrats overrule elected sheriffs and giving the attorney general broader authority. Because clearly, what this situation needed was less accountability.

Republicans argue that voters are starting to notice—and that issues like the income tax, rising spending, and top-down governance could finally push moderates (and even a few Democrats) to reconsider.

Meanwhile, Democrats insist everything is going great. According to party leadership, the income tax is “popular,” the spending is “historic,” and any opposition is just “fear-mongering.” Convenient framing when you control all the levers of power.

The looming wildcard? The courts. Washington’s constitution has a long history of rejecting income taxes, but if that interpretation changes, critics warn the “millionaires tax” could quietly evolve into something much broader.

So heading into 2026, the question isn’t just whether Republicans can flip a few seats.

It’s whether voters look at a decade of one-party rule—higher spending, new taxes, and expanding government control—and decide they’ve seen enough. Read more at Center Square.

Starbucks isn’t just dipping a toe into Nashville—it’s cannonballing.

New reporting shows the company is scouting up to 250,000 square feet of office space in Tennessee, enough room for as many as 2,000 employees. That’s not a “small satellite office.” That’s a full-blown corporate expansion—just not in Seattle.

And the timing? Almost too perfect.

Washington Democrats just pushed through a state income tax, despite years of warnings that it would push employers out the door. Meanwhile, Tennessee—where Starbucks is expanding—has no income tax at all. Funny how that works.

Originally, Starbucks framed the move as a modest supply chain shuffle. But a quarter-million square feet tells a different story: this is scale, this is commitment, and this is companies quietly voting with their feet.

Even business analysts are connecting the dots. Post-COVID mobility has made it easier than ever for companies to relocate—and they’re increasingly choosing places with lower taxes, fewer headaches, and better quality of life for employees.

And Nashville? It’s basically rolling out the red carpet:

• Major employers like Oracle, Amazon, and FedEx are already there

• Over 1.5 million square feet of office space absorbed in recent months

• Lower costs, lighter regulation, and—again—no state income tax

Meanwhile, Washington’s pitch to employers seems to be: higher taxes, bigger budgets, and more government control.

Starbucks insists its headquarters will stay in Seattle. Sure. But when you’re shifting thousands of jobs to a tax-free state, that’s less of a vote of confidence and more of a slow-motion exit strategy.

Seattle’s loss, Nashville’s gain—and yet another reminder that when policymakers ignore economic reality, businesses don’t stick around to argue. They just leave. Read more at Seattle Red.

Seven years after shutting down the Anacortes-to-Sidney ferry route, Washington State Ferries is now saying: maybe check back in 2030.

Yes, 2030.

The international route—once a key connection between Washington and British Columbia—has been “temporarily suspended” since COVID. At this point, “temporary” apparently means a full decade, give or take.

So what’s the holdup? According to state officials:

• Not enough ferries

• Not enough certified boats

• Not enough urgency

In fact, the system doesn’t even currently have a vessel approved for international travel anymore. The one that did? They let the certification expire. Problem solved… permanently?

Meanwhile, Washington taxpayers are still footing the bill—about $250,000 a year—to maintain a Canadian ferry dock that hasn’t seen a boat since 2020 and won’t for years to come. Nothing says “efficient government” like paying rent on something you don’t use.

Local communities, businesses, and travelers who relied on the route aren’t buying the excuses. A grassroots group has now filed a lawsuit, arguing the state has effectively abandoned the route without legal authority.

And honestly, it’s hard to argue with them. When a “pause” stretches into a decade, at some point it stops being a delay and starts looking like quiet cancellation.

State officials insist they’re committed to restoring service. They just need more boats, more time, and—presumably—more taxpayer money.

In the meantime, travelers are left driving hours out of the way or relying on private options, while Washington’s once-proud ferry system continues its slow drift into dysfunction.

Because under one-party rule, even running boats across the water has become too much to manage. Read more at the Washington State Standard.

Washington and Oregon officials just dropped the latest price tag for the Interstate 5 bridge replacement: $14.4 billion.

That’s not a typo. It’s also not the original estimate.

This project started in the $5–7 billion range, crept toward $10 billion, and has now officially more than doubled. And they’re still promising it’ll all work out—eventually.

To cope with the ballooning cost, planners are already scaling things back and delaying parts of the broader five-mile corridor. Translation: less project, more money.

But don’t worry—leaders insist they’re being “smart” with taxpayer dollars.

Here’s where the money is going:

• $7.65 billion just for the bridge itself and connecting infrastructure

• Light rail extension into Vancouver (because no mega-project is complete without it)

• Nearly 30 add-ons like bus facilities and ramp tweaks

And how are they paying for it?

• Federal taxpayers: $2.1+ billion (so far)

• State taxpayers: $1 billion each from WA and OR

• Drivers: tolls coming in 2027, possibly higher than originally promised

Of course, with costs exploding, both states are now bracing to cough up even more—and drivers should probably expect those toll estimates to age about as well as the original budget.

Even critics saw this coming. Analysts warned months ago the project could hit as high as $17 billion. Turns out, they weren’t being pessimistic—they were being realistic.

Meanwhile, construction might not wrap until 2032 or later. So after a decade of planning and another decade of building, Washington might finally get a bridge… at more than double the price.

At this point, the only thing moving faster than this project is the cost estimate.

And once again, taxpayers are stuck watching a government-run mega-project follow the same predictable script: underestimate, overspend, and then ask for more. Read more at the Washington State Standard.

In an op-ed by Mike Fancher, president of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, the message is clear: if you’re looking for transparency in Washington state government, you might want to bring a flashlight.

Fancher lays out a pretty bleak reality—despite all the talk about openness during Sunshine Week, access to public information is steadily getting worse. Lawmakers are piling on new secrecy rules, and the courts are now helping lock the doors.

Consider the trend:

• The Public Records Act started with 10 exemptions in 1972

• Today? More than 700 exemptions

• Just this last session: 40+ bills that would further restrict access

That’s not “modernizing transparency”—that’s burying it.

While a few of the worst bills were stopped (thanks to public pushback), almost none of the proposals to increasetransparency made it through. Even recommendations from the state’s own Sunshine Committee to remove outdated secrecy rules were ignored.

And then came the real kicker.

A Washington Court of Appeals ruling handed lawmakers what amounts to a blank check for secrecy, declaring they can withhold internal records entirely under “legislative privilege.” Translation: the people funding the government now get to watch from the cheap seats while decisions are made behind closed doors.

Fancher doesn’t sugarcoat it—the public has effectively been reduced to an audience watching a scripted performance, with no real way to see how decisions are actually made.

Democrats, who control Olympia, love to talk about accountability. But session after session, the trend is the opposite: more secrecy, fewer disclosures, and less oversight.

The result? A government that increasingly operates out of sight—while insisting it’s doing so in your best interest.

Sunshine Week, indeed. Read more at Center Square.

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