Joe Nguyen
2019 - Present
2027
5
Joe Nguyen (Democratic Party) is a member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 34. He assumed office in 2019. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Nguyen (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Washington State Senate to represent District 34. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Biography
Joe Nguyen was born in Seattle, Washington. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Seattle University in 2005. Nguyen’s career experience includes working as a project manager at Microsoft. He was elected in 2018 to represent District 34 in the Washington State Senate.[1]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Nguyen was assigned to the following committees:
- Environment, Energy & Technology Committee, Chair
- Human Services Committee (Decommissioned)
- Ways & Means Committee
- Joint Energy Supply & Energy Conservation Committee
2021-2022
Nguyen was assigned to the following committees:
- Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee, Vice chair
- Senate Rules Committee
- Environment, Energy & Technology Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
2019-2020
Nguyen was assigned to the following committees:
- Environment, Energy & Technology Committee
- Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee, Vice Chair
- Senate Rules Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2026
See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Washington State Senate District 34
Incumbent Joe Nguyen is running in the general election for Washington State Senate District 34 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Joe Nguyen (D) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2022
See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Washington State Senate District 34
Incumbent Joe Nguyen defeated John Potter in the general election for Washington State Senate District 34 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Nguyen (D) | 86.1 | 59,713 |
 | John Potter (R) | 13.8 | 9,570 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 105 | ||
| Total votes: 69,388 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington State Senate District 34
Incumbent Joe Nguyen and John Potter defeated Amber Bennett, GoodSpaceGuy, and Tony Mitchum in the primary for Washington State Senate District 34 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Nguyen (D) | 83.3 | 35,911 |
| ✔ | | John Potter (R) | 9.9 | 4,289 |
| Amber Bennett (Independent) | 5.2 | 2,257 | |
 | GoodSpaceGuy (R) | 0.8 | 355 | |
| Tony Mitchum (Independent) | 0.6 | 252 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 50 | ||
| Total votes: 43,114 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Larry Hussey (Independent)
2021
See also: Municipal elections in King County, Washington (2021)
General election
General election for King County Executive
Incumbent Dow Constantine defeated Joe Nguyen in the general election for King County Executive on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dow Constantine (Nonpartisan) | 54.7 | 312,663 |
| Joe Nguyen (Nonpartisan) | 44.4 | 253,609 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 4,874 | ||
| Total votes: 571,146 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for King County Executive
Incumbent Dow Constantine and Joe Nguyen defeated Bill Hirt, GoodSpaceGuy, and Johnathon Crines in the primary for King County Executive on August 3, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dow Constantine (Nonpartisan) | 51.9 | 241,478 |
| ✔ | | Joe Nguyen (Nonpartisan) | 32.6 | 151,757 |
 | Bill Hirt (Nonpartisan) | 10.9 | 50,553 | |
| GoodSpaceGuy (Nonpartisan) | 2.8 | 12,877 | |
| Johnathon Crines (Nonpartisan) | 1.5 | 6,884 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 2,075 | ||
| Total votes: 465,624 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
To view Nguyen's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.
2018
See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Washington State Senate District 34
Joe Nguyen defeated Shannon Braddock in the general election for Washington State Senate District 34 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Nguyen (D) | 58.3 | 40,516 |
 | Shannon Braddock (D) | 41.7 | 28,996 | |
| Total votes: 69,512 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington State Senate District 34
The following candidates ran in the primary for Washington State Senate District 34 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Nguyen (D) | 31.1 | 14,019 |
| ✔ | | Shannon Braddock (D) | 24.7 | 11,114 |
| Lois Schipper (D) | 9.7 | 4,365 | |
| Sofia Aragon (D) | 9.1 | 4,099 | |
| Darla Green (R) | 7.8 | 3,523 | |
| Courtney Lyle (R) | 6.0 | 2,690 | |
| Debi Wagner (Independent) | 3.2 | 1,450 | |
| Lisa Ryan Devereau (D) | 2.9 | 1,310 | |
| Annabel Quintero (D) | 2.7 | 1,226 | |
| Hillary Shaw (Independent) | 1.8 | 790 | |
| Lemuel Charleston (D) | 1.1 | 476 | |
| Total votes: 45,062 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2022
Joe Nguyen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Joe Nguyen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nguyen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I’m the son of refugees from White Center, and worked as a janitor at my own high school. Despite great adversity, I broke the cycle of poverty through support from public services and hard work to build a successful career in the private sector.
When a terrible car accident left my father quadraplegic, our neighbors built my family a ramp that we couldn't have afforded on our own. That compassion is what motivates me to serve: the drive to build a future I’ll be proud for my three young kids to inherit.
As a State Senator, I’ve worked hard to make Washington a place where everyone has an opportunity to thrive. Since taking office, we’ve passed policies that are making a difference in people’s lives: tax breaks for seniors and working families, strengthening police accountability, and funding critical anti-poverty programs to keep people housed.
The work I’ve accomplished in Olympia shows we can get things done. I’m running for King County Executive to tackle ongoing emergencies like homelessness, housing affordability, gun violence, climate change, and economic recovery. We need leaders who share the same experiences as families in King County and will act with the urgency required to deliver results.
- The County Executive’s office has the ability to address our most pressing issues. Climate change, transit, housing, criminal justice, homelessness - all issues that are deeply impacting our communities. We have the resources and the policy plans to solve these problems, what we’ve lacked is a leader who will act with the fierce urgency of now to get it done. I know we can transform the way we work in Martin Luther King, Jr. County because we did it in the legislature, but it takes action, not just words.
- Six years after declaring homelessness an emergency, our county officials has allowed the crisis to get worse. Study after study has told us what it will take to address this situation, and what we need now are leaders who will act with urgency and be accountable to solve the most important issue in King County.
- After years of setting aggressive climate goals, King County’s leadership has failed to enact policies that will actually meet those targets according to the County’s own analysis. We know what we need to do to hit our climate goals, the only remaining question is whether we can trust the same leaders who have yet to set us on a path to avert the worst of the climate crisis to finally show the urgency needed to get the job done.
My campaign will center all of our communities needs, but our platform focuses largely on creating a Just Economy, the Environment, Transportation, Criminal Justice Reform, and Housing and Homelessness. These policies are entwined; keeping and getting people housed requires meaningful investments in public services. King County has the resources to provide quality housing and economic stability. It’s the lack of fearless leadership that has prolonged our housing and economic stratification crisis. I believe in progressive revenue sources, fixing our upside-down tax system that overly burdens working Washingtonian residents and allows the uber rich to not pay their fair share. Progressive revenue will also give the county additional resources to facilitate much needed economic development.
We desperately need to increase our public transportation capabilities, not only to better connect all areas of King County, but to mitigate our environmental impact. A robust transit system, that’s free, benefits everyone and betters accessibility to work, school, medical care and more. And the more we can get people out of cars in long, winding commutes, the better for our environment.
Criminal justice is another priority for my campaign. The youth jail never should have been built, as it perpetuates the criminalization of poverty and BIPOC communities, and fails to rehabilitate children.
The County Executive’s office is responsible for implementing critical social service programs and has the ability to address and lead on our most pressing issues. The Executive office directly oversees how we operate and provides funding for: King County Metro and Sound Transit, adult and juvenile jail, law enforcement, and court systems (currently 73% of our general fund’s budget); Public Health, our regional homelessness strategy, and sustainability practices and conservation. We have worked in the State legislature to secure huge wins, but many of our most pressing issues rely on local implementation to be solved, and are directly overseen by the Executive. Without new leadership there, we will continue to fall short of real progress for those being left behind. Another study isn’t going to solve homelessness – we know what the issues are, and it’s time to actually get to work. What we need now is leaders with the political will, and the urgency, to drive us forward.
Growing up this wasn’t the case but after having kids of my own I’ve developed a deep sense of appreciation for my mother. Being able to raise four children on her own in very difficult circumstances was incredible.
In terms of leadership, I had a manager when I worked retail at REI in college who was quiet but always made sure everything ran smoothly even if that meant he had to take on tasks that one of his employees was supposed to do. He was selfless and simply wanted everyone to be successful in their roles.
About a year after working with him I learned that he was also a world renowned mountain climber and widely respected in the outdoor community. Despite having every reason to boast about his accomplishments, he never did and just quietly went about achieving his goals and getting things done.
This sounds cliche but the musical Hamilton would be appropriate. Hamilton was an imperfect character but had the lived experiences and willingness to fight urgently. Someone who saw that we all could be better and devoted his life to his Country.
Undaunted resolve to implement the solutions we know are right. Other elected officials wait for approval from their high donors or elites before serving a very watered down plan, but I lead by what the people want and have stated are high priorities.
Elected officials must also be courageous to pursue wide encompassing policy. We often know what the solutions are, but elected officials can lack the courage to actually act on and implement them. It’s necessary to be truthful to the pursuit of improving the lives of every resident, regardless if at the time it seems unpopular or too extreme.
I understand what’s at stake if the county does not take a strong position to resolve homelessness and housing insecurity, our upside-down tax system, and the criminalization of poverty and BIPOC communities.
Undeniable dedication to see a solution through, and not prolong inaction.
When I ran for my State Senate seat in 2018, my district saw the highest turnout of voters of Vietnemese descent. I hope part of my legacy can be engaging many voters who didn’t see themselves represented or integral to our community’s politics.
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in 1989. I was six years old and remember seeing birds covered in oil on the television.
Cashier/Concessions at the Seattle Imax Theater, where I worked for 3 years.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
I read this shortly after my father passed away when I was in my early 20’s. At that point I had spent my life doing what other people wanted me to do without much consideration for what I truly wanted to become. At that point I was working in finance and spent most of my time reading reports or studies and this was one of the few fiction books I read. It gave me a different perspective on life and I quit my job shortly after finishing that book. The Alchemist alone wasn’t the reason for why I made so many life changes at that time but it felt serendipitous to have been given that book by a friend at that moment in my life.
Jean-Luc Picard for his combination of leadership style and mission to explore the unknown.
Excavator by Blippi. I have three children 6 years old and under.
We can talk about skills or formal political insider experiences being helpful, and as a State Senator I do have insight on government and legislative processes, but it means nothing without the direct lived experiences of what many King County residents endure. I grew up in public housing, having to take on multiple paying jobs as a high schooler to care for my family that was riddled with costly medical bills. I experienced the inadequate public transportation that made my commute to and from work and school an hour long, when by car it usually takes 15 minutes, all because of insufficient infrastructure in South King County, an area that’s predominately BIPOC and immigrant populated. The problems facing the county are not hypotheticals to me-- they’re pressing. I have the drive for impactful leadership to execute these much needed and possible solutions because of my lived experiences.
My first ever political race was the first race I won, and the only formal political experience I had prior to that was being an page to, ironically, Dow Constantine, at the King County Executive Office. I believe requiring or prioritizing previous experience in government or politics discounts the harsh barrier to entry many BIPOC face to get their foot in the door. We should look beyond formal experience, and more into what that particular perspective or skill they can lead with in office.
Did you hear about the corduroy pillow? No? It made headlines around the world!
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Campaign finance summary
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Scorecards
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 23.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 10 to March 10.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 11 to April 25.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 13 to March 12.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 14 through April 28.
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See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Officeholder Washington State Senate District 34 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 28, 2021
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by - |
Washington State Senate District 34 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
