WashingtonIndependents.org

State Representative Joel McEntire

Joel McEntire is a Republican state representative representing Washington's 19th Legislative District. They have prime-sponsored 28 bills, of which 10 died without a public hearing.

  • Republican
  • House
  • Legislative District 19
  • 2 sessions on record
email
Joel.McEntire@leg.wa.gov
phone
(360) 786-7870

Source Washington State Legislature web services: member roster, roll calls, sponsorship and committee records · as of 2026-09-16

01

Says vs does

What this member said while seeking the office, set against how they voted once they held it. We state only whether the two records differ — never why.

No stated positions have been collected for this member yet. This comparison needs a quote with a citation — a candidate guide, a town hall transcript, a floor video — found and recorded by a person. There is no feed of things politicians said, so an empty section here means nobody has done that reading, not that the member has never contradicted themselves and not that they have.

Last checked 2026-09-16

02

Voting record

Recorded floor votes across every session we hold. Committee votes are not included — those are recorded per committee, not per member.

3,423

recorded votes

2,054

yea

1,108

nay

261

absent or excused

Recorded floor votes, most recent first
Date Bill Subject Motion This member Roll call
2026-03-12 ESHB 1295 Reading and writing literacy Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 95–0
2026-03-12 HB 1376 Capital gains tax prepayment Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 96–0
2026-03-12 HB 1526 Snack bar liquor licenses Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 87–9
2026-03-12 2SHB 1701 Liquor licensee premises Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 89–7
2026-03-12 ESHB 1795 Student restraint, isolation Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 58–37
2026-03-12 EHB 1941 Agricultural coops/cannabis Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 69–26
2026-03-12 E2SHB 2034 LEOFF 1 restatement Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 50–46
2026-03-12 SHB 2114 Defective license plates Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 96–0
2026-03-12 EHB 2179 Port workers PERS membership Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 96–0
2026-03-12 E2SHB 2215 Fuels/climate commitment act Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 57–38
2026-03-12 SHB 2239 Family burial grounds Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 96–0
2026-03-12 ESSB 6005 Transportation budget, supp. Final Passage as Recommended by the Conference Committee EXCUSED 69–26
2026-03-12 SSB 6003 Capital budget, supplemental Final Passage as Amended by the House EXCUSED 96–0
2026-03-12 ESSB 5998 Operating budget, supp. Final Passage as Recommended by the Conference Committee EXCUSED 54–43
2026-03-12 SSB 6170 Highway construction 3rd Reading & Final Passage EXCUSED 95–0
2026-03-12 ESSB 6231 Data center equipment/taxes 2663 Orcutt Pg 2 Ln 25 EXCUSED 47–50
2026-03-12 ESSB 6231 Data center equipment/taxes 3rd Reading & Final Passage EXCUSED 51–46
2026-03-12 SB 6244 Ag. crop products/tax ex. 3rd Reading & Final Passage EXCUSED 79–18
2026-03-11 E2SHB 1170 AI content notices Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 55–38
2026-03-11 ESHB 1500 CIC resale certificates Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 61–34
2026-03-11 E3SHB 1710 Voting rights act compliance Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 57–39
2026-03-11 E2SHB 1750 Voting rights act claims Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 58–38
2026-03-11 HB 1796 School construction debt Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 95–2
2026-03-11 E2SHB 1903 Low-income energy assistance Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 70–26
2026-03-11 2SHB 1906 Water system rates Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 94–2
2026-03-11 2SHB 1909 Court unification task force Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 57–38
2026-03-11 ESHB 1916 Voter registrations Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 58–38
2026-03-11 E3SHB 1960 Renewable energy Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 86–9
2026-03-11 E2SHB 1974 Land banking authorities Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 59–37
2026-03-11 2SHB 2105 Immigrant workers Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 58–38
2026-03-11 EHB 2156 AGO investigator authority Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 54–33
2026-03-11 EHB 2156 AGO investigator authority Final Passage as Amended by the Senate on Reconsideration EXCUSED 54–41
2026-03-11 EHB 2211 Medically tailored meals Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 95–0
2026-03-11 ESHB 2225 AI companion chatbots Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 74–21
2026-03-11 ESHB 2247 Veterinarian relationship Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 95–0
2026-03-11 E2SHB 2251 Climate commit. act accounts Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 54–40
2026-03-11 SHB 2296 Distributed energy resources Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 95–1
2026-03-11 ESHB 2320 Firearm manufacturing Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 58–38
2026-03-11 E2SHB 2325 Tourism assessment Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 91–5
2026-03-11 SHB 2334 Cash transactions/pennies Final Passage as Amended by the Senate EXCUSED 80–15

Showing the 40 most recent of 3,423 recorded votes. Each tally links to the roll call itself, which names every member.

The tally is what the chamber recorded, not a verdict. Final passage needs a majority of the members elected, an amendment a majority of those voting, and some motions two-thirds; which rule governed a given motion is not in the record we hold.

Votes against their own party’s majority

648

of 3,423 recorded votes went against the majority of Republican colleagues

Counted only where their party had a clear majority on that roll call. A tied party is not a position to diverge from.

Votes against the member’s own party majority
Date Bill Motion They voted Their party
2026-03-06 SSB 5520 Final Passage as Amended by the House Yea Nay (18-19 yea-nay)
2026-03-06 E2SSB 5981 Final Passage as Amended by the House Yea Nay (11-28 yea-nay)
2026-03-06 ESSB 6113 Final Passage as Amended by the House Nay Yea (34-4 yea-nay)
2026-03-05 ESSB 6002 Final Passage as Amended by the House Nay Yea (28-9 yea-nay)
2026-03-04 ESSB 6110 Final Passage as Amended by the House Nay Yea (35-3 yea-nay)
2026-03-04 SSB 6189 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (35-3 yea-nay)
2026-03-03 SSB 5825 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (30-8 yea-nay)
2026-03-03 SSB 6054 Final Passage as Amended by the House Nay Yea (31-5 yea-nay)
2026-03-03 ESB 6106 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (19-18 yea-nay)
2026-03-03 SCR 8406 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (27-10 yea-nay)
2026-02-23 E3SHB 1960 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (28-7 yea-nay)
2026-02-17 HB 2610 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (30-9 yea-nay)
2026-02-16 SHB 2244 3rd Reading & Final Passage Yea Nay (13-25 yea-nay)
2026-02-16 ESHB 2274 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (37-2 yea-nay)
2026-02-16 2SHB 2384 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (22-14 yea-nay)
2026-02-16 ESHB 2508 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (33-5 yea-nay)
2026-02-14 ESHB 2303 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (30-6 yea-nay)
2026-02-13 2ESHB 1210 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (25-11 yea-nay)
2026-02-13 ESHB 2253 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (34-2 yea-nay)
2026-02-13 SHB 2374 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (33-3 yea-nay)
2026-02-11 HB 1759 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (36-2 yea-nay)
2026-02-11 HB 2155 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (30-8 yea-nay)
2026-02-11 HB 2543 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (27-11 yea-nay)
2026-02-11 HB 2606 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (32-6 yea-nay)
2026-02-10 ESHB 1155 3rd Reading & Final Passage Yea Nay (10-28 yea-nay)

Showing the 25 most recent of 648. The full list is in the roll call records linked below.

Source WA Legislature roll-call archive · as of 2026-09-16 · rows 3,423 votes across every session held · key committee votes are not in the archive and are not counted here

03

Bills sponsored — and where they stopped

Bills where this member was the prime sponsor. Co-sponsorship is not included; the record we hold names only the prime sponsor.

28

bills prime-sponsored

6

became law

10

died without a public hearing

Introduced, referred, and the session ended without testimony taken. Ordinary rather than exceptional — 44% of all bills that die in Washington die this way.

Bills prime-sponsored by this member
Session Bill Subject Outcome Heard
2025-26 HB 1231 Public school starting times pending no
2025-26 SHB 1309 Burrowing shrimp became law yes
2025-26 EHB 1393 Commencement/cultural exp. became law yes
2025-26 HB 1538 Capital assistance/schools pending yes
2025-26 HB 2214 Self-insurers/claims pending no
2025-26 HR 4641 Julia Butler Hansen pending no
2023-24 SHB 1043 Records/comm. associations became law yes
2023-24 HB 1044 Capital assistance/schools died yes
2023-24 HB 1172 Working fam. fiscal impacts died no
2023-24 HB 1223 Emissions limits/use died no
2023-24 HB 1224 Environmental permitting died no
2023-24 HB 1444 Common school trust revenue died yes
2023-24 HB 1673 Child welfare workers died yes
2023-24 HB 1675 School safety dashboard died no
2023-24 EHB 1782 Wahkiakum county ferry became law yes
2023-24 HB 1984 State clam died no
2023-24 HB 2004 Military student early reg. became law yes
2023-24 HB 2267 Commencement/cultural exp. died yes
2023-24 HB 2310 State park heritage center died yes
2023-24 SHB 2381 School calendar waivers became law yes
2023-24 HJM 4006 SR 6/Justin R. Schaffer died yes
2021-22 HB 1324 Legislative transparency died no
2021-22 HB 1405 Sale of DNR lands died no
2021-22 HB 1501 Litter control program died no
2021-22 HB 1583 Taxes based on income died no
2021-22 HB 1638 Fireworks prohibitions died yes
2021-22 HB 1775 Capital assistance/schools died yes
2021-22 HB 2006 Fiscal notes/working fam. died no

Source WA Legislature bill status + committee agendas · as of 2026-09-16 · n 28 prime-sponsored bills across every session held · What died in committee

04

Committee seats

2025-26

  • House Committee on Education
  • House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards
  • House Committee on Postsecondary Education & Workforce

We cannot say which of these they chair. A committee chair decides what gets a hearing, which makes the role the single most consequential fact in this section — and the roster export records membership without it. Every seat above is shown as an equal membership because that is all the record supports.

Last checked 2026-09-16

Source WA Legislature committee membership records · as of 2026-09-16 · seats 3

05

Who funds this seat

Campaign finance reported to the Public Disclosure Commission. The record and the PDC share no identifier, so this is a join — on surname, given name, chamber and district for a legislator, and on the office won and the county it was won in for everyone else. Only where one person fits.

$25,441

raised, 2026 cycle

$20,300

spent

$748

average contribution

Total divided by 34 reported contributors.

$345K

raised across 5 campaigns

Every cycle we hold for this filer, not a career total — earlier campaigns may predate our coverage.

By campaign

Reported campaign finance by cycle
Cycle Raised Spent Contributors
2026 $25,441 $20,300 34
2024 $29,520 $23,546 25
2022 $55,016 $56,850 164
2020 $222,883 $219,924 105
2018 $12,140 $11,541 52

Largest reported contributors

Largest reported contributors
Contributor City Amount
WASHINGTON AFFORDABLE HOUSING COUNCIL TUWATER $2,400
Washington Hospitality Association PAC Olympia $1,800
AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC Washington $1,200
DaVita Federal Way $1,200
Puget Sound Chapter – NECA PAC Shoreline $1,200
Sabey Corporation Seattle $1,200
The Boeing Company PAC Arlington $1,200
The Nichols Group Government Relations Olympia $1,200
WA Beverage Association PAC Olympia $1,200
Washington Food Industry Association PAC Olympia $1,200
Washington Indian Gaming Association Campaign for Tribal Self-Reliance Olympia $1,200
ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON – PAC BELLEVUE $1,000
Joel McEntire $850
ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF WASHINGTONS BUILD PAC SEATTLE $600

Individual contributors, by stated employer

Private individuals are not named here unless their own public conduct already makes them a public figure; their giving appears aggregated by the employer they stated. The full itemised record is public at the PDC.

Individual contributors, grouped by stated employer
Employer stated by contributors Contributors Amount
Wiegardt and Sons Inc 1 $1,000

This filing was matched, not looked up. The Legislature and the PDC share no identifier. We matched Joel McEntire to PDC filer MCENJ 612 because the surname, the given name, the office (State Representative) and the district (19) all agree, and because only one person fits. If that is the wrong person, tell us at corrections@washingtonindependents.org and we will unpublish this section while we check — see Corrections.

Last checked 2026-09-16

Spent independently, for and against · not their money

Money spent about this member by committees that are barred by law from coordinating with them. It is not their money, they cannot return it, and it is not in the total above. Spending for someone is not money from them, and the two sides are never subtracted from each other.

  1. Spent supporting

    stance filed as “for”

    $7,708

  2. Spent opposing

    stance filed as “against” · not subtracted from the row above

    $57,413
  • SOUTHWEST WA PRIORITIES against · $57,413 · 2020
  • CONCERNED TAXPAYERS OF WASHINGTON STATE for · $5,011 · 2020
  • EVERGREEN PROGRESS for · $2,307 · 2020
  • NRA POLITICAL VICTORY FUND for · $230 · 2024
  • Fuse Votes for · $160 · 2026

Sources WA PDC C-3 contribution reports · C-6 independent expenditure and electioneering communication reports · as of 2026-09-16 · filer MCENJ 612 · key surname + given name + chamber + district — refused where more than one person fits · n 10 independent-expenditure filings name this candidate id · note independent expenditures are joined on the PDC candidate id, not on a name; they are a separate ledger, never netted against each other and never added to the committee’s own total

The original filing at the PDC

06

How the seat was won

Every certified general election this member won, from the Secretary of State canvass. The canvass names winners by printed name and the Legislature issues member ids, so each row is a stated join of the two records — never a guess.

Certified election wins for State Representative Joel McEntire
Election Seat Contest Record
November 3, 2020 State House seat 2, Legislative District 19 contested WA Secretary of State certified general election results, 2020
November 8, 2022 State House seat 2, Legislative District 19 contested WA Secretary of State certified general election results, 2022
November 5, 2024 State House seat 2, Legislative District 19 contested WA Secretary of State certified general election results, 2024

Sources Secretary of State certified results + PDC candidate filings · as of 2026-09-16 · key joined on surname + given name + chamber + district; refused where more than one member fits · note — = value absent from source export

07

Member response

This page is built from public records, and the member it describes gets space to respond to it.

No response process exists yet. When one does, anything this member sends about this page will be published here verbatim — dated, unedited, and clearly theirs. Nothing has been solicited yet, so the absence of a response here says nothing about the member.

Last checked 2026-09-16

08 · component 08

Connected records

Everything below is a link some document draws for us. Nothing here is our inference. Grouped by how well the record supports it, always in this order, never sorted by interest.

On the record · 9

One document states the relation in its own words.

Showing 8 of 9. Every edge for this record, as JSON

Joined by us, on a stated key · 3

Two documents joined on a key, and the key is named on every row.

Nothing on file

Votes are in the graph but render as vote-history tables above, not as rows here. Testimony and committee referrals are not in the graph yet — no sign-in sheet or chamber journal has been read into an edge for this member, which is not the same as none existing.

Checked 2026-09-16

Source one query on the edge table, grouped by tier · as of 2026-09-16 · edges 9 filed, 3 composite, 0 adjacency · how edges are built

09 · component 09

How to run for this office

This is an office, not a possession. Every seat here is filled by whoever files for it and wins, and the requirements are the same for everyone.

Filing requirements and next election by seat
Seat Term Next election Filing opens
State Representative, District 19 2 years 2026 May 2026

1 form

declaration of candidacy

Filed with the Secretary of State, online or on paper. It states your name as it will appear on the ballot, the office, and that you are qualified.

1 week

the filing window, every May

Monday to Friday, closing at 4:00pm. There is no late filing: miss it and the seat is decided without you.

0

signatures, endorsements, prior offices

You must be a registered voter living in the district on the day you file. That is the entire qualification, and no party is asked about you.

C-1

only once money moves

A campaign committee and PDC reporting are required within two weeks of raising or spending anything. Raise nothing and you file nothing.

What the job is. The Legislature sits for 105 days in odd-numbered years and 60 days in even ones, and the work does not stop when the session does — committee days, constituent casework and district meetings run through the interim. Someone deciding whether to file needs that more than they need anyone’s opinion of the incumbent.

Reporting follows money, not candidacy. Registering with the Public Disclosure Commission and filing contribution reports is triggered by raising and spending, not by putting your name in. A campaign that stays under the mini-reporting threshold files a short form and nothing more.

We cannot yet tell you what filing costs. The fee is one percent of the office’s annual salary (RCW 29A.24.091 — one percent of the annual salary of the office), which makes it a specific dollar amount rather than a rule — and a page that makes you compute your own filing fee has not told you the filing fee. Legislative salaries are set by the Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials and we do not hold that schedule, so the figure is missing rather than estimated. A candidate who cannot pay it may file a petition of signatures instead.

This section appears on every office page on this site, contested or not, filled or vacant. Its presence is not a comment on whoever holds the seat, and we do not say whether a seat is winnable — that would be a prediction, and this page carries records.

Source Election cycle derived from past regular elections in PDC candidate filings; requirements from RCW 29A.24 — candidate filing · as of 2026-09-16

10

What this page will not compute

Each of these is a number a reader might reasonably expect. None of them follow from the records we hold, so we do not publish them.

What the money bought
Where a filing is matched we show what was raised and from whom. Connecting that to how the member voted would be a causal claim from two records that were never linked, and campaign money is not the only thing that moves a vote.
A complete funding career
Cycles are shown back to 2009. A member who served before that has earlier campaigns we do not hold, so the career total is a floor rather than a lifetime figure.
Employers we cannot see
The employer field is filled in by the donor and left blank more often than not, so the bundling table shows employers we can see rather than every one that exists.
Whether a difference was a broken promise
Where a stated position and a vote differ we show both records and say only that they differ. Why is not in either one — an amendment, a procedural vote, or a bill that changed under the member all produce the same pair.
A complete set of statements
Positions are found and cited one at a time by a person. An empty or short list means nobody has done that reading, not that a member has said little.
Advertising
Meta’s ad library and PDC independent expenditures targeting this member are both public and neither is loaded.
What a divergent vote means
We can say a member voted against their party’s majority on a given roll call. Whether that was principle, a local interest, a drafting objection or a trade is not in the record, and the count is not a measure of independence.
Committee influence
Chair and ranking-member roles decide which bills get heard. The roster gives membership without role, so every seat here looks alike.
A member’s response
The design reserves space for one. We have no process yet for soliciting or publishing it, so the section is absent rather than empty.

11

Common questions

Which Legislative District does Joel McEntire represent?
Joel McEntire is a Republican state representative representing Washington’s 19th Legislative District.
How often does Joel McEntire break with their party?
Across 3,423 recorded floor votes we hold, Joel McEntire voted against the majority of their own party 648 times. That count is a description of the record, not a measure of independence — the record does not say why any single vote diverged.
How many bills has Joel McEntire sponsored?
Joel McEntire has prime-sponsored 28 bills, of which 6 became law. Co-sponsorship is not in the record we hold. 10 of them died without ever getting a public hearing.
How long has Joel McEntire served in the Legislature?
Joel McEntire appears in the member roster for 2 biennia, most recently 2025-26. This counts biennia on record, not continuous years.
How many state legislators represent each Washington district?
Three — one state senator and two state representatives, elected to Position 1 and Position 2. All three represent the same geography; the positions are not sub-areas.
When are Washington legislative elections held?
In even-numbered years. All 98 House seats are up every two years; Senate seats run on staggered four-year terms.

Answers are generated from the same fields as the sections above and emitted as FAQPage structured data, so a machine reader gets the identical text a person sees.

Cite this page

This is public-records reporting. Use it, and say where it came from.

“State Representative Joel McEntire,” WashingtonIndependents.org, data as of 2026-09-16, accessed 2026-09-18. https://washingtonindependents.org/official/joel-mcentire/

JSON endpointReport a correction

Our tables, figures and notes on this page are released under CC BY 4.0 — reuse them, including commercially, with attribution. The underlying records are public records of the State of Washington and were never ours to license.

12

Where this page comes from

Every figure above is read from a primary source and rebuilt on a schedule. Nothing here is modelled or inferred; where a source is silent the page says so rather than filling the gap.

WA Legislature member roster
Name, party, district, chamber and contact details, per session served.
WA Legislature roll call service
Every recorded floor vote. Committee votes are recorded per committee rather than per member and are not included.
Party divergence
Derived, not published by the Legislature. For each roll call we take the majority position of the member’s own party and flag votes against it, counting only roll calls where that party had a clear majority.
WA Legislature legislation records
Prime sponsorship, and each bill’s outcome and hearing status. Co-sponsorship is not in the record we hold.
Public Disclosure Commission candidate filings
Contributions, expenditures, the largest reported contributors and their stated employers, for every cycle back to 2007. Matched on surname and given name plus chamber and district for a legislator, or the office won and the county it was won in for everyone else — never on name alone — and only published where one person fits. Across the record that resolves 1,938 of 13,879 officials over 3,548 cycles, with 45 refused as ambiguous; the rest say why they did not match.
Not loaded
Public statements, advertising, committee roles, and committee votes by member.