Washington elects its judges, but most judicial races have no opponent — 92.6% of Court of Appeals races and 82% of District Court races go uncontested.
Washington Independents · contest rates 2014–2025, campaign finance 2026 cycle
the least contested court in the state
Contest rates by court
The pattern runs opposite to what you might expect. The courts people actually appear
in — district and municipal — are the least contested. The Supreme Court, which gets news
coverage and endorsements, is the most.
| Court | Races | Unopposed | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court of Appeals | 68 | 63 | 92.6% |
| District Court | 291 | 239 | 82.1% |
| Municipal Court | 176 | 142 | 80.7% |
| Superior Court | 201 | 120 | 59.7% |
| Washington Supreme Court | 20 | 11 | 55% |
Money in the 2026 judicial races
96 candidates filed for judicial office in 2026, raising $3,256,908 between them.
| Office | Candidates | Contributions | Raised | Avg gift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Supreme Court Justice | 15 | 3,919 | $2,268,172 | $579 |
| District Court Judge | 55 | 1,169 | $677,005 | $579 |
| Municipal Court Judge | 11 | 455 | $220,353 | $484 |
| Superior Court Judge | 10 | 148 | $77,952 | $527 |
| Appeals Court Judge | 4 | 18 | $13,426 | $746 |
This page covers who is running, who is unopposed, and who is paying. It does not
cover how these judges have actually ruled, because no public dataset of Washington
court opinions has been compiled for that purpose. We are working on it. Until then,
the honest position is that voters are being asked to fill judicial seats with almost
no information about judicial behaviour.
Why this matters
Judicial races are nonpartisan by law. In practice that means the only organised guidance
most voters can find comes from party organisations and endorsement slates. Searching for a
district court candidate typically returns county party endorsement pages, the candidate’s own
campaign site, and government forms — no bar ratings, no analysis of decisions, no neutral
comparison. When a seat is uncontested, even that guidance is moot: the filing decides it.
Common questions
Are Washington judges elected or appointed?
Elected, in nonpartisan races. Vacancies between elections are filled by gubernatorial appointment, and the appointee then stands for election.
What does "uncontested" mean here?
Exactly one candidate appeared on the general election ballot. Write-in lines are excluded.
Why is the Court of Appeals so rarely contested?
Appellate work is specialised, the seats are low-visibility, and sitting judges are seldom challenged. That combination produces the highest uncontested rate of any court in the state.
Does this site rate or endorse judges?
No. This is a record of who ran, who was unopposed and who funded them. We do not publish endorsements.