WashingtonIndependents.org

State Representative Steve Tharinger

Steve Tharinger is a Democratic state representative representing Washington's 24th Legislative District. They have prime-sponsored 139 bills, of which 31 died without a public hearing.

  • Democratic
  • House
  • Legislative District 24
  • 2 sessions on record
email
steve.tharinger@leg.wa.gov
phone
(360) 786-7904

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.

10,122

recorded votes

9,028

yea

566

nay

528

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 YEA 87–9
2026-03-12 2SHB 1701 Liquor licensee premises Final Passage as Amended by the Senate YEA 89–7
2026-03-12 ESHB 1795 Student restraint, isolation Final Passage as Amended by the Senate YEA 58–37
2026-03-12 EHB 1941 Agricultural coops/cannabis Final Passage as Amended by the Senate YEA 69–26
2026-03-12 E2SHB 2034 LEOFF 1 restatement Final Passage as Amended by the Senate YEA 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 YEA 96–0
2026-03-12 ESSB 5998 Operating budget, supp. Final Passage as Recommended by the Conference Committee YEA 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 YEA against party majority 47–50
2026-03-12 ESSB 6231 Data center equipment/taxes 3rd Reading & Final Passage YEA 51–46
2026-03-12 SB 6244 Ag. crop products/tax ex. 3rd Reading & Final Passage YEA 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 YEA 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 YEA 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 YEA 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 YEA 95–0
2026-03-11 ESHB 2225 AI companion chatbots Final Passage as Amended by the Senate YEA 74–21
2026-03-11 ESHB 2247 Veterinarian relationship Final Passage as Amended by the Senate YEA 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 10,122 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

93

of 10,122 recorded votes went against the majority of Democratic 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
2026-03-12 ESSB 6231 2663 Orcutt Pg 2 Ln 25 Yea Nay (9-50 yea-nay)
2025-04-25 ESSB 5041 Adoption as Recommended by the Conference Committee Nay Yea (53-4 yea-nay)
2025-04-25 ESSB 5041 Final Passage as Recommended by the Conference Committee Nay Yea (51-6 yea-nay)
2025-04-22 ESSB 5390 1090 Engell Pg 7 Ln 2 Yea Nay (8-51 yea-nay)
2025-04-12 ESSB 5041 Final Passage as Amended by the House Nay Yea (52-7 yea-nay)
2025-03-11 SHB 1402 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (53-5 yea-nay)
2025-03-08 ESHB 1622 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (53-5 yea-nay)
2024-03-05 ESHB 1589 Final Passage as Amended by the Senate Nay Yea (50-8 yea-nay)
2024-01-25 ESHB 1037 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (55-1 yea-nay)
2024-01-22 ESHB 1589 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (52-6 yea-nay)
2023-04-11 2E2SSB 5536 679 Maycumber Pg 15 Ln 19 Yea Nay (6-50 yea-nay)
2023-03-07 E2SHB 1143 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (52-6 yea-nay)
2023-03-07 E2SHB 1715 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (53-4 yea-nay)
2023-03-06 ESHB 1589 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (52-5 yea-nay)
2023-03-02 SHB 1200 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (56-1 yea-nay)
2022-03-03 SB 5687 Final Passage as Amended by the House Nay Yea (55-42 yea-nay)
2022-03-03 SSB 5722 Final Passage as Amended by the House Nay Yea (53-45 yea-nay)
2022-02-14 EHB 1837 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (50-48 yea-nay)
2022-02-13 E2SHB 1868 1050 Schmick Pg 1 Ln 13 Yea Nay (48-50 yea-nay)
2022-02-12 ESHB 1770 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (51-47 yea-nay)
2021-04-20 ESSB 5096 745 Stokesbary Pg 3 Ln 5 Yea Nay (45-53 yea-nay)
2021-03-09 E2SHB 1258 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (58-38 yea-nay)
2021-03-08 SHB 1223 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (54-43 yea-nay)
2021-03-05 2SHB 1076 3rd Reading & Final Passage Nay Yea (53-44 yea-nay)
2021-03-03 E2SHB 1186 285 Graham Pg 3 Ln 14 Nay Yea (59-38 yea-nay)

Showing the 25 most recent of 93. The full list is in the roll call records linked below.

Source WA Legislature roll-call archive · as of 2026-09-16 · rows 10,122 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.

139

bills prime-sponsored

34

became law

31

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 1115 Recording fees/escrow tax pending yes
2025-26 HB 1202 State gen. obligation bonds pending yes
2025-26 HB 1208 Salmon recovery projects pending yes
2025-26 HB 1216 Capital budget pending yes
2025-26 EHB 1382 All payers claim database became law yes
2025-26 HB 1641 Definition of timberland pending yes
2025-26 HB 1805 Children services/local tax pending yes
2025-26 HB 1806 Commercial fishing revenue pending yes
2025-26 2SHB 1906 Water system rates became law yes
2025-26 HB 1983 Timberland definition/REET became law yes
2025-26 HB 2016 Capital budget for broadband pending yes
2025-26 HB 2295 Capital budget, supplemental pending yes
2025-26 HCR 4403 Joel Pritchard State Library pending yes
2023-24 HB 1018 Hog fuel/tax exemption became law yes
2023-24 HB 1147 Capital budget died yes
2023-24 ESHB 1148 State gen. obligation bonds became law yes
2023-24 HB 1149 Housing/capital expenditures died yes
2023-24 SHB 1267 Rural public facilities/tax became law yes
2023-24 HB 1306 Public works procurement died yes
2023-24 HB 1571 Nursing facility rates died no
2023-24 HB 1662 Sole community hospitals died no
2023-24 HB 1709 Commerce housing programs died yes
2023-24 SHB 1818 Forestland/compensating tax became law yes
2023-24 HB 1907 Medical assistant-EMT cert. died no
2023-24 HB 2089 Capital budget, supplemental died yes
2023-24 HB 2378 Health care facility fees died yes
2021-22 SHB 1080 Capital budget 2021-2023 became law yes
2021-22 HB 1081 State gen. obligation bonds died yes
2021-22 ESHB 1120 Long-term services/emergency became law yes
2021-22 SHB 1323 Long-term services trust became law yes
2021-22 HB 1333 Rural public facilities/tax died yes
2021-22 E2SHB 1382 Salmon recovery projects became law yes
2021-22 HB 1647 Building for the arts became law yes
2021-22 HB 1781 Capital budget, supplemental died yes
2021-22 HB 1924 Hog fuel tax exemption died yes
2021-22 HB 2058 Parks & rec. leasehold tax became law yes
2019-20 SHB 1101 State gen. obligation bonds became law yes
2019-20 SHB 1102 Capital budget 2019-2021 became law yes
2019-20 SHB 1293 Discover pass penalty dist. became law yes
2019-20 SHB 1295 Public works contracting became law yes
2019-20 HB 1318 Capital budget/public art became law yes
2019-20 HB 1365 Indian health improvement died yes
2019-20 HB 1423 Adult family home egress died yes
2019-20 HB 1441 Local infrastruct. financing died yes
2019-20 HB 1675 Adult family home training died no
2019-20 SHB 1856 Scleral tattooing became law yes
2019-20 HB 2177 Capital budget T.O. died no
2019-20 HB 2178 Gen. obligation bonds T.O. died no
2019-20 HB 2324 Capital budget, supplemental died yes
2019-20 HB 2351 Medical assistants-certified died yes
2019-20 HB 2352 Building for the arts died yes
2019-20 HB 2380 Home care agencies became law yes
2019-20 HB 2451 Medicaid home health rate died no
2019-20 HB 2598 Sub. providers/medicaid died no
2019-20 HB 2601 Parks & rec. comm'n leases became law yes
2019-20 HB 2726 Marijuana edible products died yes
2019-20 HB 2791 Basic ed funding/forestlands died no
2019-20 HB 2846 Ambulance quality assur. fee died no
2019-20 HB 2849 Commerce housing programs died yes
2019-20 HB 2931 Multipurpose facilities/tax died yes
2017-18 HB 1075 Capital budget 2017-2019 died yes
2017-18 E2SHB 1080 State gen. obligation bonds became law yes
2017-18 HB 1324 Local infrastruct. financing died yes
2017-18 HB 1325 Capital projects/higher ed. died yes
2017-18 HB 1492 Assisted living/penalties died yes
2017-18 SHB 1520 Hospital payment methodology became law yes
2017-18 HB 1799 Forest health agreements died no
2017-18 HB 1938 Telecom. services/PUDs died yes
2017-18 HB 2170 Capital budget T.O. died no
2017-18 HB 2171 Gen. obligation bonds T.O. died no
2017-18 HB 2240 Capital budget continuity died no
2017-18 HB 2344 Adult family home evacuation died yes
2017-18 HB 2346 Adult family homes/priority died yes
2017-18 HB 2394 State gen. obligation bonds died no
2017-18 HB 2395 Capital budget 2017-2019 died yes
2017-18 SHB 2515 Medicaid payments/adult care became law yes
2017-18 EHB 2750 Assisted living fac. quality became law yes
2017-18 HB 2809 Capital budget/public art died yes
2017-18 HB 2826 Indian health care died no
2017-18 HB 2988 State forestland revenues died yes
2015-16 SHB 1045 East Asian medicine became law yes
2015-16 HB 1046 East Asian med practitioners died no
2015-16 HB 1066 Longterm care insurance/IROs died no
2015-16 SHB 1132 Adult family homes became law yes
2015-16 HB 1133 Public utility tax, counties died yes
2015-16 HB 1256 Derelict vessel prevention died yes
2015-16 HB 1286 Long-term care funding study died yes
2015-16 HB 1341 Fishing guide/unlawfully died yes
2015-16 HB 1529 Port district per diem rates died yes
2015-16 HB 1531 Long-term care workers became law yes
2015-16 HB 1620 Biotoxin testing, monitoring became law yes
2015-16 HB 1681 Maritime trades industry died yes
2015-16 HB 1758 Biofuel, etc., tax prefs died yes
2015-16 HB 1784 Nursing home quality died yes
2015-16 HB 1873 Physicians and PA's died no
2015-16 HB 1874 Allopathic physicians died yes
2015-16 HB 1904 Assisted living paymnt rates died no
2015-16 HB 1997 Community facilities distrct died yes
2015-16 HB 2104 Forest derived biomass died yes
2015-16 HB 2110 Health benefit exch/dental died yes
2015-16 HB 2111 Appeals court tax division died no
2015-16 HB 2152 B&O tax exem for utilities died yes
2015-16 HB 2251 Timber-felling equip tx exem died yes
2015-16 ESHB 2380 Supplemental capital budget became law yes
2015-16 HB 2424 Hospital discharge planning died yes
2015-16 ESHB 2450 Critical access hospitals became law yes
2015-16 HB 2509 Wildlife and recreation prg. died yes
2015-16 HB 2832 Physician limited licenses died yes
2015-16 HB 2835 Dementia public info. system died yes
2015-16 HB 2943 Obsolete provisions/commerce died yes
2015-16 HB 2968 Kindergarten, K-3 class size died yes
2013-14 HB 1206 Ecology dept. administration died yes
2013-14 HB 1339 East Asian med practitioners died yes
2013-14 HB 1364 Small rechargeable batteries died yes
2013-14 HB 1368 State liquor revenues died yes
2013-14 HB 1409 Allopathic physicians died yes
2013-14 EHB 1421 Deferred property taxes became law yes
2013-14 HB 1489 Florists/sales and use tax died yes
2013-14 HB 1631 Aging population/services died yes
2013-14 HB 1663 Hog fuel sales & use tx exem died yes
2013-14 HB 1916 Small rural hospitals died no
2013-14 HB 1924 Watershed planning grants died yes
2013-14 HB 1925 Public safety sales & use tx died no
2013-14 HB 1948 Ecology dept. administration died yes
2013-14 HB 1952 Ecology dept. administration died no
2013-14 HB 2019 Spirits sales & distribution died yes
2013-14 HB 2067 Liquor rev. fund revenues died no
2013-14 HB 2314 Liquor revolving fund died no
2013-14 HB 2320 Adult family homes died yes
2013-14 HB 2635 Tax appeal process died yes
2013-14 HB 2777 Long-term care coverage died yes
2011-12 SHB 1294 Puget Sound corps became law yes
2011-12 HB 1573 Local mineral severance tax died no
2011-12 SHB 1596 Cities w/ambulance utilities became law yes
2011-12 HB 1848 Sales and use tax/florists died no
2011-12 HB 2450 Rechargeable batteries died yes
2011-12 HB 2743 WRIA planning units died no
2011-12 HB 2768 Public works board died no
2011-12 HR 4615 Katherine Baril died no

Source WA Legislature bill status + committee agendas · as of 2026-09-16 · n 139 prime-sponsored bills across every session held · What died in committee

04

Committee seats

2025-26

  • House Committee on Appropriations
  • House Committee on Capital Budget
  • House Committee on Health Care & Wellness

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.

$23,150

raised, 2026 cycle

$44,250

spent

$965

average contribution

Total divided by 24 reported contributors.

$1.1M

raised across 9 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 $23,150 $44,250 24
2024 $170,515 $168,104 164
2022 $193,377 $179,389 234
2020 $125,138 $148,330 171
2018 $133,852 $120,237 268
2016 $113,363 $113,856 229
2014 $87,479 $71,965 158
2012 $57,307 $57,535 243
2010 $148,217 $147,048 352

Largest reported contributors

Largest reported contributors
Contributor City Amount
Kaiser Aluminum Franklin $1,200
Nisqually Indian Tribe Olympia $1,200
SEIU 775 Quality Care Committee Seattle $1,200

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
No employer stated 12 $15,600

This filing was matched, not looked up. The Legislature and the PDC share no identifier. We matched Steve Tharinger to PDC filer THARS 382 because the surname, the given name, the office (State Representative) and the district (24) 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”

    $171,626

  2. Spent opposing

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

    $31,160
  • NEW DIRECTION PAC for · $143,581 · 2022
  • WASHINGTON REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE for · $25,000 · 2022
  • Evergreen Progress (Washington State Republican Party) against · $19,021 · 2022
  • EVERGREEN PROGRESS against · $12,139 · 2020
  • THE LAMAR COMPANY LLC for · $2,097 · 2024, 2020
  • Fuse Votes for · $694 · 2024, 2022, 2020
  • CLALLAM COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE LIMITED for · $255 · 2024

Sources WA PDC C-3 contribution reports · C-6 independent expenditure and electioneering communication reports · as of 2026-09-16 · filer THARS 382 · key surname + given name + chamber + district — refused where more than one person fits · n 22 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 Steve Tharinger
Election Seat Contest Record
November 4, 2014 State House seat 2, Legislative District 24 contested WA Secretary of State certified general election results, 2014
November 8, 2016 State House seat 2, Legislative District 24 contested WA Secretary of State certified general election results, 2016
November 6, 2018 State House seat 2, Legislative District 24 contested WA Secretary of State certified general election results, 2018
November 3, 2020 State House seat 2, Legislative District 24 contested WA Secretary of State certified general election results, 2020
November 8, 2022 State House seat 2, Legislative District 24 contested WA Secretary of State certified general election results, 2022
November 5, 2024 State House seat 2, Legislative District 24 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 · 16

One document states the relation in its own words.

Showing 8 of 16. Every edge for this record, as JSON

Joined by us, on a stated key · 6

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 16 filed, 6 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 24 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 Steve Tharinger represent?
Steve Tharinger is a Democratic state representative representing Washington’s 24th Legislative District.
How often does Steve Tharinger break with their party?
Across 10,122 recorded floor votes we hold, Steve Tharinger voted against the majority of their own party 93 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 Steve Tharinger sponsored?
Steve Tharinger has prime-sponsored 139 bills, of which 34 became law. Co-sponsorship is not in the record we hold. 31 of them died without ever getting a public hearing.
How long has Steve Tharinger served in the Legislature?
Steve Tharinger 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 Steve Tharinger,” WashingtonIndependents.org, data as of 2026-09-16, accessed 2026-09-19. https://washingtonindependents.org/official/steve-tharinger/

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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.