Steve Tharinger
2011 - Present
2025
14
Steve Tharinger (Democratic Party) is a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing District 24-Position 2. He assumed office in 2011.
Tharinger (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Washington House of Representatives to represent District 24-Position 2. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Tharinger earned his B.A. from Colorado College. His career experience includes owning a small business and serving as a Clallam County Commissioner. Tharinger has been affiliated with the Sequim Sunrise Rotary and the Peninsula Dispute Resolution Center.[1]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Tharinger was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations Committee
- Capital Budget Committee, Chair
- Joint Planning for Aging and Disability Issues Committee
- Joint Legislative Task Force on Water Resource Mitigation, Chair
2021-2022
Tharinger was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations Committee
- Capital Budget Committee, Chair
- Health Care and Wellness Committee
- Joint Planning for Aging and Disability Issues Committee
2019-2020
Tharinger was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Capital Budget, Chair |
| • Health Care and Wellness |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Tharinger served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Finance, Vice-Chair |
| • Health Care and Wellness |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Tharinger served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Environment |
| • Finance, Vice chair |
| • Health Care and Wellness |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Tharinger served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Capital Budget |
| • Environment |
| • Local Government, Vice chair |
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
2024
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2
Incumbent Steve Tharinger defeated Terry Roberts in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Steve Tharinger (D) | 56.4 | 42,820 | |
 | Terry Roberts (R) | 43.5 | 33,006 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 66 | ||
| Total votes: 75,892 | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2
Incumbent Steve Tharinger and Terry Roberts defeated Hickory Grant in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Steve Tharinger (D) | 59.4 | 34,178 | |
| ✔ | | Terry Roberts (R) | 25.8 | 14,835 |
| Hickory Grant (R) | 14.8 | 8,506 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 48 | ||
| Total votes: 57,567 | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Tharinger in this election.
2022
District 24-Position 2
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2
Incumbent Steve Tharinger defeated Brian Pruiett in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Steve Tharinger (D) | 55.3 | 44,910 | |
| Brian Pruiett (R) | 44.6 | 36,202 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 53 | ||
| Total votes: 81,165 | ||||
| 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 House of Representatives District 24-Position 2
Incumbent Steve Tharinger and Brian Pruiett defeated Darren Corcoran in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Steve Tharinger (D) | 50.9 | 29,210 | |
| ✔ | | Brian Pruiett (R) | 42.1 | 24,195 |
| Darren Corcoran (D) | 6.9 | 3,960 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 71 | ||
| Total votes: 57,436 | ||||
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District 24-Position 1
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 1
Incumbent Mike Chapman defeated Sue Forde in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike Chapman (D) | 56.5 | 46,050 | |
| Sue Forde (R) | 43.4 | 35,354 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 73 | ||
| Total votes: 81,477 | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 1
Incumbent Mike Chapman and Sue Forde defeated Matthew Rainwater in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 1 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike Chapman (D) | 57.1 | 32,945 | |
| ✔ | | Sue Forde (R) | 28.8 | 16,638 |
| Matthew Rainwater (R) | 14.0 | 8,099 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 45 | ||
| Total votes: 57,727 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Steve Tharinger (D)
2020
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2
Incumbent Steve Tharinger defeated Brian Pruiett in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Steve Tharinger (D) | 53.6 | 49,262 | |
| Brian Pruiett (R) | 46.3 | 42,515 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 66 | ||
| Total votes: 91,843 | ||||
| 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 House of Representatives District 24-Position 2
Incumbent Steve Tharinger and Brian Pruiett defeated Jodi Wilke and Darren Corcoran in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Steve Tharinger (D) | 46.5 | 28,800 | |
| ✔ | | Brian Pruiett (R) | 27.0 | 16,755 |
| Jodi Wilke (R) | 18.3 | 11,348 | ||
| Darren Corcoran (D) | 8.1 | 5,026 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 63 | ||
| Total votes: 61,992 | ||||
| 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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2018
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2018
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2
Incumbent Steve Tharinger defeated Jim McEntire in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Steve Tharinger (D) | 55.8 | 41,630 | |
| Jim McEntire (R) | 44.2 | 33,041 | |
| Total votes: 74,671 | ||||
| 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 House of Representatives District 24-Position 2
Incumbent Steve Tharinger and Jim McEntire advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Steve Tharinger (D) | 58.8 | 28,080 | |
| ✔ | | Jim McEntire (R) | 41.2 | 19,676 |
| Total votes: 47,756 | ||||
| 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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2016
Elections for the Washington House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 20, 2016.
Incumbent Steve Tharinger defeated John Alger in the Washington House of Representatives, District 24-Position 2 general election.[2]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 24-Position 2 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Steve Tharinger Incumbent |
56.85% | 40,704 | |
| Independent Republican | John Alger | 43.15% | 30,895 | |
| Total Votes | 71,599 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Steve Tharinger and John Alger were unopposed in the Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 top two primary.[3][4]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 24-Position 2 Top Two Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Steve Tharinger Incumbent | |
| Independent Republican | John Alger | |
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||
2014
Elections for the Washington House of Representatives took place in 2014. A blanket primary election took place on August 5, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 17, 2014. Incumbent Steve Tharinger (D) and Thomas Greisamer (R) defeated Stafford Conway (L) in the primary. Tharinger defeated Greisamer in the general election.[5][6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Tharinger Incumbent |
56.4% | 30,087 | |
| Republican | Thomas Greisamer | 43.6% | 23,229 | |
| Total Votes | 53,316 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |
Steve Tharinger Incumbent |
57.1% | 19,995 | |
| Republican | Thomas W. Greisamer |
35.3% | 12,371 | |
| Libertarian | Stafford A. Conway | 7.6% | 2,663 | |
| Total Votes | 35,029 | |||
2012
Tharinger won re-election in the 2012 election for Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2. Tharinger was unopposed in the blanket primary on August 7, 2012, and defeated Steve Gale (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Tharinger Incumbent |
58.4% | 40,045 | |
| Republican | Steve Gale | 41.6% | 28,470 | |
| Total Votes | 68,515 | |||
2010
Steve Tharinger was elected to the Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2. He defeated John Dwyer and Larry Carter in the August 17, 2010, primary. He also defeated Republican Jim McEntire in the November 2, 2010, general election.
| Washington House of Representatives, District 24-Position 2 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Steve Tharinger (D)
|
32,300 | |||
| Jim McEntire (R) | 29,427 | |||
| Washington House of Representatives, District 24-Position 2 Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Steve Tharinger (D)
|
15,940 | 37.66% | ||
| Jim McEntire (R)
|
15,852 | 37.46% | ||
| John (Jack) Dwyer (D) | 6,128 | 14.48% | ||
| Larry Carter (R) | 4,402 | 10.40% | ||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Steve Tharinger did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
District 24-Position 2
Steve Tharinger did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
District 24-Position 1
Steve Tharinger did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Steve Tharinger did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Washington scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
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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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 8 through March 8.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 9 through April 23. There were also special sessions. The first special session was April 24 through May 23. The second special session was May 23 through June 21. The third special session was June 21 through July 20.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 64th Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 11 through March 10. The legislature held a special session from March 11 to March 29 to pass a supplemental budget.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 64th Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 12 through April 24. The legislature was in special session from April 29 to May 28, May 29 to June 27 and June 28 to July 10.[10]
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 63rd Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 13 to March 14.[11]
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 63rd Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 14 to April 29.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 62nd Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 9 to March 8.[12]
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 62nd Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 10 through April 24.
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Missed Votes Report
- See also: Washington House of Representatives and Washington State Senate
In March 2014, Washington Votes, a legislative information website, released its annual Missed Votes Report, which provides detailed missed roll call votes on bills for every state legislator during the 2014 legislative session.[13] The 2014 regular session included a total of 515 votes in the State House and 396 in the State Senate, as well as 1,372 bills introduced total in the legislature and 237 bills passed. Out of all roll call votes, 90 individual legislators did not miss any votes. Three individual legislators missed more than 50 votes.[13] Tharinger missed 4 votes in a total of 1211 roll calls.
Freedom Foundation
The Freedom Foundation releases its Big Spender List annually. The Institute ranks all Washington legislators based on their total proposed taxes and fees. To find each legislator’s total, the Institute adds up the 10-year tax and fee increases or decreases, as estimated by Washington’s Office of Financial Management, of all bills sponsored or co-sponsored by that legislator.[14]
2012
Tharinger proposed a 10-year increase in state taxes and fees of $9.15 billion, the 3rd highest amount of proposed new taxes and fees of the 93 Washington state representatives on the Freedom Foundation’s 2012 Big Spender List.
- See also: Washington Freedom Foundation Legislative Scorecard (2012)
The Freedom Foundation also issued its 2012 Informed Voter Guide for Washington State voters, including a legislative score card documenting how Washington State legislators voted upon bills the Foundation deemed important legislation. The legislation analyzed covered budget, taxation, and pension issues.[15] A sign indicates a bill more in line with the Foundation's stated goals, and a
sign indicates a bill out of step with the Foundation's values. Here's how Tharinger voted on the specific pieces of legislation:
| 2012 House Scorecard - Steve Tharinger | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill #6636 (Balanced budget requirement) |
Bill #5967 (House Democrats budget) |
Bill #6582 (Local transportation tax increases) |
Bill #6378 (Pension reforms) | ||||||||
| Y | Y | Y | N | ||||||||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Tharinger lives in Sequim with his wife, Yvonne.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Officeholder Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington State House Democrats, "Biography — Steve Tharinger," accessed December 1, 2023
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "General Election Results 2016," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2016 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 23, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 2, 2016 Primary Results," accessed August 25, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2014 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 20, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 5, 2014, Official Primary Results," accessed August 5, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Official general election results, 2014," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ C-SPAN, "AP Election Results - Washington State House of Representatives," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed July 16, 2012
- ↑ Multi State, "2015 State Legislative Session Dates," accessed July 13, 2015
- ↑ StateScape, "Session schedules," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ StateScape, "Session schedules," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Washington Policy Center, "2014 Missed Votes Report for Legislators Released," March 18, 2014
- ↑ Freedom Foundation, "2012 Big Spender List," accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ My Freedom Foundation, "Home," accessed June 18, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Washington House of Representatives District 24-Position 2 2011-Present |
Succeeded by - |
