State Legislative Support ahead of 2024 General Election
July 2024

Based on the success of candidates the PAC supported ahead of the Primary, the following recommendations have been put before the Board and presented to WA Wheat PAC donors.

Contributing to the above list will put the WA Wheat PAC balance to just over $9,600.

But an additional contribution is recommended of $40,000 to the Enterprise WA Independent Expenditures to support Senators King and Muzzall and Rep. Harris plus support for Springer, Mendoza, Manjarrez, and Stoube. The Enterprise WA Independent Expenditures provides media and mailings services for business and ag friendly candidates. The Wheat PAC can consider this but only if a minimum of $31,000 is raised.

Please help us reach a goal of raising $35,000 in the next 30 days!  Click on the Contribution Form button to make a donation.

With sincere appreciation
The WA Wheat PAC Board: Ryan Poe, Alex McGregor, Brad Isaak, Craig Kincaid, Marci Green, Pat McConnell & Leslie Druffel

State Support ahead of Aug. 6th Primary Election
July 2024

WA Wheat PAC board met to discuss candidate contributions ahead of the primary election.  The State Legislature is at risk of one party having a Super Majority…giving them power to pass Capital and Transportation budgets without any votes but their own.  WAWG lobbyists Diana Carlen and Mark Streuli presented a strategy to prevent such an unbalanced legislature — there are five main categories:

1. Incumbent Friends in Tough Races + Seats Ag needs to hold and/or fill open seats
   

   Dist.	Party	Office	Candidate	Primary Race Contribution	Primary – Date Paid
   10	R	Senate	Sen. Ron Muzzall	$1,200.00	11/30/2023
   12	R	House	Rep. Keith Goehner (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   14	R	House	Gloria Mendoza	$1,200.00	7/17/2024
   14	R	House	Deb Manjarrez	$1,200.00	7/17/2024
   14	R	Senate	Sen. Curtis King	$1,200.00	7/17/2024
   17	R	House	Rep. Paul Harris (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   18	R	House	Rep. Greg Cheney (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   18	R	House	Rep. Stephanie McClintock (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   24	D	House	Rep. Mike Chapman	$1,200.00	12/4/2023

2. Offensive Line to take on Incumbent
   

   Dist.	Party	Office	Candidate	Primary Race Contribution	Primary – Date Paid
   10	R	House	Yvonne Gallardo (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   28	R	Senate	Maia Espinoza (R) via Cascade PAC	$1,000.00	7/25/2024

3. Open seats that Republicans need to hold or where an ag friendly Democrat is running
   

   Dist.	Party	Office	Candidate	Primary Race Contribution	Primary – Date Paid	Bucket #
   2	R	House	John Snaza (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024	3
   7	R	House	Patrick Bell (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024	3
   7	R	House	Andrew Engell (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024	3
   17	R	House	David Stuebe (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024	3
   18	R	House	Philip Johnson (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024	3
   25	R	House	Michael Keaton (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024	3
   31	R	House	Joshua Penner (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024	3

4. Safe incumbent friends who will surplus the money to the caucus to help
   

   Dist.	Party	Office	Candidate	Primary Race Contribution	Primary – Date Paid
   2	R	House	Rep. Andrew Barkis (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024
   4	R	House	Rep. Suzanne Schmidt (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   6	R	House	Rep. Jenny Graham (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024
   6	R	House	Rep. Mike Volz (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024
   8	R	House	Rep. Stephanie Barnard (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   8	R	House	Rep. April Connors (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   9	R	House	Rep. Mary Dye (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   9	R	House	Rep. Joe Schmick (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   9	R	Senate	Sen. Mark Schoesler	$1,200.00	5/16/2024
   12	R	House	Rep. Mike Steele (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   13	R	House	Rep. Tom Dent (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   13	R	House	Rep. Alex Ybarra  (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   15	R	House	Rep. Chris Corry (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   15	R	House	Jeremie Dufault (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   16	R	House	Rep. Mark Klicker (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   16	R	House	Rep. Skyler Rude (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   16	R	Senate	Sen. Perry Dozier (R)	$1,200.00	5/16/2024
   17	R	House	Rep. Kevin Waters (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   19	R	House	Rep. Joel McEntire (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024
   19	R	Senate	Senator Jeff Wilson (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   20	R	House	Rep. Peter Abbarno (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   20	R	Senate	Senator John Braun (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   20	R	House	Rep. Ed Orcutt (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   24	D	House	Adam Bernbaum (D)	$600.00	7/23/2024
   25	R	Senate	Sen. Chris Gildon (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   27	D	House	Rep. Jake Fey (D)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   28	R	Senate	Maia Espinoza (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   30	D	House	Rep. Kristine Reeves (D)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   31	R	House	Rep. Drew Stokesbary (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   35	R	House	Rep. Travis Couture (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024
   39	R	House	Rep. Carolyn Eslick (R)	$600.00	7/23/2024
   39	R	House	Rep. Sam Low (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   39	R	Senate	Sen. Keith Wagoner (R)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   42	D	House	Rep. Alicia Rule (D)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   45	D	House	Rep. Larry Springer (D)	$1,200.00	7/23/2024
   48	D	House	Rep. Amy Walen (D)	$600.00	7/23/2024

5. Statewide offices for Public Lands Commissioner and Governor 
   

   Party	Office	Candidate	Primary Race Contribution	Primary – Date Paid
   R	Governor	Dave Reichert	$1,200.00	7/3/2024
   D	Governor	Mark Mullet	$1,200.00	7/3/2024
   R	Lands Commissioner	Jaime Herrera Beutler	$1,200.00	7/3/2024
   D	Lands Commissioner	Kevin Van De Wege	$1,200.00	7/3/2024

The Board voted to approve contributions in each of the above categories. Names and addresses will be provided to the Board Treasurer to have checks written and sent. A post-primary review to guide our strategy for the general election will follow.

Building Our Momentum
December 2023
We appreciate the opportunity to serve on the Board of Washington Wheat PAC. We wanted to be sure and reach out because we know you’ll understand how important this is. We need to pull together and raise funds for Wheat PAC. We’re writing checks for $2,500 each and we’re hoping our friends, family and neighbors will do the same.

Our overall fundraising goal is to raise $150k and a significant portion of that needs to be raised right now, so we can hit the ground running. We are incredibly proud of the PAC funds that were raised last year, with a special shout-out to Columbia County growers who dug in and donated $25k!

So please help us keep the momentum going, friends. We’ve got to be able to support candidates that will push back the agendas of the extreme advocacy groups and the well-heeled activists hostile to agriculture and rural issues.

In addition, it is imperative that we support the campaigns of the current ag-friendly legislators that we count on. If we lose one more Republican in the Senate, Democrats will have a super-majority and can pass a Capital Budget without any other votes except their own. That kind of one-party dominance is unsettling and would likely not bode well for Capital Budget projects in rural districts. We also want to keep in contact with moderates across the aisle building relationships and broader support where feasible.

Time is of the essence, and your support is crucial. Please join us and send a check for $2,500 so Wheat PAC can end 2023 in a strong position. We welcome any level of assistance you can provide as we can’t risk going backwards in the fight for common sense in Olympia. 

Stakeholders Provide Ag Perspective on Riparian Buffers
August 2024; Excerpt from WA Association of Wheat Growers

Members of the state agricultural industry who participated in the Riparian Taskforce recently submitted a letter providing an agricultural perspective in response to some of the recommendations released earlier this summer by Plauche and Carr, the Seattle law firm that led the taskforce.

The final report recommends funding and implementation of voluntary restoration efforts and acquisition of riparian areas through voluntary methods, but says if those efforts fall short, a discussion of regulatory options and requirements, including eminent domain, should be pursued.

In the letter, the ag stakeholders re-iterated their support for full and complete funding for the Voluntary Stewardship Program and pointed out that mandatory buffers are likely to jeopardize current federal funding for conservation practices.

Besides representatives of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, other agricultural stakeholders signing onto the letter were the Washington Farm Bureau, the Washington State Dairy Federation, the Washington State Potato Commission; the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, and the Western Washington Agriculture Association.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Political advocacy is something many of us think we can never get involved in; the Washington Wheat PAC is out to change that.

The Washington Wheat PAC is a non-partisan political action committee that is dedicated to supporting ag-friendly candidates.

The Washington Wheat PAC pledges to promote and support elected officials from all parts of the state that positively influence agriculture and specifically, wheat farming practices of Washington.

Please join our efforts by financially supporting the Washington Wheat PAC.   Your contribution will strengthen the network of elected officials who understand the wheat industry’s goals and objectives by fighting for what is critical to the livelihood of our members.