Dhingra leads Englund in 45th, which would flip state Senate



WOODINVILLE, Wash. – Manka Dhingra was leading Jinyoung Lee Englund when the first round of ballots was counted in Washington’s 45th Legislative District in a race that will reverberate not just across the state, but nationally.

Dhingra was leading with 55 percent of the vote to Englund's 45 percent. Though there are more votes to be counted, she claimed victory Tuesday night, saying "democracy is alive and well."

A Dhingra win would flip the district from Republican to Democrat, tipping the state Senate balance of power from red to blue and giving Democrats a “blue wall” on the West Coast.



With the win, Democrats would hold the Governor’s mansion, the House and the Senate in Washington, Oregon and California. Massive amounts of money were poured into the race, as Democrats hoped to use their stronghold in the West to fight President Donald Trump’s policies at the state level.

Gov. Jay Inslee has said that one of his first orders of business, should Dhingra win, would be to enact a robust plan for carbon pricing along with Oregon and California, as well as other joint policies to fight climate change.