Sharon Shewmake - Ballotpedia

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Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

3

Predecessor: Simon Sefzik (R)

Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2

Years in office: 2019 - 2022

Predecessor: Vincent Buys (R)

Successor: Joe Timmons (D)

Sharon Shewmake (Democratic Party) is a member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 42. She assumed office on December 9, 2022. Her current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Shewmake (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Washington State Senate to represent District 42. She did not appear on the ballot for the primary on August 4, 2026.

On December 1, 2025, Shewmake announced she would not seek re-election in 2026.

Biography

Sharon Shewmake lives in Bellingham, Washington. Shewmake earned a bachelor's degree in environmental science and policy from Duke University in 2002 and a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Davis in 2010.^[1]^[2] Her career experience includes working as a professor of environmental economics, urban economics and energy policy at Western Washington University in Bellingham, as well as a children’s book author.^[3]

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Shewmake was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Shewmake was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Shewmake was assigned to the following committees:

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

2026

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2026

General election

General election for Washington State Senate District 42

Michael Shepard and Erika Creydt are running in the general election for Washington State Senate District 42 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Michael Shepard (D)
		Erika Creydt (R)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington State Senate District 42

Erika Creydt and Michael Shepard defeated Eamonn Collins and Ryan Bowman in the primary for Washington State Senate District 42 on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erika Creydt (R)	44.6	22,125
✔		Michael Shepard (D)	26.5	13,125
	Submit photo	Eamonn Collins (D)	26.4	13,121
		Ryan Bowman (No party preference)	2.5	1,248

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 49,619
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Sharon Shewmake (D)

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Washington State Senate District 42

Sharon Shewmake defeated incumbent Simon Sefzik in the general election for Washington State Senate District 42 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Shewmake (D)	50.6	38,098
		Simon Sefzik (R)	49.3	37,193
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	75

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 75,366
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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 State Senate District 42

Sharon Shewmake and incumbent Simon Sefzik defeated Ben Elenbaas in the primary for Washington State Senate District 42 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Shewmake (D)	47.1	24,497
✔		Simon Sefzik (R)	33.1	17,248
	Submit photo	Ben Elenbaas (R)	19.7	10,277
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	21

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 52,043
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Russ Dzialo (Independent)

Endorsements

To view Shewmake's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2022

Sharon Shewmake did not file to run for re-election.

2020

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2

Incumbent Sharon Shewmake defeated Jennifer Sefzik in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Shewmake (D)	51.7	47,702
		Jennifer Sefzik (R)	48.2	44,501
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	93

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 92,296
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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 42-Position 2

Jennifer Sefzik and incumbent Sharon Shewmake advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jennifer Sefzik (R)	50.4	31,599
✔		Sharon Shewmake (D)	49.5	31,008
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	43

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,650
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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Endorsements

To view Shewmake's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

2018

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2

Sharon Shewmake defeated incumbent Vincent Buys in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Shewmake (D)	50.7	36,704
		Vincent Buys (R)	49.3	35,723

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 72,427
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2

Sharon Shewmake and incumbent Vincent Buys advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2 on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Shewmake (D)	52.3	21,733
✔		Vincent Buys (R)	47.7	19,837

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,570
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sharon Shewmake did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sharon Shewmake completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shewmake's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m the only economist in the Legislature. When I champion bills for Whatcom County they pass because I’m honest, I listen, and I work across party lines using evidence and data, not ideology.

I’ve brought funding back home to Whatcom for flood recovery, academy slots to train local police, mental health centers, rural broadband, solar energy, and record investments in affordable housing and addressing homelessness.

Our work is not done. People in every corner of Whatcom face rising prices, increased housing costs, a changing climate, and threats to women’s rights. I’ll prioritize getting our economy back on track so everyone has an opportunity for a good life: good jobs, affordable homes, quality health care at a reasonable price, making sure Whatcom County stays a great place to live and raise a family. We share so many goals: great schools; safe neighborhoods, parks, and trails; a healthy environment with productive farms and salmon runs —that’s why I’m running for State Senate.

Endorsed by Planned Parenthood, Bellingham/Whatcom Firefighters, Washington State Labor Council, Washington Conservation Voters, Washington Educational Association, Senator Patty Murray and more. I’d be honored by your vote.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm an economist with a lot of experience studying how people make decisions about energy use, transportation and housing so I find those areas fascinating and essential to ensuring we have an economy that works for everyone. We have to do more on affordable housing, ensuring our schools stay open, protecting the environment, improving public safety, reducing gun violence, building better mental health systems, protecting our democracy and ensuring women can make their own decisions about healthcare.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I hear from so many spectacular people but it's the ones that faced adversity that stick with me. Recently I doorbelled a man who had been abused as a child and was homeless and addicted because his parents had told him he was worthless and he believed it. It was people telling him things like "it's nice to see you" that started to change his thinking. I've heard stories of people who were homeless because they couldn't afford a rent payment or were forced to live in their cars because of a flood, a relationship ending or a financial disaster. So many of us are closer to homelessness than we realize and we need to do a better job building a more resilient economy where people aren't punished for things they couldn't control.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sharon Shewmake completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shewmake's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm an economics professor at Western Washington University and the only economist in the legislature. I serve as Vice Chair of the Rural Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources committee in the Washington State House of Representatives where I have passed bills to modernize our agricultural system and used economics to find better solutions for agriculture, especially in Whatcom County. I also serve on the Transportation Committee and Energy and Environment Committee.

In the 2019/2020 session I passed bills to support our dairy farmers and modernize our pesticide application process, to make our electricity sector more transparent and cut pollution of potent greenhouse gases while also saving money, creating jobs and making our communities safer by fixing a problem with the way we regulate our natural gas infrastructure. Another big policy focus has been working to ensure more families have access to preschool and childcare. I passed the Rural Childcare Access Act which improved licensing for all of Washington but rural areas in particular and removed a burdensome work requirement for student parents to access subsidized childcare.

I'm practical and results driven, using data and evidence to make decisions. The 2021 session will especially need new tools and an economist eye as we contemplate how to rebuild. We need to make sure that our rural areas recover first, by investing in rural jobs including forest health, high-speed internet and infrastructure.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Economic Recovery that starts in rural areas, supports working people with good jobs, and builds the foundation for a better future.
For ever $1 we spend on early learning, we get $7-9 worth of benefits. It's good for the kids, the parents and it saves us taxpayer money by lowering K-12 special education costs and even the incarceration rate. It's the right thing to do and good economic policy.
We have to work together on addressing environmental pollution. I've been working with BP and other energy intensive industries to figure out smarter, more flexible regulations that reduce pollution cost effectively. This is important because it's not just our pollution that matters, but when Washington State can show that we can tackle the toughest problems and people like it, then it becomes easier for other states to innovate. That means market driven solutions.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1. Economic recovery

2. Reducing poverty through effective measures like early education. Many people think that economist only care about money, but really we care about people. It's not gold or land that is our greatest resource, it's the talents and dreams of our people and when we don't allow people to reach those dreams because of high housing costs, unaffordable healthcare, schools that don't support every student, then we are wasting that most precious resource. 3. Ensuring that we give our children an earth worth fighting for.

4. Better data. You measure that you care about, but in many areas of government we simply don't share enough data and do enough evaluation of projects. We HAVE to hold ourselves accountable with high quality work and as an academic researcher I know that many other researchers are willing to do that work for free because they care about making a difference and answering tough questions. Let's leverage this. Because when you don't research the tough questions, then difficult conversations break down to ideology and the loudest voices (not necessarily the smartest or most informed voices) end up winning.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I've been blessed to have some of the best teachers so there isn't just one answer here. But from my kindergarten teacher to Madame Black my favorite French teacher, and her husband Mr. Black my favorite biology teacher and Mr. Harshman in high school there were some good options. I had a Russian and French teacher that I also loved in elementary school (I can still sing a song about a rooster in Russian). I also had wonderful teachers in college and graduate school, as well as Joni Hersch and Kip Viscusi who were incredible mentors for my first post-doc. There have been other informal teachers since finishing school, including Rep Debra Lekanoff in the 40th LD who entered the legislature the same time as me but had much more experience in government and was able to hit the ground running. I've learned so much from her and other people around me. It's been an absolute honor.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The Challenger exploding. I grew up in Florida so we could actually see it, and while I don't remember seeing it myself, I remember people talking about how we all saw it. Christa McAuliffe was a teacher and I was in kindergarten, my first year of "real" school. We were all so excited for her to go up, and of course all our teachers were distraught. They hid it from us, but I remember a teacher in 2nd grade on an anniversary discussing it and crying to our class.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Other than babysitting, it was working at the HoneyBaked Ham Company helping with the seasonal rush. I was so excited to have a job and they were one of the few places that would hire a 14 year old. I'm a hard worker, so they'd hire me for every holiday-Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, and I always felt so rich when I'd work a bunch of hours and have saved maybe $300 over the season. Big money for a 14 year old!

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

An independent commission is a good first step, but it's still not going to be immune to political manipulation. Frankly no system is immune, but we should strive to follow principles of geometry such as creating compact districts (the mathematical definition of compact-see https://mggg.org/ for more), that minimizes artificial divisions of communities. My city, Bellingham, is the largest city in the region but is divided into two legislative districts and the boundary is arbitrary. It hurts the community when this happens and it confuses voters.

If you are a current legislator, what appealed to you about your current committees?

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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.

Sharon Shewmake campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	Washington State Senate District 42	Won general	$704,370	$687,694
2020	Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2	Won general	$406,716	N/A**
2018	Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2	Won general	$192,752	N/A**
Grand total			$1,303,838	$687,694
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Election Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, State legislative scorecards in Washington

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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2025.

Associated General Contractors of Washington — Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization.
Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
The Freedom Index — Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.
Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2024.

Associated General Contractors of Washington — Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization.
Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
Building Industry Association of Washington — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues.
National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility — Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies.
Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2023.

The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility — Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies.
Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2022.

Associated General Contractors of Washington — Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization.
Building Industry Association of Washington — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues.
National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility — Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies.
Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2021.

Associated General Contractors of Washington — Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization.
Building Industry Association of Washington — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues.
The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility — Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies.
Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2020.

Associated General Contractors of Washington — Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization.
Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility — Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies.
Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2019.

Associated General Contractors of Washington — Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization.
Pro-Choice Washington — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health issues.
The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility — Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies.
Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.

See also

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Washington State Senate District 42

Officeholder

Washington State Senate District 42

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 4, 2022
↑ LinkedIn, "Sharon Shewmake," accessed January 28, 2023
↑ Washington State Democrats, "Biography," accessed January 28, 2023

Political offices
Preceded by Simon Sefzik (R)	Washington State Senate District 42 2022-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Vincent Buys (R)	Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2 2019-2022	Succeeded by Joe Timmons (D)

Current members of the Washington State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Jamie Pedersen

Minority Leader:John Braun

Senators

District 1

Derek Stanford (D)

District 2

Jim McCune (R)

District 3

Marcus Riccelli (D)

District 4

Leonard Christian (R)

District 5

Victoria Hunt (D)

District 6

Jeff Holy (R)

District 7

Shelly Short (R)

District 8

Matt Boehnke (R)

District 9

Mark Schoesler (R)

District 10

Ron Muzzall (R)

District 11

Bob Hasegawa (D)

District 12

Keith Goehner (R)

District 13

Judith Warnick (R)

District 14

Curtis King (R)

District 15

Nikki Torres (R)

District 16

Perry Dozier (R)

District 17

Paul Harris (R)

District 18

Adrian Cortes (D)

District 19

Jeff Wilson (R)

District 20

John Braun (R)

District 21

Marko Liias (D)

District 22

Jessica Bateman (D)

District 23

Drew Hansen (D)

District 24

Mike Chapman (D)

District 25

Chris Gildon (R)

District 26

Deborah Krishnadasan (D)

District 27

Yasmin Trudeau (D)

District 28

T'wina Nobles (D)

District 29

Steve Conway (D)

District 30

Claire Wilson (D)

District 31

Phil Fortunato (R)

District 32

Jesse Salomon (D)

District 33

Tina Orwall (D)

District 34

Emily Alvarado (D)

District 35

Drew MacEwen (R)

District 36

Noel Frame (D)

District 37

Rebecca Saldana (D)

District 38

June Robinson (D)

District 39

Keith Wagoner (R)

District 40

Liz Lovelett (D)

District 41

Lisa Wellman (D)

District 42

Sharon Shewmake (D)

District 43

Jamie Pedersen (D)

District 44

John Lovick (D)

District 45

Manka Dhingra (D)

District 46

Javier Valdez (D)

District 47

Claudia Kauffman (D)

District 48

Vandana Slatter (D)

District 49

Annette Cleveland (D)

Democratic Party (30)

Republican Party (19)

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