Senator Jamie Pedersen

Delivering Progressive
Wins for Seattle

Jamie Pedersen has strong support from those who have been fighting on the frontlines to make progress in Washington state. He has spent his career getting things done. And leadership matters.

Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen has spent his life fighting for fairness, opportunity, and dignity for working-class Washingtonians. He’s committed to delivering on a bold and progressive vision for our state.

His victories include efforts to close the racial wealth gap and address economic inequality, protect queer and trans children and adults, and create a line of defense between Donald Trump and Washingtonians.

Since Jamie took over the top leadership position in the state Senate, we have become a national model for winning hard-fought progressive fights that prioritize the needs of everyday people.

Jamie fights for fairness in washington’s economy

In a critical step toward closing the wealth gap in Washington, Jamie Pedersen wrote and then passed the Millionaires Tax, the most progressive tax reform in our state’s history. The measure funds education and childcare, a working families tax credit, healthcare and human services, and economic relief for Washington’s small business owners. He was also instrumental in delivering the capital gains tax earlier this decade, and he passed from the Senate a wealth tax targeting the super-rich in an effort to further ensure that the most prosperous among us contribute their fair share.

Pedersen has paired that vision for a more equitable tax system with concrete investments to address critical needs in our communities, including:

  • Securing $750 million in new funding for special education

  • Expanding support for public schools and classroom resources

  • Backing policies that lift up working families and reduce inequality

Jamie stands with workers and puts our power to work for all of us

He sponsored and delivered legislation to provide unemployment insurance for striking workers, helping level the playing field in labor disputes. He has supported stronger workplace protections, expanded paid leave, and ensured that workers are treated with dignity and respect.

That's why he has the support of labor unions, including:

Jamie Pedersen is a lifelong champion for LGBTQ+ Rights

Jamie Pedersen has been leading the national fight for the LGBTQ+ community. Even before his career in Washington politics, Pedersen served as chair of the LAMBDA Legal board, and then as the non-profit's Lead Pro-Bono Lawyer.

As Senate Majority Leader, Jamie uses his position of power to protect queer and trans youth and adults, sponsoring and passing legislation to:

  • Expand access to gender-affirming care.

  • Protect privacy for name changes.

  • Strengthen hate crime laws and victim protections.

  • Ensure inclusive education in public schools.

When the LGBTQIA+ community has been under attack nationally and right here at home, Jamie is the first to step up with policy solutions. In 2024, the liquor control board raided queer bars on Capitol Hill, and Jamie jumped into action by immediately introducing legislation to prevent future raids. 

Jamie spent his first six years as a legislator working to pass marriage equality in Washington. With his leadership, Washington became one of the first states in the country to pass marriage equality legislation. With the Supreme Court waffling on LGBTQIA+ rights, including marriage, it’s more important than ever to have leaders like Jamie Pedersen in Washington.

Jamie Pedersen is on the frontlines of the fight for affordable housing:

Jamie helped pass rent stabilization policies, cut red tape to accelerate housing construction, and secured hundreds of millions of dollars for affordable housing and homelessness solutions. His work is:

  • Expanding tenant protections

  • Increasing affordable housing supply

  • Investing in communities across the state

Jamie Pedersen isn’t afraid of Donald Trump

Jamie recognizes the gravity of the Trump administration’s attacks on our rights, and he has been working since Day 1 of this new administration to protect Washingtonians from these attacks. As the Senate majority leader, Jamie has prioritized a defense against the creeping fascism that each day brings, including:

  • Safeguarding access to health care and vaccines. Jamie led the legislature in continuing care for Medicare recipients in the face of the administration’s deep cuts.  

  • Protecting immigrant workers from intimidation and retaliation.

  • Ensuring law enforcement accountability and transparency. He helped lead the ban on ICE agents from wearing masks. 

  • Fending off attacks on reproductive rights and gender affirming care. Jamie has fought to ensure that healthcare providers in Washington who provide care to people coming from out of state are protected, he helped safeguard state money for Planned Parenthood.

For Jamie, progress isn’t a pipedream, it’s a promise.

Washington's Most Progressive Senate Majority Leader

Jamie has delivered an agenda that progressives across the country dream of. And he’s just getting started. 

Jamie has ushered in progressive legislation that had previously stalled for years by bringing Democrats from all corners of the state together. From marriage equality to the Millionaires Tax, Washington wouldn’t be leading the nation in Democratic lawmaking without Jamie Pedersen. 

And the opposition has taken notice. Jamie has come under constant attack from right-wing pundits and news outlets, local MAGA Republicans, and hateful anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. But he stands strong and shows no quit in the face of these attacks, continuing his efforts to protect workers, immigrants, trans youth, and our progressive Democratic values.

Jamie’s Story

His Norwegian great-grandparents homesteaded in Washington Territory in the 1880s, and Jamie was raised in Puyallup by two public school teachers. He worked at McDonald’s to help put himself through Yale University, graduating summa cum laude before earning his law degree from Yale Law School.

Today, Jamie and his husband Eric, a public school teacher, are raising their four sons in Seattle. Their family’s experience has shaped Jamie’s commitment to building a Washington where every family has the opportunity to thrive.

Jamie built a legal career fighting for working people, civil rights, and stronger communities. He currently serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel at McKinstry, a Seattle-based construction and engineering firm employing hundreds of union workers.

Jamie has spent decades serving his community through his church, nonprofit work, and civil rights advocacy. As former chair of Lambda Legal and lead volunteer lawyer on Washington’s marriage equality case, he helped lead the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in Washington and across the country.

From public schools to civil rights to working families, Jamie has spent his life fighting to make Washington a place where everyone can succeed.