Stevens leads Hawk in state Supreme Court Position 3 race

Mason County Superior Court Judge David Stevens leads King County Superior Court Judge Jaime Michelle Hawk in the nonpartisan race for Washington State Supreme Court Position 3. Stevens has 61,507 votes (57.6%) to Hawk's 48,766 votes (42%), a margin of 12,741 votes, according to unofficial results from Washington Secretary of State. Only 5 of 39 reporting units have reported, with 110,618 votes counted as of 8:08 p.m. PST on Nov. 3, 2026.

The seat is open because Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, who has held it since 2020, is not seeking reelection.

What was at stake

The Washington Supreme Court is the state's highest court and the final court of appeal on questions of state law. It hears criminal cases, civil lawsuits and challenges to state laws. Justices serve six-year terms in nonpartisan elections. Five of the court's nine seats were on the Nov. 3 ballot, an unusually large number driven by retirements and scheduled elections, as reported by MyNorthwest.

The key issues:

Stevens, based in Shelton, described himself in a candidate questionnaire as a textualist and originalist who favors judicial restraint. He said courts should interpret the state constitution as originally written, not based on evolving societal standards.
Hawk, based in Federal Way, emphasized judicial independence, constitutional rights and the rule of law in explaining her candidacy, according to MyNorthwest. She has worked as a public defender, an attorney with the ACLU of Washington and an adjunct law professor.
The race drew attention to outside spending. MyNorthwest columnist John Harger reported that the conservative PAC Concerned Taxpayers of Washington State backed Stevens in the primary, receiving $50,000 from Let's Go Washington founder Brian Heywood.

The winner will help shape how the court rules on state law affecting residents statewide, including in Olympia and Tumwater.

A little history

Stevens served in the Navy before earning his bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Washington. He worked as a public defender for the Colville Confederated Tribes, a Mason County prosecutor, a federal prosecutor and an international prosecutor in Kosovo. He was elected to Mason County Superior Court in 2023 and reelected in 2024, according to his candidate questionnaire.

Hawk earned her law degree from Gonzaga University in 2004. She began her career with the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, then worked as a juvenile public defender, a federal public defender and an attorney with the ACLU of Washington. Gov. Jay Inslee appointed her to the King County Superior Court in July 2022, according to The Spokesman-Review.

Stevens finished first in the Aug. 4 primary with 612,267 votes (35.2%) out of three candidates, according to certified results announced Aug. 21.

What's next

The results remain unofficial until the canvass is complete. County Canvassing Boards have until Nov. 24 to finish, and the Secretary of State has until Dec. 3, according to the state's General Election Fact Sheet. The current term for Position 3 ends Jan. 10, 2027.

Under Washington law, a mandatory recount is required if the final margin is fewer than 2,000 votes and less than 0.5% of total votes cast, according to Verified Voting.