32nd District campaign kickoff: Nand pledges full funding for education, strengthening social safety net

Surrounded by supporters, Edmonds City Councilmember Jenna Nand kicked off her 32nd Legislative District campaign Saturday on the Edmonds Library patio.

Nand is running as a Democrat for State Representative Position 2, being vacated by long-term representative Cindy Ryu, who is running for the 32nd District Senate seat. The 32nd District includes parts of Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline and north Seattle (see map here). 

A small-business attorney, Nand joins three other candidates for that position, including Chris Bloomquist and Keith Scully of Shoreline and Will Chen, Nand’s colleague on the Edmonds City Council. May 4 is the deadline for candidates to file for the Nov. 3, 2026 general election. All of them will appear on the Aug. 4 primary election ballot, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election. (See critical dates on the Washington Secretary of State’s website here).

“I’m one of the underdogs in the race,” Nand told supporters, “but I believe it’s the underdogs that are going to get me across the finish line. And having friends, family and neighbors here today right at the very beginning just means so much to me as we start this journey to Olympia.”

She then passed the microphone to Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers.

Somers began by describing himself as “a local government guy” who’s “been at the county since 1998.” He told the crowd he’s backing Nand because she understands how state and local government must work together. 

“Cities and counties can’t do anything without the state,” he began. “The state sets the framework and it’s a partnership between state government and local government. Jenna has been here in the City Council and she understands the importance of local government.” 

Contrasting her with politicians who run “for the wrong reasons,” Somers praised her character, saying, “Jenna understands the community. She makes her decisions based on what’s best for the community. That, to me, really defines an outstanding public servant. And I consider Jenna an outstanding public servant.”

Nand then returned to the podium to speak about why she is running, what she will bring to Olympia, and her underlying values.

Nand explained that her campaign is about working‑class prosperity, accessible health care, strong public education and defending democracy. She pointed out that although she is “the youngest person in the race, the only woman of color and considered by some as the underdog,” she believes she’s going to “win this fight and go to Olympia and represent our shared values.”  

Rooting her priorities in her own experience, she noted, “I spent 10 years as a caregiver for my terminally ill father before he passed away last year, and I’m now battling breast cancer,” which is why she finds cuts to Medicaid and Medicare “really horrific.”

“I couldn’t imagine being given a life‑threatening diagnosis and then, just because of the number of digits in your bank account, being told that your life isn’t worth saving and we’re going to let you die,” she said. “That’s not America to me.”

On education, she recalled that when she attended the University of Washington she had Pell Grants, her tuition was $5,600 a year, and “I didn’t have to take loans.” 

“I don’t think that new graduates should start their careers with a mortgage‑size loan,” she said, adding that students in places like Edmonds and Yakima should have “the exact same access to educational opportunities.” 

“I have a lifelong commitment to working people, to organized labor, to making sure that there’s a path to prosperity for everyone, and everyone feels like they are investing in a system that’s also going to invest in them,” Nand said. “That’s what I was always taught growing up — it’s called the American dream — and it doesn’t matter what your last name is or what ZIP code you were born in, if you are willing to do the work and work hard, you can end up in a really happy, prosperous, successful place.” 

Politically, Nand said she moved into public life when Donald Trump ran in 2015, and she became “very scared that this was going to be the end of our 240‑plus‑year experiment in democracy.” She added that she is committed to stopping the advance of fascism as it overwhelms the federal government and seeps down to the local level, leaving state government to “step up and pick up a lot of the grant programs and human services that had previously been funded by the federal government.”

Summing up her north star in office, she promised that if voters help send her to Olympia she will be “100% committed to fighting for our values every single day that I’m there.” She pledged to not be beholden to special interests, to follow her “moral compass” and always be guided by  “what is best for our community our state our country and everyone in it.”

Her remarks were followed by Lynnwood Mayor George Hurst, who told the crowd that they should back Nand because she will fight for affordable health care and working‑class families. 

“It is a shame in this nation that we can’t have health care that is affordable,” he said. “Too many people who face a health crisis are also facing bankruptcy because of it, and Jenna will fight in Olympia to protect us from that.” 

Hurst stressed that he and Nand share a goal of “working class prosperity,” adding, “We really want to make sure that we raise the household incomes in the area and make sure that people have a living wage in our district.” 

He also pointed to the need to address homelessness with “real solutions,” noting services like those provided by the Lynnwood Hygiene Center. With “the state’s help, with someone like Jenna, we’re going to be able to provide vital services for those folks,” Hurst said, and ultimately “put that place [the Hygiene Center] out of business, because we don’t want to have unhoused people.”

Learn more about Jenna Nand’s campaign at her website here.