Sharon Shewmake

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Sharon Shewmake
Image of Sharon Shewmake

Democratic Party

Candidate, Washington State Senate District 42

Washington State Senate District 42
Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Predecessor
Prior offices
Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2
Successor: Joe Timmons
Predecessor: Vincent Buys

Compensation

Base salary

$60,191/year

Per diem

$202/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 8, 2022

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Duke University, 2002

Ph.D

University of California, Davis, 2010

Personal
Profession
Professor
Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Campaign TikTok

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

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) is running for re-election to the Washington State Senate to represent District 42. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]

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

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.

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:


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

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Washington State Senate District 42

Incumbent Sharon Shewmake is running in the general election for Washington State Senate District 42 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Sharon Shewmake
Sharon Shewmake (D)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. 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
✔
Image of Sharon Shewmake
Sharon Shewmake (D) Candidate Connection
 
50.6
 
38,098
Image of Simon Sefzik
Simon Sefzik (R) Candidate Connection
 
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 Connection = 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 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
✔
Image of Sharon Shewmake
Sharon Shewmake (D) Candidate Connection
 
47.1
 
24,497
✔
Image of Simon Sefzik
Simon Sefzik (R) Candidate Connection
 
33.1
 
17,248
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
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 Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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
✔
Image of Sharon Shewmake
Sharon Shewmake (D) Candidate Connection
 
51.7
 
47,702
Image of Jennifer Sefzik
Jennifer Sefzik (R) Candidate Connection
 
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 Connection = 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

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
✔
Image of Jennifer Sefzik
Jennifer Sefzik (R) Candidate Connection
 
50.4
 
31,599
✔
Image of Sharon Shewmake
Sharon Shewmake (D) Candidate Connection
 
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 Connection = 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.

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
✔
Image of Sharon Shewmake
Sharon Shewmake (D)
 
50.7
 
36,704
Image of Vincent Buys
Vincent Buys (R)
 
49.3
 
35,723

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 72,427
Candidate Connection = 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
✔
Image of Sharon Shewmake
Sharon Shewmake (D)
 
52.3
 
21,733
✔
Image of Vincent Buys
Vincent Buys (R)
 
47.7
 
19,837

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 41,570
Candidate Connection = 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

Candidate Connection

Sharon Shewmake has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Sharon Shewmake asking her to fill out the survey. If you are Sharon Shewmake, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

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You can ask Sharon Shewmake to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing sharon@sharon4whatcom.com.

Email

2022

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. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

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.

  • We need more affordable housing, especially in cities where people want to live and where jobs are.
  • It's an elected leader's role to make sure they're listening to all their constituents.
  • We need to build an economy that works for everyone.
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.
Come take an economics class with me!
Realizing that winning an election is a community effort and wanting to use that office to do good for others, not oneself.
The Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster. I was so excited to see a teacher go into space and horrified to learn when she didn't.
Babysitting and Honey Baked Ham Company! It was the only place that would hire a 15 year old and it was only during the holiday season, but I was so excited to earn $300 all on my own.
We Don't Talk About Bruno. Oh no, it's stuck in your head too now!
Affordable housing. It's the biggest part of peoples budgets and something state and local government can influence a lot.
Yes! Although I don't think there is just *one* type of legislator. We all bring a breadth of understanding and experience to the legislature and are better off the more different perspectives we all have. This is true not just for the legislature but for so many human endeavors!
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.
Compromise is necessary for just about anything you do with another human. I have to credit my husband for teaching me more about compromise and learning have tough talks, lay out situations and look for win-win scenarios.

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

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. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

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.
  • 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Dreams by Fleetwood Mac
It's helpful but sometimes too much can make you partisan and detached from what actual voters want. I think economics expertise is really helpful because we are not especially partisan people and will support ideas from both sides of the aisle if the numbers work out.
Yes! You can't pass a bill without 50% approval, but in reality it takes much more than that because bills need to be able to make it through committees as well. This job is working with other people, some who may not agree with you, so building relationships is crucial. Throwing insults will mean you get nothing done.
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.
All three were areas where I have research experience in!
I wouldn't run for U.S. Congress even if you paid me a million dollars. There are some things I want to see happen in Olympia, but I don't see myself doing this forever. I might want to run for City Council or other local races to help the area I live in more specifically. I always want to be a resources for other people running for office! We don't do this alone, it takes a community!

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
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Washington State Senate District 42Won general$704,370 $687,694
2020Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2Won general$406,716 N/A**
2018Washington House of Representatives District 42-Position 2Won general$192,752 N/A**
Grand total$1,303,838 $687,694
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections 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 and 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.

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2024


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018





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External links

Candidate

Washington State Senate District 42
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 4, 2022
    2. ↑ LinkedIn, "Sharon Shewmake," accessed January 28, 2023
    3. ↑ 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)


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