Michaela Kelso
Michaela Kelso (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Washington House of Representatives to represent District 6-Position 2. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Kelso completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Michaela Kelso was born in Bad Homburg. She served in the U.S. Army from 1995 to 2018. Kelso worked as a linguist and as an interrogator for the Military Intelligence Corps and completed an apprenticeship in landscaping and horticulture. She also earned high school diploma from the Gymnasium Oberursel in Germany and an associate degree from Spokane Community College in 2024. As of 2024, Kelso was retired.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 6-Position 2
Incumbent Jenny Graham defeated Michaela Kelso in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 6-Position 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jenny Graham (R) | 60.3 | 37,386 | |
| Michaela Kelso (D) | 39.6 | 24,547 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 96 | ||
| Total votes: 62,029 | ||||
| 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 6-Position 2
Incumbent Jenny Graham and Michaela Kelso advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 6-Position 2 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jenny Graham (R) | 60.4 | 23,109 | |
| ✔ | Michaela Kelso (D) | 39.3 | 15,062 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 115 | ||
| Total votes: 38,286 | ||||
| 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 finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kelso in this election.
2022
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 6-Position 2
Incumbent Jenny Graham defeated Michaela Kelso in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 6-Position 2 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jenny Graham (R) | 61.6 | 36,580 | |
| Michaela Kelso (D) | 38.2 | 22,673 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 88 | ||
| Total votes: 59,341 | ||||
| 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 6-Position 2
Incumbent Jenny Graham and Michaela Kelso advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 6-Position 2 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jenny Graham (R) | 61.0 | 23,194 | |
| ✔ | Michaela Kelso (D) | 38.6 | 14,678 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 123 | ||
| Total votes: 37,995 | ||||
| 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
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michaela Kelso completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kelso's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Michaela was born the middle child to working-class parents in Germany. After she met and married her husband, an American soldier, she immigrated to the US in 1993, where she soon decided to join the US Army as well.
During her military career, Michaela worked in multiple positions, from Food Service to Personnel Administration and Source Operations, being recognized for her hard work and integrity at all levels. She received her US citizenship on February 6th, 2002.
While on vacation in 2009 Michaela and her family visited Spokane and fell in love with the area. They bought a property in Chattaroy, WA, and finally moved there in 2018 after Michaela and her husband retired.
Since her retirement, Michaela has graduated with three Associates Degrees from Spokane Community College, worked with multiple local groups, and volunteered with several congressional campaigns, the Spokane County Democrats, as well as the 6th and 7th LD Democrats.
- Education is Key! We need to ensure that ALL children can get the best education available. It shouldn’t depend on where they live, or how much money their parents have. Michaela Kelso will work to ensure that our schools are well-funded, and our educators are paid wages that are equal to their responsibilities. When our kids are well-educated, we all win.
- The cost of housing has skyrocketed in the last few years, making renting, let alone buying a home, too expensive for many. No one plans on being unhoused! As such, Michaela sees people in these situations less of a problem to be “fixed” than a group that needs to be assisted. Communities need help in order to provide necessary resources. We need to encourage the construction of multi-family homes, which will create medium-density and mixed-use residential areas, and reduce urban sprawl. Rampant market speculation has led to many housing prices nearly doubling in the last five years. This trend will only continue until the average Spokanite is priced out of their own city. Something must be done to curb this massive change.
- Women's Rights are Human Rights! The Dobbs decision changed the face of women’s health in this nation, and things have only gotten worse in the two years since its passing. We can see it just across the border in Idaho, which has one of the harshest anti-abortion policies in the country. The lack of Obstetricians and both pre- and post-natal care has turned North Idaho into a medical desert and has flooded Spokane’s hospitals with medical refugees. No pregnant person should be forced to carry a fetus to term if they don't wish to do so, or if it would be detrimental to their well-being. If any one woman is considered a second-class citizen in this country, we all are.
Having to restrict my activities after the Chernobyl disaster opened my eyes about the dangers dangers posed by nuclear reactors. Seeing the environmental disasters after the Exxon Valdez and the BP Horizon events confirmed my environmental positions.
We don't need to look far to see the effects of climate change and industrial pollution. Devastating fires, contaminated water, and, as a result of both, loss of life and property. But where is the support and leadership from our representatives? Missing in Action!
Passing legislation to hold polluters accountable and funding investigations into the extent of the damage and how to fix it will be one of Michaela's top priorities as a legislator.
Integrity. One must be prepared to work hard, even without reward, and then graciously admit defeat if the will of the voters didn't .
I am fairly tenacious. When I was stationed at Ft. Hood, TX, one of my Battalion Commanders called me his "own, personal pit bull". I also do a lot of research. I don't like to be wrong, not matter how convinced I am that what I believe is right.
1. Listening to their constituents.
2. Advocating for them.
3. Working with other legislators to enact laws to benefit all.
4. Ensure government funds are collected and spent equitably.
5. Hold others accountable when they commit crimes or acts that harm the citizens of Washington.
Responding to Climate Change. We need to get ahead of the problem or a large portion of our state will become uninhabitable.
Yes and No. If you have experience, of course you potentially will be more effective in your work. But requiring experience is gate-keeping.
Absolutely. When you get along with others they will be more inclined to listen to your positions, they may be more willing to compromise, or they may have insights that you were not aware off.
Senator Elizabeth Warren!
Not really. I love where I live, I am interested in helping my region.
While I generally am in favor of this, it isn't always practical. Our legislature meets for one short and one long session each term. Recalling the legislature for every emergency will delay needed responses, and may not even be necessary.
Spokane County Democrats, Washington State Democrats Veterans and Military Family Caucus, Humane Voters of Washington
Nobody is above the law. As
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.
2022
Michaela Kelso completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kelso's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I was born in Germany to working class parents. After marrying a Soldier, I immigrated to the US in 1993. I joined the US Army in 1995, deployed to Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and worked, and trained with hundreds, if not thousands of Soldiers, ultimately achieving the rank of Sergeant First Class. I retired after 23½ years of service, the last 15 in the Military Intelligence Corps. I am a trained Command Financial Specialist and Master Resiliency Trainer.
Currently I am working towards degrees in Arboriculture, Landscape Management, and Small Farms Production at Spokane Community College. I have also taken a number of History, Mathematics, Business Management, and Accounting classes while on active duty.
This year my husband and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. We have two adult children, a dog, two cats, and 23 chicken. My favorite vehicle is my tractor. I enjoy growing plants (mostly trees), reading, and preserving democracy.
I served our country for almost half my life, and I am not done yet. I look forward to working for all of you.
- Education is key! We need to ensure that ALL children can get the best education available. It shouldn’t depend on where you live, or how much money your parents have. I will work to ensure that our schools are well funded and our educators are paid wages comensurate with their responsibilities.When our kids are well educated, we all win.
- Healthcare is a Human Right. We need to fix our broken system that benefits corporations more than us. I don't want our seniors to have to ration medicine or food, and I want to make sure that everyone can see a doctor before their condition becomes an emergency. I support a move towards a single payer system, even in increments.
- We need to fix the housing crisis. The cost of housing has skyrocketed in the last year, making renting, let alone buying a home, too expensive for many. We need to encourage the construction of multi-family homes, creating medium density residential areas, and curb urban sprawl.
Having to restrict my activities after the Chernobyl disaster opened my eyes about the dangers posed by nuclear reactors. Seeing the environmental disasters after the Exxon Valdez and the BP Horizon events confirmed my environmental positions. We need to move towards sustainable energy production without the harmful side effects of nuclear, coal, 'natural' gas, or petroleum based production. One can argue about the causes of climate change (hint: it's caused by us), but the trends are clear: We are heading towards a climate disaster.
We are not insulated from it because we live on the other side of the mountains. Our summers are getting hotter, our precipitation rates are going down, the fire risk is going up. For now we have enough water to help us irrigate our crops, but what if our aquifer isn't being replenished by snow melt?
The only way to stop this is to reduce CO2 emissions. And since we cannot control CO2 or methane produced naturally, we have to control what we can, and that is our own consumption.
Washington may be way ahead of most of the nation with renewable energy production, but we still have significant carbon-heavy industries. We need to de-carbonize our economy, for the sake of our children.
Integrity. One must be prepared to work hard, without reward, and then graciously admit defeat.
I want to make a positive difference in people's lives.
One of our biggest problems are rising healthcare costs. They drive families into poverty and homelessness. Our seniors have to ration medication or food, or both.
I have experienced life with universal healthcare both in Germany and on Active Duty. There is nothing socialist about wanting to make sure that everyone can go to the doctor when they get sick. There is nothing socialist about everyone paying a little more so our most vulnerable are taken care of.
The 1986 Chernobyl Disaster happened less than two months before my 16th birthday. I vaguely remember other events, like the Russian Invasion of Afghanistan when I was 9, or the explosion of Mount St. Helens in 1980, but this was the first big event that specifically affected myself and my family.
Living in Germany we experienced immediate impacts on our daily lives: Fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, fish, and wild mushrooms were considered contaminated, and radioactive fallout kept people indoors in many areas in Germany, including in my home state of Hessen. Most campgrounds stayed closed that year, and thousands of tons of crops had to be destroyed.
To this day, berries, wild mushrooms, and wild boars in Eastern and Southern Germany are still contaminated with caesium-137.
I prefer an independent commission for redistricting. In Washington the parties in the legislature picked two members each, and the results (and their final conduct) were less than desirable nor transparent.
I was very impressed by the poise and grace exhibited by Danica Roem after she won her seat in the Virginia Assembly. Despite the very negative campaign messages about her by her opponent, she refused to speak bad about him after she won the election.
My favorite politician of all times, though, is Senator Elizabeth Warren. I was assigned the position of Command Financial Specialist for several years while stationed at Fort Hood. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Senator Warren's brain child), and the rules they enforced truly protected Soldiers much more than the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act, which only applied to situations associated with deployments or reassignments.
Additionally, Senator Warren has been a vocal champion for consumer rights since the 1990s and approaches problems with research and solutions.
What do dogs and trees have in common?
Sometimes their bark can be a little 'ruff'.
Compromise is often necessary, but not necessarily desirable. Why would I want to compromise on legislation to combat climate change with a climate change denier? Or compromise on a healthcare bill with an anti-vaccine advocate?
However, sometimes you have to work with people who are absolutely against your ideas and stances to get at least some of your policies enacted. I am always willing to hear people out to see if we can come to some kind of understanding.
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Washington House of Representatives District 6-Position 2 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 29, 2022
