Special election could affect balance of power at state Capitol

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- One legislative contest in the Puget Sound area will decide whether the balance of power changes at the state Capitol.

Filing week begins Monday for the November election, and the special election for the 45th District has already seen an influx of cash, our news partner The Seattle Times reports.

Voters will choose a replacement for Republican Sen. Andy Hill, the chamber's chief budget writer who died last year.

The two frontrunners are Democrat Manka Dhingra, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney in King County, and Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund, who has worked as a staffer for U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and as spokeswoman for the Bitcoin Foundation.

Republicans — with the help of a conservative Democrat who caucuses with them — control the chamber by just one vote. Democrats control the House by a slim two-seat majority.

As of Friday, Dhingra had reported raising about $262,000, and Englund had raised about $225,000.