Democrat Patricia Kuderer defeated Republican Phil Fortunato in the bid to replace the nation’s longest serving insurance commissioner with 57% of the votes.
Nearly 65% of the ballots have been counted so far, and numerous outlets declared her the victor.
The winner will replace current Washington Commissioner of Insurance Mike Kreidler, a Democrat who first took office in 2001. He announced in 2023 he was not running for re-election. Kreidler was first elected as the insurance commissioner in 2000. He was re-elected to his sixth term as one of the country’s 11 elected insurance commissioners in 2020.
Kuderer is a Washington State Senator, having been elected in 2017. She previously served in the Washington House of Representatives.
Fortunato is also a state senator, and he too served in the House of Representatives. He was re-elected in 2022. He owns a stormwater management company.
Fortunato wants to reduce insurance rates and bring more coverage to the state by encouraging competition and more choices by reducing regulation and bringing more insurance companies into the state, while Kuderer’s plan to reduce rates includes increasing transparency in the auto insurance industry around premiums are calculated to help improve consumer understanding of different policies and encourage competition among auto insurers, according to the Washington Standard.
The term is for four years, and carries a salary of $150,085.
Topics Washington
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