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Joe Nguyen

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Joe Nguyen
Image of Joe Nguyen

Democratic Party

Prior offices
Washington State Senate District 34
Successor: Emily Alvarado
Elections and appointments
Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Seattle University, 2005

Personal
Birthplace
Seattle, Wash.
Profession
Project manager
Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal LinkedIn 

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Joe Nguyen (Democratic Party) was a member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 34. He assumed office in 2019. He left office on January 15, 2025.

Nguyen (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Washington State Senate to represent District 34. He will not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 3, 2026.

Biography

Joe Nguyen was born in Seattle, Washington. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Seattle University in 2005. Nguyen’s career experience includes working as a project manager at Microsoft. He was elected in 2018 to represent District 34 in the Washington State Senate.[1]

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: [email protected].

2023-2024

Nguyen was assigned to the following committees:

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2021-2022

Nguyen was assigned to the following committees:

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2019-2020

Nguyen was assigned to the following committees:

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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

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

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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 34

Incumbent Joe Nguyen defeated John Potter in the general election for Washington State Senate District 34 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joe Nguyen
Joe Nguyen (D)
 
86.1
 
59,713
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
John Potter (R)
 
13.8
 
9,570
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
105

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

Total votes: 69,388
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.

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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington State Senate District 34

Incumbent Joe Nguyen and John Potter defeated Amber Bennett, GoodSpaceGuy, and Tony Mitchum in the primary for Washington State Senate District 34 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joe Nguyen
Joe Nguyen (D)
 
83.3
 
35,911
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
John Potter (R)
 
9.9
 
4,289
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Amber Bennett (Independent)
 
5.2
 
2,257
Image of GoodSpaceGuy
GoodSpaceGuy (R)
 
0.8
 
355
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Tony Mitchum (Independent)
 
0.6
 
252
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
50

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

Total votes: 43,114
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

2021

See also: Municipal elections in King County, Washington (2021)

General election

General election for King County Executive

Incumbent Dow Constantine defeated Joe Nguyen in the general election for King County Executive on November 2, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dow Constantine
Dow Constantine (Nonpartisan)
 
54.7
 
312,663
Image of Joe Nguyen
Joe Nguyen (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
44.4
 
253,609
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.9
 
4,874

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

Total votes: 571,146
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 King County Executive

Incumbent Dow Constantine and Joe Nguyen defeated Bill Hirt, GoodSpaceGuy, and Johnathon Crines in the primary for King County Executive on August 3, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dow Constantine
Dow Constantine (Nonpartisan)
 
51.9
 
241,478
✔
Image of Joe Nguyen
Joe Nguyen (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
32.6
 
151,757
Image of Bill Hirt
Bill Hirt (Nonpartisan)
 
10.9
 
50,553
Image of GoodSpaceGuy
GoodSpaceGuy (Nonpartisan)
 
2.8
 
12,877
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Johnathon Crines (Nonpartisan)
 
1.5
 
6,884
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4
 
2,075

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

Total votes: 465,624
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 Nguyen's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.

2018

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Washington State Senate District 34

Joe Nguyen defeated Shannon Braddock in the general election for Washington State Senate District 34 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joe Nguyen
Joe Nguyen (D)
 
58.3
 
40,516
Image of Shannon Braddock
Shannon Braddock (D)
 
41.7
 
28,996

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 69,512
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 34

The following candidates ran in the primary for Washington State Senate District 34 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joe Nguyen
Joe Nguyen (D)
 
31.1
 
14,019
✔
Image of Shannon Braddock
Shannon Braddock (D)
 
24.7
 
11,114
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Lois Schipper (D)
 
9.7
 
4,365
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Sofia Aragon (D)
 
9.1
 
4,099
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Darla Green (R)
 
7.8
 
3,523
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Courtney Lyle (R)
 
6.0
 
2,690
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Debi Wagner (Independent)
 
3.2
 
1,450
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Lisa Ryan Devereau (D)
 
2.9
 
1,310
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Annabel Quintero (D)
 
2.7
 
1,226
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Hillary Shaw (Independent)
 
1.8
 
790
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Lemuel Charleston (D)
 
1.1
 
476

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 45,062
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

Joe Nguyen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Joe Nguyen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Candidate Connection

Joe Nguyen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nguyen'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 son of refugees from White Center, and worked as a janitor at my own high school. Despite great adversity, I broke the cycle of poverty through support from public services and hard work to build a successful career in the private sector.

When a terrible car accident left my father quadraplegic, our neighbors built my family a ramp that we couldn't have afforded on our own. That compassion is what motivates me to serve: the drive to build a future I’ll be proud for my three young kids to inherit.

As a State Senator, I’ve worked hard to make Washington a place where everyone has an opportunity to thrive. Since taking office, we’ve passed policies that are making a difference in people’s lives: tax breaks for seniors and working families, strengthening police accountability, and funding critical anti-poverty programs to keep people housed.

The work I’ve accomplished in Olympia shows we can get things done. I’m running for King County Executive to tackle ongoing emergencies like homelessness, housing affordability, gun violence, climate change, and economic recovery. We need leaders who share the same experiences as families in King County and will act with the urgency required to deliver results.

  • The County Executive’s office has the ability to address our most pressing issues. Climate change, transit, housing, criminal justice, homelessness - all issues that are deeply impacting our communities. We have the resources and the policy plans to solve these problems, what we’ve lacked is a leader who will act with the fierce urgency of now to get it done. I know we can transform the way we work in Martin Luther King, Jr. County because we did it in the legislature, but it takes action, not just words.
  • Six years after declaring homelessness an emergency, our county officials has allowed the crisis to get worse. Study after study has told us what it will take to address this situation, and what we need now are leaders who will act with urgency and be accountable to solve the most important issue in King County.
  • After years of setting aggressive climate goals, King County’s leadership has failed to enact policies that will actually meet those targets according to the County’s own analysis. We know what we need to do to hit our climate goals, the only remaining question is whether we can trust the same leaders who have yet to set us on a path to avert the worst of the climate crisis to finally show the urgency needed to get the job done.
My campaign will center all of our communities needs, but our platform focuses largely on creating a Just Economy, the Environment, Transportation, Criminal Justice Reform, and Housing and Homelessness. These policies are entwined; keeping and getting people housed requires meaningful investments in public services. King County has the resources to provide quality housing and economic stability. It’s the lack of fearless leadership that has prolonged our housing and economic stratification crisis. I believe in progressive revenue sources, fixing our upside-down tax system that overly burdens working Washingtonian residents and allows the uber rich to not pay their fair share. Progressive revenue will also give the county additional resources to facilitate much needed economic development.

We desperately need to increase our public transportation capabilities, not only to better connect all areas of King County, but to mitigate our environmental impact. A robust transit system, that’s free, benefits everyone and betters accessibility to work, school, medical care and more. And the more we can get people out of cars in long, winding commutes, the better for our environment.

Criminal justice is another priority for my campaign. The youth jail never should have been built, as it perpetuates the criminalization of poverty and BIPOC communities, and fails to rehabilitate children.
The County Executive’s office is responsible for implementing critical social service programs and has the ability to address and lead on our most pressing issues. The Executive office directly oversees how we operate and provides funding for: King County Metro and Sound Transit, adult and juvenile jail, law enforcement, and court systems (currently 73% of our general fund’s budget); Public Health, our regional homelessness strategy, and sustainability practices and conservation. We have worked in the State legislature to secure huge wins, but many of our most pressing issues rely on local implementation to be solved, and are directly overseen by the Executive. Without new leadership there, we will continue to fall short of real progress for those being left behind. Another study isn’t going to solve homelessness – we know what the issues are, and it’s time to actually get to work. What we need now is leaders with the political will, and the urgency, to drive us forward.
Growing up this wasn’t the case but after having kids of my own I’ve developed a deep sense of appreciation for my mother. Being able to raise four children on her own in very difficult circumstances was incredible.

In terms of leadership, I had a manager when I worked retail at REI in college who was quiet but always made sure everything ran smoothly even if that meant he had to take on tasks that one of his employees was supposed to do. He was selfless and simply wanted everyone to be successful in their roles.

About a year after working with him I learned that he was also a world renowned mountain climber and widely respected in the outdoor community. Despite having every reason to boast about his accomplishments, he never did and just quietly went about achieving his goals and getting things done.
This sounds cliche but the musical Hamilton would be appropriate. Hamilton was an imperfect character but had the lived experiences and willingness to fight urgently. Someone who saw that we all could be better and devoted his life to his Country.
Undaunted resolve to implement the solutions we know are right. Other elected officials wait for approval from their high donors or elites before serving a very watered down plan, but I lead by what the people want and have stated are high priorities.

Elected officials must also be courageous to pursue wide encompassing policy. We often know what the solutions are, but elected officials can lack the courage to actually act on and implement them. It’s necessary to be truthful to the pursuit of improving the lives of every resident, regardless if at the time it seems unpopular or too extreme.
I understand what’s at stake if the county does not take a strong position to resolve homelessness and housing insecurity, our upside-down tax system, and the criminalization of poverty and BIPOC communities.
Undeniable dedication to see a solution through, and not prolong inaction.
When I ran for my State Senate seat in 2018, my district saw the highest turnout of voters of Vietnemese descent. I hope part of my legacy can be engaging many voters who didn’t see themselves represented or integral to our community’s politics.
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in 1989. I was six years old and remember seeing birds covered in oil on the television.
Cashier/Concessions at the Seattle Imax Theater, where I worked for 3 years.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I read this shortly after my father passed away when I was in my early 20’s. At that point I had spent my life doing what other people wanted me to do without much consideration for what I truly wanted to become. At that point I was working in finance and spent most of my time reading reports or studies and this was one of the few fiction books I read. It gave me a different perspective on life and I quit my job shortly after finishing that book. The Alchemist alone wasn’t the reason for why I made so many life changes at that time but it felt serendipitous to have been given that book by a friend at that moment in my life.
Jean-Luc Picard for his combination of leadership style and mission to explore the unknown.
Excavator by Blippi. I have three children 6 years old and under.
We can talk about skills or formal political insider experiences being helpful, and as a State Senator I do have insight on government and legislative processes, but it means nothing without the direct lived experiences of what many King County residents endure. I grew up in public housing, having to take on multiple paying jobs as a high schooler to care for my family that was riddled with costly medical bills. I experienced the inadequate public transportation that made my commute to and from work and school an hour long, when by car it usually takes 15 minutes, all because of insufficient infrastructure in South King County, an area that’s predominately BIPOC and immigrant populated. The problems facing the county are not hypotheticals to me-- they’re pressing. I have the drive for impactful leadership to execute these much needed and possible solutions because of my lived experiences.

My first ever political race was the first race I won, and the only formal political experience I had prior to that was being an page to, ironically, Dow Constantine, at the King County Executive Office. I believe requiring or prioritizing previous experience in government or politics discounts the harsh barrier to entry many BIPOC face to get their foot in the door. We should look beyond formal experience, and more into what that particular perspective or skill they can lead with in office.
Did you hear about the corduroy pillow? No? It made headlines around the world!

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.

Joe Nguyen campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Washington State Senate District 34Won general$387,100 $376,052
2018Washington State Senate District 34Won general$110,587 N/A**
Grand total$497,687 $376,052
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

In 2024, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 7.

  • Associated General Contractors of Washington: Senate and House
Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019







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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 28, 2021

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Washington State Senate District 34
    2019-2025    		 Succeeded by
    Emily Alvarado (D)


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    Current members of the Washington State Senate
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