Learn More from our Candidates & Inform Your Vote!

Early in each election cycle, we invite local candidates to participate in a candidate forum. We record these forums so that you can hear about their platforms first-hand. Submit your questions, watch our candidate forums, and be a voter!

About our candidate forums

Our forums are a type of job interview designed for candidates to explain their views and inform voters. In each forum, the moderator asks candidates the same questions. We solicit these questions from the public and vet them within the League. We don't provide candidates with questions in advance. LWVTC with our partner, Thurston Community Media, produces these forums for offices Thurston County residents will vote for.

In addition to watching the forums using the links below, you can also find them on our YouTube Channel!

2024 statewide candidate forums

Superintendent of Public Instruction Candidate Forum WATCH FORUM

Attorney General Candidate Forum WATCH FORUM

2024 LOCAL LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATE FORUMS

THANKS TO THURSTON COMMUNITY MEDIA!

Legislative District 22, Senate: Jessica Bateman & Bob Iyall

WATCH FORUM

Legislative District 22, House, Position 1 & 2: Beth Doglio, Steve Owens, & Lisa Parshley

WATCH FORUM

Legislative District 35, Representative Position 2: Travis Couture & James De Hart

WATCH FORUM

Legislative District 35, Representative Position 2: Travis Couture & James De Hart

WATCH FORUM

Thurston County Commissioner, Districts 2 & 4:Rachel Dreon, JW Foster, & Wayne Fournier

WATCH FORUM

Legislative District 2, Senate: Ronda Litzenberger & Erasmo Ruiz Gonzalez

WATCH FORUM

Vote in the Primary Election by August 6, 2024

Vote in the General Election by November 5, 2024

Our Candidate Forum Policies

OUR PROCESS TO INVITE CANDIDATES TO OUR CANDIDATE FORUMS

We invite every candidate who has filed to participate in our forums.
We do not hold candidate forums if only one candidate accepts our invitation, or if there is only one candidate on the ballot.
Due to the importance of candidate forums to the public, we ask our members and members of the public to reach out to candidates to encourage them to participate in the League's forums.

CANDIDATE FORUM AND DEBATE POLICies

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization whose purpose is to promote the informed and active participation of citizens in government. This means League does not support or oppose candidates for public office and acts only on issues chosen by the membership for study and action. The League holds election events, including candidate forums.

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Empty Chair

A forum shall not be conducted if there is a single candidate participating. This is called an empty chair situation. If a candidate cancels in time to allow the League to make other arrangements, the League should attempt to reschedule that forum.

In primary races with more than two candidates, a forum may be held if more than one candidate is willing to participate. For example, if there are five candidates for a position in the primary, but only two agree to participate, the forum may still be held. It is vital to invite all candidates as early as possible and to obtain commitments early. Every effort should be made to encourage candidates to participate and to reschedule if necessary.

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Moderators & Timers

To preserve the League’s credibility as a nonpartisan organization, and to avoid any appearance of bias, moderators and timers for these forums shall not have contributed to, endorsed, or publicly supported any of the candidates participating in the forum in which they are moderating or timing.

This policy applies to individual events and circumstances. It will only apply to a forum where a moderator or timer may have endorsed, publicly supported or donated to a specific candidate in that forum. A moderator or timer may have a conflict in one candidate forum, but not in another and will still be able to moderate.

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Write-in Candidates

The forum committee may consider a write in candidate as a participant in a candidate forum, if they meet the following: (1) the candidate must have officially filed and paid any fee to the county elections office in accordance with RCW 29A.24.311; and (2) there must be an active campaign on behalf of the write-in candidate.

If a write-in candidate participates in a forum, the moderate must announce in advance that the write in candidate’s name will not appear on the ballot and ballots for the write in candidate will only be counted if they meet the requirements in RCW 29A.60.021(7) or (8).