OLYMPIA, Wash. — Multiple high-profile departures will reshape the Washington state Legislature as several senators and representatives have announced plans to retire or make bids for higher office.

The exits span both parties and will open contested races up and down the ballot heading into November. Taken together, they represent a moment of political ambition and transition in Olympia — one that could reverberate far beyond the state's borders.

Here is a look at nine of the seats being vacated as election season approaches. All 98 House seats will be on the ballot, as will 24 Senate seats. Candidates have until May 8 to file their declaration to run for office.

Sen. Steve Conway, D-South Tacoma

Conway, 81, has represented the 29th Legislative District in Pierce County since winning a special election in 1993 — making him the longest continuously serving Democratic member of the state Legislature. He served as a representative for 18 years before his election to the Senate.

Conway said in a statement he plans to spend more time with his family in his retirement.

Conway is vice chair of the Labor and Commerce Committee, vice chair of the Senate Rules Committee, and a member of the Ways and Means Committee. Conway's focus has largely been on labor issues — before his time in the Legislature, he was a labor relations specialist for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

Democratic Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, confirmed in January that she would run for the seat, which will leave her House position open.

Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle

Saldaña is leaving the Senate not in retreat, but in pursuit. Rather than seek reelection to the 37th District, she is running for an open seat on the Metropolitan King County Council — a body with direct authority over a $20 billion budget, the county jail, public health infrastructure and some of the region's most contested land-use decisions.

Saldaña aims to replace Girmay Zahilay, who vacated the council seat after winning the King County executive race last year. She has represented the 37th District since 2017 and previously served as executive director of Puget Sound Sage, a community advocacy organization focused on economic and racial equity.

Rep. Chipalo Street is slated to run to replace Saldaña in a district covering South Seattle neighborhoods including Rainier Valley, Beacon Hill, the Central District and the city of Renton.

Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake

Warnick announced the day before the legislative session ended that she will not seek reelection, stepping away from a 20-year legislative career. First elected to the House in 2006 and later to the Senate in 2015, Warnick represented the 13th District and was known for her focus on agricultural policy and rural economic issues.

She has resisted new taxes on the Ways and Means and Higher Education and Workforce Development committees.

Warnick, 75, said that her family has been encouraging her to step down for quite some time" but said she will continue to serve out her term through January 2027.

“There is still much to be done, and I intend to work just as hard as I did on my first day until my very last day in office," she said.

Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia

Braun, the top Senate Republican, launched a campaign last August to unseat U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the 3rd Congressional District — a southwest Washington swing seat where voters backed President Donald Trump in 2024 while keeping Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat, in office. The race has drawn national attention as one of a handful of contests that could determine which party controls the U.S. House next year.

For Braun, the calculus is straightforward: He has been reelected three times to the Senate, ran unopposed in 2024, and holds a strong base in a district that already leans his direction at the federal level. He is betting the same voters who backed Trump can be persuaded to send him to Washington, D.C.

Gluesenkamp Perez, however, has proved to be a more durable elected official than her party label might suggest. She has positioned herself as a moderate willing to break ranks — most recently voting with Republicans on Homeland Security funding — and has cultivated a brand of pragmatic independence that has kept her competitive in a district Republicans believe they should own. The Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up.

Because Braun does not need to vacate his Senate seat to run, his district will not immediately face a vacancy — a notable contrast to the open-seat scramble unfolding elsewhere in the chamber.

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick

Where Braun is running from a position of strength, Boehnke faces a more complicated path — one that involves the president.

Boehnke has entered the crowded Republican primary to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse in central Washington's 4th Congressional District. He describes himself as a "fiscal conservative who will fight for America First ideas," but his relationship with the MAGA wing of the party is fraught: Trump endorsed a primary challenger against Boehnke in his 2022 state Senate race, a signal Trump viewed him with suspicion.

Now Boehnke is hoping to flip that script. He said he plans to seek Trump's endorsement if he advances through the August primary — a remarkable pivot for a candidate who has also positioned himself as a moderating voice within the Senate Republican Caucus, a stance he acknowledged could draw criticism from fellow Republicans.

Whether Trump's orbit will embrace him remains an open question, and the answer could decide the race.

Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham

First elected to the House in 2018, Shewmake was later elected to the Senate in 2022 after defeating Sen. Simon Sefzik, a Republican who was appointed to the seat earlier the same year.

Shewmake was the first Democrat in decades to be elected to the Senate position and during her time served as the chair for the Environment, Energy and Technology Committee as well as a member of the Transportation and Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee.

The lawmaker will finish out her term and wants to spend more time with her children, she said.

Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane

Graham represented the 6th District for eight years, focusing on criminal justice and victim advocacy. She served as ranking minority member of the House Community Safety Committee and announced in February she would not seek reelection.

Although she did not give a specific reason for her departure, Graham said the reason was "difficult but backed by her family's support.

Graham will work through the end of her term, which expires at the end of January.

Rep. Michelle Valdez, R-Gig Harbor

In late February, Valdez announced she would not run for reelection after 12 years in the House.

The move comes after the lawmaker recently lost her bid for the Senate seat in her district to Sen. Deb Krishnadasan, D-Gig Harbor, during November's special election. The district is one of the few remaining purple districts in the state.

During her time, she served as an assistant ranking minority member on the Health Care and Wellness Committee, as well as a member on the Appropriations Committee. She focused on causes to help foster youth and crime victims.

Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend

Tharinger, who has served since 2011, will step down after eight terms.

The longtime lawmaker is currently the chair of the Capital Budget Committee and sits on the Appropriations Committee.

Although he did not say the reason for his departure, the Washington State Standard reported in January that the lawmaker was sidelined by illness and hospitalizations during the legislative session, but tried to work remotely as much as possible.

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(Seattle Times political reporters Anumita Kaur and Shauna Sowersby contributed to this report.)

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