Kuderer wins Washington insurance commissioner race

State Sen. Patty Kuderer of Bellevue, a Democrat, is poised to be Washington's next insurance commissioner, in charge of regulating the car, health and home insurance industries and advocating for consumers.

As of Wednesday, Kuderer held a nearly 15-point lead over her Republican opponent, Sen. Phil Fortunato of Auburn. The Associated Press called the race for Kuderer late Tuesday. She will be the first new insurance commissioner in 24 years.

She will succeed Mike Kreidler, who did not seek re-election.

Kuderer, 65, has served as a Democratic state lawmaker since 2015, first in the Washington House of Representatives and now as a senator. As insurance commissioner, she said she will continue work she's done in the Senate to push for universal health care.

As home and auto insurance costs rise due to inflation, climate-related disasters, more car crashes and other factors, Kuderer's plan to reduce rates includes increasing transparency in how premiums are calculated in the auto insurance industry and exploring risk assessment strategies to limit how climate change drives up premiums for homeowners.

Fortunato, an outspoken conservative who's been a Republican state senator since 2017, ran a sharply different campaign from Kuderer. He called a universal health care system "costly and dangerous." His plan to lower insurance rates included reducing regulation and expanding the number of insurers in Washington.

Fortunato launched a campaign for secretary of state earlier this year but withdrew from that race when the Washington State Republican Party endorsed a different candidate for the office.

By the end of the race, Kuderer had raised $438,586 and Fortunato had raised $81,705.