Democratic Challengers Lead in Washington District 14
Challengers Ezequiel Morfin and Chelsea Dimas hold early leads over Republican incumbents in unofficial Lower Yakima Valley House results.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Legislative Policy
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Democratic challengers Ezequiel Morfin and Chelsea Dimas lead their state House races in District 14, while incumbent Republican Reps. Deb Manjarrez and Gloria Mendoza trail in initial, unofficial results. The Yakima County Elections Office will continue counting ballots in the days ahead.
Why it matters
If the early results hold, the outcome would be an upset in a heavily Latino district against incumbent Republican representatives. The district's boundaries were redrawn after the 2020 census and again in 2024, and a lawsuit over those boundaries is pending.
Unofficial Tuesday night tallies show Dimas with 55% in Position 1 and Morfin with 60% in Position 2, while Mendoza and Manjarrez hold 44.7% and 39.5% respectively. Final certified totals will depend on remaining ballots and the outcome of the pending boundary lawsuit.
The players
Yakima County Elections Office
The county office responsible for tabulating and certifying election results in Yakima County, which is continuing to count ballots in District 14.
Chelsea Dimas
Democratic challenger from Sunnyside running for the Position 1 seat in Washington's 14th Legislative District after losing to Gloria Mendoza in 2024.
Ezequiel Morfin
Democratic challenger from Toppenish running for the Position 2 seat in Washington's 14th Legislative District against incumbent Deb Manjarrez.
Gloria Mendoza
Republican state representative from Grandview who won the Position 1 seat in 2024 and is trailing in the initial count.
Deb Manjarrez
Republican state representative from Wapato who holds the Position 2 seat and is trailing in the initial count.
The details
Dimas, of Sunnyside, and Morfin, of Toppenish, challenge incumbents Mendoza, of Grandview, and Manjarrez, of Wapato. Mendoza first won the Position 1 seat two years ago by defeating Dimas in the 2024 general election. District 14 covers most of the Lower Yakima Valley, including part of the Yakama Reservation, East Yakima and part of Pasco.
Timeline
- 2024: Mendoza defeats Dimas in the Position 1 general election and district boundaries are redrawn again.
- 2020 census: District boundaries are redrawn following the census.
- Tuesday night: Initial unofficial results show the Democratic challengers leading.
- Days ahead: The Yakima County Elections Office continues counting ballots.
Political Context
The district was redrawn after the 2020 census and again in 2024 under Washington's post-census redistricting process, and the current boundaries are the subject of a pending lawsuit. The early results show Democratic challengers leading in a district whose boundaries have been reshaped twice in recent years.
Residents of District 14 will be represented by whichever candidates ultimately win, and the final result will depend on ballots still being counted in Yakima County. The pending boundary lawsuit could also affect future district lines.
The takeaway
Early returns can shift as remaining ballots are counted, so the outcome in District 14 should be treated as provisional until the Yakima County Elections Office certifies the final totals.
Further reading
Explore more Legislative Policy coverage in Washington.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Yakima Herald-Republic.
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