Patricia Eileen Kuderer (born 1958) is an American politician and attorney who is serving as the 9th Insurance Commissioner of Washington since 2025. She previously served as a member of the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Washington State Capitol, Legis ...

for the 48th district from 2017 to 2025. She was appointed to the State Senate after

Cyrus Habib Kamyar Cyrus Habib (born August 22, 1981) is an American Jesuit, lawyer, and politician who served as both a state legislator from 2013 to 2017 and then as the 16th lieutenant governor of Washington from 2017 to 2021. He also served as the sta ...

was elected lieutenant governor. In 2024, Kuderer was elected as

Insurance Commissioner An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with their office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office of ...

of Washington, succeeding Mike Kreidler.

Early life and education

Kuderer was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

William Mitchell College of Law William Mitchell College of Law was a private law school from 1956 to 2015 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), it offered full- and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor (J. ...

(now the Mitchell Hamline School of Law).

Political career

The

King County Council The Metropolitan King County Council, the legislative body of King County, Washington, consists of nine members elected by district. The Council adopts laws, sets policy, and holds final approval over the budget. Its current name and structure is ...

appointed Kuderer to the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

in 2015, following the resignation of

Ross Hunter Ross Hunter (born Martin Terry Fuss; May 6, 1920 – March 10, 1996) was an American film and television producer and actor. He is best known for producing light comedies such as '' Pillow Talk'' (1959), and the glamorous melodramas '' Magnifi ...

. Following the election of

to be

lieutenant governor of Washington The lieutenant governor of Washington is an elected office in the U.S. state of Washington. The incumbent is Denny Heck, a Democrat who began his term in January 2021. The lieutenant governor serves as president of the Washington State Senate, ...

in 2016, county and state Democrats chose Kuderer to succeed Habib in the

in January 2017. In 2019, Kuderer sponsored a bill to require presidential candidates to release five years of tax returns to qualify for the Washington state primary and general election ballots. Kuderer's bill is similar to legislation proposed in at least 25 other states, which have begun a debate on the Constitutional authority for states to make the tax return release a requirement. The bill was signed into law on April 26, 2019. On January 20, 2020, a complaint was filed by the Washington Asians for Equality and the American Coalition for Equality for Kuderer's use of the phrase "Chinese fire drill" during a committee hearing on January 17. Kuderer had apologized at the January 20 session of the committee, before the complaint was filed. Kuderer sponsored a bill to prohibit

open carry In the United States, open carry refers to the practice of visibly carrying a firearm in public places, as distinguished from Concealed carry in the United States, concealed carry, where firearms cannot be seen by the casual observer. To "carry ...

of weapons around the state Capitol and around permitted public demonstrations, that was signed into law on May 12, 2021. In April 2023 Kuderer supported a bill that would ban the import, manufacture and sale of guns defined as assault weapons. In the

2024 elections This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...

, Kuderer ran for Insurance Commissioner of Washington. She defeated Republican state Senator

Phil Fortunato Philip D. Fortunato (born 1953 or 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 31st district, based in southeast King County and northeast Pierce County since 2017. A membe ...

in the general election with 57% of the vote.https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/patty-kuderer-leading-phil-fortunato-in-insurance-commissioner-race/

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuderer, Patty 1958 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators Living people Washington (state) insurance commissioners William Mitchell College of Law alumni Women state legislators in Washington (state)