Sharon Anne Shewmake (born May 19, 1980) is an American politician of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, and a professor of

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

and Energy Policy at

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (lo ...

. Shewmake represents the 42nd district in 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 Legislative Building in Olymp ...

after serving two terms in the State House.

Career

Shewmake holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Davis, and Bachelor's degrees in both Economics and in Environmental Science and Policy from Duke University. Her academic work focuses on the economics of housing and transportation, the impacts of environmental policies, and microeconomics. Her publications have examined, among other subjects, the impacts of policies meant to reduce air pollution and congestion as well as how consumers respond to environmental labels, including labels for agricultural products.

Political career

In the November 2018 general election, Shewmake defeated four-term incumbent

Vincent Buys Vincent Kyle Buys (born March 21, 1979) was a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 42nd district. He was the ranking member of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. He also served on the Appropriat ...

for State Representative (Pos. 2) by 981 votes. She took office in January 2019. In 2020, she won reelection, beating Republican

Jennifer Sefzik Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People * Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer * Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and telev ...

by 3,134 votes. Shewmake served on three committees in the State House. She serves as the Vice Chair of the Rural Development, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee and sits on the Energy and Environment Committee and the Transportation Committee. Her political work is focused on bringing down the cost of childcare and removing barriers to access, improving the economics of energy and energy transparency, as well as service to the agriculture industry. On November 19th, 2021, Shewmake announced she was running to represent the 42nd district in the

Washington 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 Legislative Building in Olympi ...

. Shewmake advanced to the general election with 47% of the vote in the

blanket primary The blanket primary is a system used for selecting political party candidates in a primary election, used in Argentina and historically in the United States. In a blanket primary, voters may pick one candidate for each office without regard to part ...

, opposing incumbent Republican

Simon Sefzik Simon A. Sefzik (born December 21, 1999) is an American politician of the Republican Party who served as a member of the Washington State Senate from the 42nd district. He assumed office on January 11, 2022. Early life and education Sefzik wa ...

, her former opponent Jennifer Sefzik’s son who was appointed to the position in January 2022 following the death of State Senator Doug Erickson. In the general election, Shewmake defeated Sefzik by over 800 votes.

References

Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Living people 21st-century American politicians University of California, Davis alumni 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Washington (state) 1980 births {{Washington-politician-stub