Melissa Santos
Melissa Santos is formerly a Crosscut staff reporter who covered state politics and the Legislature. She came to Crosscut from The Seattle Times editorial board, where she wrote columns and opinion pi
Latest work
Sherae Lascelles is giving Frank Chopp his biggest challenge in decades
The third-party candidate performed better in the Aug. 4 primary than anyone who has ever challenged Chopp, Washington's longest-serving House speaker.
WA’s next Speaker of the House will 'almost certainly' be a woman
Seattle’s Frank Chopp is stepping down after two decades as House speaker. So far, women are the ones lining up to permanently replace him.
Having problems voting in WA? We’ve got a tipline for that
Crosscut is partnering with ProPublica's Electionland to report on any issues voters encounter when casting ballots this year. You can help.
QAnon conspiracy theories have seeped into Northwest politics
The baseless movement claims satanic pedophiles run the world. One professor describes it as ‘a decentralized online conspiracy cult.’