The 2nd Legislative District in the south Puget Sound region has always been a conservative foothold among more Democratic and liberal-leaning areas of Western Washington. But now it could be moving even further right, if the current election is an indication of what’s happening in parts of Yelm and Lacey and surrounding rural areas.
Two candidates – Matt Marshall, a former Eatonville School Board member and staunch Second Amendment advocate; and John Snaza, a former sheriff with more self-described conservative ideas on drug addiction, mental health and homelessness – are competing to replace a more mainstream Republican in the House this fall.
The soon-to-be former House leader for the district, Rep. J.T. Wilcox, said he is not sure if the district is considered more conservative than it used to be, but said it is certainly different from other conservative areas of Washington.
“Republicans in the Puget Sound area have, in some ways, a different kind of conservative outlook than people in Eastern Washington, and it’s because in Eastern Washington Republicans are in charge,” Wilcox said. “They’re responsible for the problems and the solutions. In Western Washington, the Republicans usually are not in charge, and they’re often way more frustrated because they haven’t really been able to try out their solutions.”
Wilcox, a Republican from Yelm, told Cascade PBS in a phone interview that recent changes in the district, which encompasses parts of Pierce and Thurston counties and parts of Yelm and Lacey, could impact who is elected next to the 2nd District seat.
For example, Wilcox said there used to be more farms in the area than there are now. In Yelm, the lawmaker owns and operates Wilcox Family Farms – a major Washington supplier of eggs.
There’s also not much of an economy in the 2nd District, which is made up of small towns and more rural areas, especially after political redistricting removed Orting, he said.
Redistricting not only cut out Orting, but also made the 2nd more a Thurston County district after parts of Pierce County were removed and less densely populated parts of Thurston County added, he noted. Wilcox said it’s possible that could make the district more Republican, but “we’ll find out.”
Typically, the district runs 60% to 65% Republican.
Those voters will decide who will replace Wilcox in January. He announced in February that he would step down after 14 years in the Legislature.
After all votes were officially counted for the open seat during the August primary, Marshall took home 34% of the vote, while Snaza nabbed the second spot for the general election with nearly 30%. Two Democrats also ran for the position: Yanah G. Cook, who garnered nearly 24%, and Michael Holloman, who got only 12%.
Marshall told Cascade PBS in a phone interview that he believes he is more conservative than Wilcox, which he thinks is likely more reflective of the district.
“I am more willing to be vocal about some of my positions, rather than being politically correct, I guess would be one way to put it,” Marshall said.
Marshall said he is an avid and unapologetic Second Amendment advocate, while he believes Wilcox was always focused more on the fiscal side of things in the Legislature. Marshall also thinks the Legislature should have more budget oversight before adding any new taxes, and hopes that if he is elected he can help audit the budget.
He attributed his campaign’s success so far to talking with and being transparent with community members, and said he wants to bring that attitude to the Legislature.
Marshall’s political run hasn’t been without controversy, however.
He said that he believed an article published in The News Tribune about his ties to the controversial Washington Three Percenters helped him win his seat on the Eatonville School Board because it highlighted his patriotism, but said that he has not been involved with the group for years.
Marshall also pushed back on the idea that the Washington-based Three Percenters were a part of the national Three Percenters group that took part in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and maintained that the state group was solely a pro-gun group focused on working with homeless veterans. But hate-watch groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center say the Three Percenter sub-ideology “falls within the larger anti-government militia movement.”
Additionally, Marshall was criticized for supporting former Spokane Valley Rep. Matt Shea, who was removed from the House Republican Caucus for participating in domestic terrorism and distributing a manifesto titled “The Biblical Basis for War.”
Wilcox, in contrast, pushed Shea to resign after findings from an investigation were released to the Legislature. Marshall said he believes the way Shea was “attacked by his own caucus was wrong,” and was critical of the political tactics used to remove him from office.
Marshall ran against Wilcox in 2020, but did not advance in the primary.
Wilcox said he is endorsing Snaza for his former seat. Wilcox’s seatmate for the district, Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, is also endorsing Snaza. Barkis, a mainstream Republican, is running unopposed in his district.
In a phone interview with Cascade PBS, Snaza emphasized his alignment with Wilcox on “conservative values” like accountability and support for working families, but acknowledged that his approach to issues such as drug addiction, mental health and homelessness might be deemed more controversial than other approaches.
“I’ve dealt with all of those and so obviously I want to fix the situation, but giving out handouts isn’t fixing the situation,” Snaza said.
He said his time in law enforcement allowed him to see the “devastation” caused by drugs, and wants to work to keep hard drugs such as methamphetamines, cocaine and heroin illegal. He believes his experiences working in the community he’s lived in will make him a good lawmaker.
Snaza, who worked in law enforcement for two decades with three terms as the Thurston County Sheriff, said he is all for capitalism, but still believes in people getting fair wages, and said he will support measures to ensure living wages for Washingtonians, particularly in more economically depressed areas.
Additionally, he said he wants to see more housing affordability in the state, and said he will work to make that a possibility if elected.
Snaza has also faced controversies of his own, such as when current Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders accused him of launching an investigation into Sanders’ behavior while he was running against Snaza for sheriff in 2022. Sanders called the move “purely political” at the time. Additionally, the county was sued in 2019 after Snaza rear-ended a driver while driving a government-issued vehicle, causing injuries.
In 2020, Snaza, also a Second Amendment advocate, attended a meeting in which attendees discussed a possible citizen’s arrest of Attorney General Bob Ferguson over tightened gun laws. Several in attendance wore the insignia of the Three Percenters, The Seattle Times reported. Although Snaza was sympathetic to attendees’ objections to red flag laws, the sheriff urged them not to take matters into their own hands, and declined to sanction the formation of a Thurston County militia.
While it is unclear yet which candidate will win in the 2nd Legislative District, Snaza has so far raised more than $53,000 from groups such as the Washington State Troopers Political Action Committee, the Reagan Fund, and the House Republican Organizational Committee.
Marshall has raised more than $25,000 so far from groups like the Pierce County Republican Party and the Leewens Corporation. Republican Sen. Jim McCune, who represents the 2nd, also contributed to Marshall’s campaign.
The last day to turn in ballots for the general election is Nov. 5.