David Larson

How this candidate is likely to rule, and why.

Dave Larson is the clearest anti-income-tax candidate in the 2026 field, and his record makes that reading unusually well-grounded.

He has been endorsed by the Washington State Republican Party, received direct financial support in the 2024 cycle from Future 42 and its affiliated Project 42 network, whose stated mission is to maintain Washington as income-tax-free, and appeared in training programs organized by Full Court Press, the conservative judicial infrastructure organization chaired by former Republican AG Rob McKenna.

Larson himself has stated publicly that he 'opposed the state Supreme Court decision to uphold the capital gains tax' in Quinn, the most direct candidate statement on the tax question identified in this research. He joined the Federalist Society 41 years ago, though he states he has not renewed membership.

His campaign emphasizes applying law as written rather than personal agendas, protecting constitutional principles as written, and restoring balance to a court he views as ideologically captured. He ran in 2024, coming within 0.61 percentage points of Sal Mungia, earning over 1.6 million votes on a thin campaign.

Larson brings nearly 18 years of trial court experience as a Federal Way Municipal Court judge and 23 prior years as a trial lawyer, but municipal court generates no Article VII opinions.

The inference is about as strong as it can be for a non-incumbent challenger: coalition, funding, stated opposition to Quinn, and Federalist Society formation all point in the same direction.

• Stated opposition to Quinn: the only direct candidate statement on record

  The Urbanist reporting on the 2026 races identifies Larson as having opposed the state Supreme Court decision that upheld the capital gains tax in Quinn v. State (2023). This is the most direct public statement on the tax question available from any challenger in the 2026 field.

  It does not say whether he would have joined the McCloud dissent's Article VII analysis or whether he would have found a separate basis for striking the tax, but opposition to Quinn is a strong indicator that he would not uphold ESSB 6346, which has a weaker excise-tax predicate than the capital gains tax.

• Future 42 and Project 42 financial and organizational support

  Future 42, successor to Project 42, tracked Larson's 2024 race as a 'critically important development' in its post-election recap and described the race as one that 'could start to bring some balance to the state's high court.' Project 42 was co-created by Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and has a stated mission of maintaining Washington as income-tax-free.

  Michael Baumgartner, now a U.S. Representative, sits on the board of Full Court Press and is associated with Project 42. The organizational overlap among these groups, their shared anti-income-tax mission, and their support of Larson is the clearest ideological funding pattern of any candidate in the 2026 races.

• Federalist Society membership and Full Court Press training

  Larson joined the Federalist Society 41 years ago, giving him a doctrinal formation in originalist and textualist methodology that long predates his judicial career. His participation in Full Court Press campaign training in 2025 puts him inside the organization that Rob McKenna chairs and that aims to shift the court's ideological composition.

  Larson has attempted to distance himself from the Full Court Press affiliation by noting that the group has supported diverse candidates, but his presence on their prospects page and receipt of training confirms a working relationship.

• 2024 race result: institutional viability as a real candidate

  Larson's 2024 performance, coming within 0.61% of Sal Mungia and earning 37.1% of the vote statewide, establishes him as a serious electoral contender, not a protest candidate. He raised approximately $94,000 for the 2026 Position 5 race through May, second only to Angelis among the three Position 5 candidates. His recognition as 'Exceptionally Well Qualified' by the Washington State District and Municipal Court Judges Association through the President's Award adds professional credibility that distinguishes him from low-viability challengers.

An analytical read on public signals. Not a prediction of any individual vote.