Longtime state lawmaker Sam Hunt, who represented Olympia in the Washington Legislature, died April 25 of complications from leukemia. He was 83. 

Hunt served 16 years in the state House, before moving to the Senate in 2017. He was chair of the committees overseeing state government and elections in both chambers. Hunt decided not to seek reelection in 2024, and was appointed a regent at Washington State University.

Hunt helped lead the charge for numerous measures to improve Washington’s elections and increase voter turnout. In his last legislative session in 2024, he proposed legislation to make voting mandatory, but it didn’t pass.

Upon retirement, Hunt highlighted his support for the state’s marriage equality law and for state employee collective bargaining rights. He compared the elections he ran and his time in the Legislature to riding a bucking bronco.

Tributes poured out on social media, where Hunt’s daughter, Hillary, announced his death. 

Tina Podlodowski, former chair of the state Democratic Party, called him a “statesman.”

“Sam truly lived the adage of making sure that every vote was counted and every voice was heard, and our state is better for his having been a part of it,” she wrote. 

Rep. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland, called Hunt an “institution.”

“More important, he was an institutionalist who stood steadfast for what that capital building stood for,” Springer wrote.

Gov. Bob Ferguson recalled Hunt showing off his collection of political buttons at his home. Ferguson is an avid collector of political memorabilia, as well. 

Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, served with him on the Senate’s K-12 education committee. 

In an interview, she recalled him working with students to make September the “month of the kindergartner.”

Working on education issues was “such a big deal to him,” Wilson said. She called him the “kindest, kindest, kindest man.

“Everything he did was for the right reason,” she added. “Sam was the same person in every room.”

She and Hunt both graduated from Washington State University, so their corner of the 4th floor of the Legislative Building, where their offices were located, was filled with maroon and gray.

His Senate office had included a 6-foot rug emblazoned with the WSU logo. On his last day in the Legislature, he was presented with a custom WSU jersey imprinted with his legislative district.

Hunt’s successor, Sen. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, also remembered his leadership on education and his commitment “to a vision of a state where every child has what it takes to succeed in life.” She called him a mentor. 

On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, noted he and Hunt were far apart politically, but still formed a strong friendship. 

“We just respected each other and that we had differences,” MacEwen wrote on Facebook. 

Tri-Cities ties 

Hunt grew up in Yakima, and as a child was named the Washington State Junior Poultry Man of the Year.

After graduating from WSU in 1967, he went on to teach at Pasco High School and was elected to the Pasco City Council before leaving to work for the Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1974 and later moved to Washington, D.C.

Back in Washington state, he served as a state Senate staffer in the 1980s and for Gov. Booth Gardner.

He joined the state House in 2001. He represented the 22nd Legislative District in the Legislature, which covers Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and some of unincorporated Thurston County. 

Hunt brought his strong values and ethics to the Senate Democratic caucus, said Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle.

“Sam was a cherished, well-loved colleague for me and many others for years. He was kind, gentlemanly, always courteous,” he said.

He “never left behind” his roots in Yakima, his teaching, his alma mater, the people in his districts and the many state workers he represented, Pedersen said.

“He wore all of these things on his sleeves but not in an annoying way,” Pedersen said. “He really was just a fantastic human being.”

While in the Legislature, Hunt served as national chair of the Council of State Governments. And outside of the Legislature, he was an avid gardener who had about 50 rose bushes. 

Sam’s wife, Charlene, preceded him in death, in 2017. He is survived by his children Hillary and Nathan, daughter-in-law Amanda, grandson Rory, all of Olympia, and his companion Roberta Stanley of East Lansing, Michigan.

Hunt’s family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Sam Hunt Memorial Scholarship at Washington State University. 

The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business contributed to this report.

This story is republished from the Washington State Standard, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet that provides original reporting, analysis and commentary on Washington state government and politics.