Mike Padden is a lawyer and politician from Spokane County. Padden entered the Washington House of Representatives in January 1981 and served there until 1995, when he was appointed to serve as a district court judge in the Spokane County District Court. In 2006, Padden announced he would not run for re-election as judge. Padden entered the race for the Washington state Senate in 2011, representing the 4th Legislative District, and was elected with 55% of the vote. He served in the Senate till 2025. Padden earned his bachelor’s degree at Gonzaga University and earned his law degree from Gonzaga Law School in 1974. Padden resides in Spokane Valley. He and his wife, Laura, have five grown sons and three grandchildren.
Congressman Michael Baumgartner was raised among the Palouse wheat fields in Colton and Pullman, Washington, Michael is a proud graduate of Washington State University, where he earned a degree in economics. He later earned a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) with a focus on International Development from Harvard University. Before coming to Congress, Michael served as a Washington State Senator, diplomat, and as the Treasurer of Spokane County. From 2007 to 2008, Michael served as a U.S. State Department officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and later worked as a counternarcotics advisor on a U.S. government-funded program in Afghanistan, where he met his wife, Eleanor. Living in Spokane with Eleanor and their five children, Michael and his family are actively involved in his community through youth sports, scouts, and Sunday School.