[CCCNFBW] The Columbian: 18th Legislative District, Position 1: Stephanie McClintock vs. Randi L. Knott

[Merribeth Greenberg]

18th Legislative District, Position 1: Stephanie McClintock vs. Randi L.
Knott
Both candidates focusing on K-12 school funding, infrastructure and
affordability, but differ on the best approach
Photo of Kelly Moyer
By Kelly Moyer, Columbian Staff Reporter
Published: October 6, 2026, 11:01am
18th Legislative District, Position 1: Stephanie McClintock vs. Randi L.
Knott - The Columbian
<https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/oct/06/18th-legislative-district-stephanie-mcclintock-vs-randi-l-knott/>

Alt text picture: The race for the 18th Legislative District’s Position 1
seat features two-term Republican Rep. Stephanie McClintock and her
Democratic challenger, Randi L. Knott. (Contributed photos)

Two-term Republican state Rep. Stephanie McClintock is running to defend
her 18th Legislative District seat against Democratic challenger Randi L.
Knott on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Both candidates came to the Pacific Northwest by way of California —
McClintock, 56, as a college student in the mid-1990s and Knott, 58, in
2022 after a nearly three-decade career evaluating public policy impacts on
working families.

Both said parenthood spurred them into politics.

McClintock raised two sons in Clark County, volunteered with the Prairie
High School Boosters and served as a member of the Battle Ground school
board from 2013 to 2017 before pursuing higher office.

Knott, who describes herself as “an autism mom,” championed equitable
education for her now-adult daughter and advocated for neurodivergent
people through her work on California’s State Council on Development
Disabilities and current position on Clark County’s Development
Disabilities Advisory Board.

18th District House Position 1 Candidates
— 2026 General Election —

Randi L. Knott
Age: 58 years old
Residence: Brush Prairie
Party: Democrat
Occupation: Retired government affairs professional
Major endorsements: Washington Conservation Action, Sierra Club, Washington
State Nurses Association PAC, Alliance for Gun Responsibility Victory Fund,
Planned Parenthood, Washington State Labor Council AFL-CIO

Stephanie McClintock
Age: 56 years old
Residence: Vancouver
Party: Republican
Occupation: Washington House of Representatives and public relations for
United Grain
Political experience: 18th District House of Representatives
Major endorsements: Building Industry Association of Clark County, Clark
County Association of Realtors, Washington Food Industry Association,
Washington Farm Bureau, International Association of Fire Fighters Local
452, Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs

Both candidates also agree that state legislators must concentrate on
issues related to K-12 school funding, infrastructure and affordability,
but they differ on the best approach.

McClintock, who works for United Grain in Vancouver, is focused on fighting
unfunded K-12 mandates and state policies that raise taxes.

Knott said she opposes policies that “shift costs onto families while
protecting the wealthy and big corporations,” and supports the so-called
“millionaires tax” passed by Democratic state legislators that’s expected
to collect $3 billion to $4 billion a year once it takes effect in 2028.

“I believe the ultra-wealthy need to be taxed, especially at a time when
our schools are not doing as well as they should be, and we need the
funding,” Knott said.

McClintock opposed the wealth tax, which she sees as a slippery slope
toward an across-the-board state income tax.

“We spent over 24 hours debating this on the House floor when the Democrats
brought that forward,” McClintock said. “I believe it will be lowered and
extended.”

McClintock said she believes there is a better way to fund K-12 schools in
Washington.

“The basic foundation of how they fund schools is not equitable,”
McClintock said. “Why don’t we just tear the house down, get down to that
foundation and fix it?”

The two also differ on transportation funding. Knott said she would want to
look at all of the options that could pay for road maintenance and
transportation needs.

“We have a lot of opportunities we haven’t touched yet, and we need to
seriously look at them,” Knott said.

McClintock, meanwhile, said transportation dollars that flow into the
state’s coffers aren’t always going toward transportation projects as they
should.

“The roads do not look good. If you go to other states, you will see their
roads are better maintained. And we’ve got a number of bridges that need
work. I think we need to prioritize that,” McClintock said.

As for the hot-button issue of regulating data centers, McClintock thinks
it’s a moot point.

“We’ve removed the incentives, so I don’t think we’ll be having any more
data centers looking to Washington,” she said.

Knott said she believes the state should take an active role in regulating
data centers.

“I think that, if we do have them, they need to be self-sustaining. They
need to show that they’re going to generate their own power, their own
water, and not hurt the other industries that keep our state going,” Knott
said.

Campaign finance
The race has attracted a lot of outside money, beyond the $143,000 raised
by McClintock’s campaign and the $57,000 for Knott’s.

Outside groups have contributed about $112,000 for ads attacking Knott and
another $22,396 for pro-McClintock ads. The money has flowed from Koch
Industries and Amazon, as well as groups that back oil companies,
developers and insurance companies.

McClintock said she believes the outside money is trying to protect
Republicans in toss-up legislative districts like the 18th. Knott received
52 percent of votes in the Aug. 4 primary to McClintock’s 48 percent.

“There’s no balance in our Legislature, and I think this is a push to at
least hold on to what we have,” McClintock said.
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