Four Democrats running for the state Legislature in the 47th District received endorsements from the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

The council recommended Kent City Councilmember Satwinder Kaur for the Senate seat in her race against Kent City Council President Bill Boyce, a Republican, and Kent Democrat Claudia Kauffman, who held the seat from 2007 to 2010, according to a May 22 labor council news release.

In the 47th District House Position No. 1 race, the group named Debra Entenman, the incumbent from Kent, over Republicans Jessie Ramsey and Kyle Lyebyedyev.

The labor council endorsed both Shukri Olow, of Kent, and Chris Stearns, of Auburn, for the 47th District House Position No. 2 seat over Republicans Carmen Goers, Barry Knowles and Ted Cooke.

Voters will choose candidates in the Aug. 2 primary. The two candidates with the most votes advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO — the state’s largest union organization representing the interests of some 600 labor organizations with more than 550,000 members — held its 2022 Committee on Political Education Endorsing Convention on May 21 at the Machinists District 751 Hall in Seattle.

Hundreds of delegates representing WSLC-affiliated unions from across the state voted on endorsements for congressional, statewide, state legislative and judicial candidates, plus state ballot measures.

Candidates seeking endorsement participate in a process that includes questionnaires and interviews with local unions and regional Central Labor Councils. Those local union organizations then make recommendations for the state convention to consider and vote upon. The labor council endorsements require a two-thirds majority vote.

The labor council’s endorsement and support doesn’t just come in the form of a campaign contribution, according to the news release. It comes in the form of volunteers who do household walks, worksite leafleting, and make personal (not automated) phone calls to other voters, particularly fellow union members. It also includes direct mail and other forms of political outreach intended to explain why endorsed candidates and ballot measures have earned labor’s support.

Other labor council endorsements in Kent-area races included three Democrats running for Congress, each of them incumbents, Sen. Patty Murray, 8th District Rep. Kim Schrier and 9th District Rep. Adam Smith.

The group endorsed Steve Hobbs for Secretary of State and opposed Initiative 1929 that would repeal the state’s tax on extraordinary capital gains.