On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, Washingtonians upheld the historic Millionaires Tax by enormous margins. Over 1.1 million people and counting want stronger funding for public education, health care, and other essential services.
EOI was invited to give the following remarks on Election Night, in recognition of our work to pass and sustain the Millionaires Tax.
A clear vision for our collective future
I’m so proud to be here tonight.
I’m proud to be here because tonight, hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians joined everyone in this room to say NO.
No to cuts to health care.
No to cuts to K-12 education.
No to cuts to higher ed.
No to Brian Heywood and his attempts to give himself and his friends a tax cut at the expense of the rest of us.
Eighteen months ago, people — smart people, informed people, savvy people — would have told us that what we did tonight wasn’t possible.
I know because I was one of the people they told.
But the people in this room aren’t good at doing what they’re told. They mobilized, organized, and advocated — and here we are tonight, with a tax on Millionaires upheld by the people of the State of Washington.
I’m so proud of the work our team at EOI did to make this happen. Because this will matter.
It will matter to people who rely on public funding to support their education, from kindergarten through community college.
It will matter to teachers, and nurses, and small business owners, and the thousands of other people who joined together to defeat this initiative.
And it will matter to everyday Washingtonians, because this is a huge step forward in our efforts to build a Washington state tax code that works for normal people.
Washington state has one of the most regressive tax codes in the country — the rich pay far less of their income in taxes than the rest of us do, and they pass the bill on to everyone else.
That’s fundamentally unfair. We don’t like it here in this room, and now we know for sure, two years after Washington’s voters upheld the capital gains tax, that Washington’s voters don’t like it either.
Let’s be clear: Tonight’s result won’t solve all our problems. We still have a budget deficit next year that will require bold leadership, and we will still wake up tomorrow with one of the most regressive tax codes in the country.
This is a step forward, not a step across the finish line.
But in a world that can feel dark and bleak, a step forward is well worth celebrating. So let’s celebrate tonight and then let’s get back to work.