Chad Magendanz

Chad Lee Magendanz (born May 24, 1967) is an American politician who served in the Washington House of Representatives for the 5th district as a Republican from 2013 to 2017.

Education Magendanz enrolled in Cornell University in 1985 and graduated with a BS in electrical engineering. After graduating, Magendanz served in the United States Navy until 1997 as a nuclear submarine officer.

Political career Magendanz was appointed to the Issaquah School Board in 2008, and elected to that position in 2009. He served as the school board legislative representative from 2009 to 2010 and was elected president from 2011 to 2012. He was sworn into the Washington House of Representatives in 2013, representing the 5th district, a position he held until 2017. In 2016, Magendanz ran for a seat in the Washington State Senate and lost the race to the incumbent, Mark Mullet.

In 2018, he was defeated by Democrat Bill Ramos in the race for State House Position 1. In 2022, Magendanz challenged incumbent Lisa Callan for House District 5-Position 2 but was again defeated. In 2024, he ran for the State Senate seat in District 5 but lost to Ramos. Hunt was appointed to the seat on June 3, 2025. She and Magendanz ran in the November general election for the full term. In November 2025, Magendanz was defeated by Hunt in the general election.

Electoral history

2012 Washington House of Representatives, District 5-Position 2

2014 Washington House of Representatives, District 5-Position 2

2016 Washington State Senate, District 5

2018 Washington House of Representatives, District 5-Position 1

2022 Washington House of Representatives, District 5-Position 2

2024 Washington State Senate, District 5

2025 Washington State Senate, District 5 (Special Election)

Source: Ballotpedia Magendanz also co-sponsored House Bill 2573, which sought to alleviate teacher shortages by helping with recruitment and retention and by removing barriers for out-of-state teachers to be certified in Washington.

Computer science career Magendanz worked at Microsoft as a software developer. Magendanz currently teaches computer science in the Bellevue School District at International School.