Don Benton
| Don Benton | |
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| Member of the Washington Senate from the 17th district |
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Assumed office January 13, 1997 |
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| Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 17th district |
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In office 1994–1996 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 8, 1957 Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Residence | Olympia, Washington and Vancouver, Washington |
| Alma mater | Concordia University (B.S.) |
| Religion | Christian |
| Website | Official |
Don Benton (born April 8, 1957) is an American politician of the Republican Party. He is originally from Santa Clarita, California and was a member of the Washington State Senate from 1997 until 2017, where he represented Washington's 17th legislative district.
Benton received an A.A. from College of the Canyons and a B.S. from Concordia University. At age 19 he co-founded, with his sister, Santa Clarita Temporaries, a temporary employment agency. He later was employed as a district manager for Farmers Insurance and worked as an advertising consultant in southwest Washington.
Benton was first elected to public office when he won a seat in the Washington state House of Representatives in 1994. In 1996 he was elected to the state Senate and has been re-elected continuously since. In 2012, Benton faced a tight and contentious race, edging Democratic challenger Tim Probst by less than 100 votes. Political scientist James Thurber has described Benton as a "shoot from the hip" lawmaker known for a "bombastic" style and a frequent unwillingness to compromise. In the 2012 legislative session Benton led senate Republicans in introducing a rare procedural motion known as the "ninth order" to push the Republican caucuses budget proposal to a floor vote. The "ninth order" allows any bill to be brought to a vote even if it has not had a public hearing. Democratic lawmakers protested that the maneuver lacked transparency, though three Democratic senators ultimately joined with Benton to help pass the motion. In 2014 Benton and Ann Rivers, another state legislator from Clark County, were both admonished by a Senate committee for verbal sparring in which Rivers called Benton a "piece of shit," and Benton responded by referring to Rivers as a "trashy trampy-mouthed little girl." The same year Benton, along with fellow GOP senator Pam Roach, requested his name be removed from the Republican caucus website. While Benton said he would remain a member of the Republican caucus, he no longer wanted to be publicly associated with it due to the caucus's decision to bring a bill granting illegal immigrants in-state tuition at state colleges to a floor vote.
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