Adam James announced his candidacy from the Grace City Church pulpit, an extremist Christian Nationalist sect. He believes he is divinely mandated to have "dominion" over Washington and declares that Washington belongs to his religious movement. This is what voters in the 12th District are being asked to vote for...
Washington State Representative · 12th Legislative District
Adam James has spent his entire adult career — every job, every degree, every leadership role — inside a single religious ministry network. For a seat that writes the laws for everyone in Washington's 12th district, voters deserve to ask: what has prepared him for this?
BA in Biblical Studies & Church Ministries (Northwest University, 2000). AA from Wenatchee Valley College. No degree in law, public policy, government, economics, or public administration.
Every job since 1998: youth pastor, junior high ministries, student ministries, executive pastor. 16 years at Grace City Church. No private sector, no public sector, no policy work, no governance.
No prior elected office. No appointed public role. No school board, no city council, no county commission. No legislative, regulatory, or governance experience of any kind.
28 years inside a single church. Zero years in any government, school board, or public-policy role.
Preaches that "different groups" are using "slight of hand" to remake America, and that Washington's elected officials are literal "demons."
His pastor embraced "dominion" by name at his campaign launch. Calls his policy mission a Christian-nationalist takeover of Olympia.
At his own candidacy announcement, Adam James said of Washington's elected officials in Olympia: "They sent the demons from Seattle to Olympia." Watch him say it →
At the same launch, Adam's pastor closed in prayer: "Oh, there's those Christians talking about dominion again. That's exactly right. Jesus… doesn't take that hat off when he steps into the political realm." Dominion is not a misinterpretation — they embraced the word. Watch the closing prayer →
In a sermon on marital sex, Adam taught: "For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does… So many women are like, 'Don't touch me.' Well, what do you mean don't touch me?" Watch the teaching →
Adam listed past sexual abuse among "illegitimate reasons for withholding sex" in marriage: "That should not be a permanent hurdle for you in being able to move forward with your husband or wife in marriage, in physical relations." Watch the teaching →
Adam labeled current economic policy "ungodly" for not enabling single-earner households where mothers stay home: "It's ungodly of a government to put things in place that war against the family's ability… for a mom to stay home." Watch the sermon →
On the 2025 federal bill defunding Planned Parenthood, Adam said Christians who don't "full-throated, full-hearted" support it "need to check their pulse." He called on fellow Christians to "repent." Disagreement on policy is treated as spiritual failure. Watch the sermon →
Adam's candidacy was announced during a Sunday service. The same service included a direct fundraising request — congregants asked to give up to $1,200 each, the legal max. This is the fusion of church and campaign as stated method. Watch the ask →
From his own platform statement at the launch: "I will contend for just policies that uphold and defend life, faith, marriage, biblical sexuality, two genders…" and earlier: "Woke ideology has no place. It's not compassionate. It's not life-giving. It's not good. It's wicked." Watch the platform speech →
From his platform speech: "Kids belong to parents, not the state… We will expose the teachers union. We will expose the teachers union and fight for school choice." Vouchers and attacks on public schools are central to the platform. Watch the education plank →
Adam's elections plank assumes Washington's current elections are not trustworthy: "We will protect every legitimate vote… We will restore transparency, integrity, trust in this state, voter ID, proof of citizenship." Watch the elections plank →
His pastor closed the candidacy launch: "There's those Christians talking about dominion again. That's exactly right." Source →
"Expose the teachers union… kids belong to parents, not the state." Public education is framed as ideological occupation. Source →
His pastor's plan, announced at the campaign launch: recruit 500 pastors and churches nationally to replicate the Grace City pastor-to-politics pipeline. Source →
Calls economic policy that doesn't enable single-earner households "ungodly." Source →
Teaches that "the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does." Source →
Teaches husbands have "jurisdiction over [their] wife's body and its appearance… hairstyle and clothing." Source →
Lists past sexual abuse among "illegitimate reasons for withholding sex" in marriage. Source →
Stated campaign plank: legislate "biblical sexuality" and "two genders" for the state of Washington. Source →
Teaches the U.S. Constitution is to be read "through the lens of the word of God." No pluralism allowed. Source →
From his own candidacy speech: "They sent the demons from Seattle to Olympia." His future colleagues, in his own words. Source →
"Preachers and pulpits and Christians can't shrink back" from political preaching. He launched his own campaign from his pulpit. Source →
Christians who don't enthusiastically endorse defunding Planned Parenthood "need to check their pulse" and must "repent." Source →
"Woke ideology has no place. It's not compassionate. It's not good. It's wicked." A legislator's posture toward LGBTQ+ Washingtonians, racial-equity programs, and DEI. Source →
At a Grace City service, an associated speaker called recent Texas legislation "prophecies for the Washington legislature." Source →
"Government policy that doesn't enable our family vision is ungodly." Civil law is to be measured against scripture, not the consent of the governed. Source →
Adam James preaches that American institutions "need to be torn down." His campaign's education plank calls for taxpayer-funded "school choice" — the policy that redirects public-school dollars to private religious schools.
He wants to take tax money from your kids' public school — and steer it to his own church's religous schools.
"WA needs to wake up.... this guy should not be
anywhere near education."
— Adam James, attacking Chris Reykdal,
Washington State's Superintendent of Public Instruction. Reykdal
is a lifelong educator who has been twice elected statewide to
lead WA's K–12 public schools. Adam James, who has spent
his entire career inside a single church, says he "should not be
anywhere near education."
See the tweet →
"There are some institutions in this nation that need to be torn down. Institutions that are utterly and totally corrupt and off the rails." Watch →
"Kids belong to parents, not the state… We will expose the teachers union. We will expose the teachers union and fight for school choice." Watch →
Grace City Church — Adam's employer of 16 years — launched Garden City Academy, a private K–12 Christian school. His pastor calls it "the first school in the history of this state" for their movement. Watch the boast →
"School choice" in the WA legislature means vouchers — tax dollars diverted from public schools to private religious schools. Adam's "school choice" plank, in plain language, would route taxpayer money toward schools just like the one his church runs.
Adam James has worked under Grace City Church Pastor Josh McPherson for 16 years. McPherson announced Adam's candidacy from the pulpit. And in a sermon called "Work Hard and Make War," McPherson named Adam first in his list of trusted inner-circle men. The political-spiritual program McPherson preaches is the operating manual for the Adam James campaign — and voters should know what's in it.
“In Jesus' name, we declare that Olympia is God's. In Jesus' name, we declare that Washington is God's. Oh, there's those Christians talking about dominion again. That's exactly right.
— Pastor Josh McPherson, closing prayer over Adam James at the candidacy launch · Watch at 1:17:12 →
"There is no pastor in this state, no church in this state, no Christian in this state who will be effective in rebuilding and reclaiming the state for Jesus who makes as their highest goal to avoid conflict at any cost." The stated goal is unambiguous: a Washington under "the fear of God as the foundation for all things."
Watch at 56:07 →McPherson teaches that "if you are a coward, not only will you not inherit the kingdom of God in eternity, you won't inherit the kingdom of God here on earth." Disagreement and moderation are not just unwelcome — they are framed as damnable.
Watch at 54:50 →"Opposition to God's work is actually confirmation of God's hand." And: "If those who oppose God are not opposing you, you should reconsider whether you're following God." A closed-loop framework that can't be questioned: every critic proves the cause; every supporter proves it; only being attacked counts as success.
Watch at 48:33 →"Your heart needs to be completely closed. I mean 100% — hardhearted closed to the enemies of God attacking you." Combined with the cowardice doctrine, this is the structural mechanism that prevents internal correction. Outside critics are dismissed; inside dissent is sin.
Watch at 22:14 →McPherson directly attacks other Christians and other churches who don't share his political combat posture. "We just don't want to rock the boat" — "The boat you're in is sinking." Other Christian voices — Lutheran, Methodist, mainline — are framed as failed.
Watch at 6:55 →McPherson uses repeated armed-readiness imagery to describe the church's "builders." He frames it as historical / hypothetical — "a hammer in one hand, a sawed-off shotgun in the other." Paired with the cowardice doctrine and the Revolutionary War comparisons, the rhetorical register is unmistakably martial.
Watch at 42:00 →He wants to dismantle the separation of church and state — and replace it with a state run by the church. His church.
For a Washington legislator, this is not a private matter of faith. It is a stated program for how he intends to write the laws that govern everyone in the 12th District.
Adam James is the author of a four-book "Biblical Manhood" series published through Grace City Church's "Stronger Man Nation." He preaches that "the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does," that husbands hold "jurisdiction" over their wives, and the list goes on and on.
His broader political network — the Christian-nationalist circle around Doug Wilson, Mark Driscoll, and the so-called "biblical patriarchy" movement — has openly questioned whether women should hold civic leadership or even be allowed to vote. Adam James has not distanced himself from any of it.
Washington's 12th District is half women. Voters have every right to ask, before November 3: does this candidate believe my voice, my body, and my vote belong to me?
These aren't abstract beliefs. Adam James and his pastor have stated them on tape, repeatedly. Each card links to the exact moment.
Adam preaches that unnamed "different groups in power" are using "slight of hand" to "remake our nation on a totally different foundation." Classic hidden-actor framing — the political opposition isn't disagreement, it's a covert operation.
Patriotic Spirituality · 24:17 →"The high places isn't Seattle. It's Olympia. They sent the demons from Seattle to Olympia." Adam James framing of his future colleagues in his own words at his candidacy launch.
Candidacy Announcement · 1:07:25 →"Underneath the abysmal policies… are wicked principles. And behind those principles are principalities. And only the church… have the spiritual authority to confront principalities and tear down strongholds and reclaim the high places of this state." Legitimate policy debate is reframed as spiritual warfare.
Candidacy Announcement · 59:30 →Adam preaches that the United States was founded "unmistakably, undeniably, without question" on a biblical worldview. Historians broadly reject this framing — the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, signed by John Adams, explicitly states the U.S. government "is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
Patriotic Spirituality · 5:38 →Adam teaches that the Constitution is "the emperor" of America — but only when "founded upon a vision seen through the lens of the word of God." This eliminates pluralistic constitutional interpretation and substitutes his church's reading.
Patriotic Spirituality · 54:21 →Sweeping factual claim, stated as empirical fact. Ignores the social democracies of the Nordic countries, Germany, the Netherlands, and Canada — peer democracies that combine market economies with social programs. Framed as "at odds with a biblical worldview."
Patriotic Spirituality · 34:11 →At a Grace City service, an associated speaker declared that recent Texas legislation was not "accomplishments" but "prophecies for the Washington legislature" — and called the work "establishing the dominion of Jesus Christ."
Pre-sermon · 0:00 →Adam's candidacy is launched in partnership with For Liberty and Justice — Texas State Rep Nate Schatzline's organization that recruits and trains pastor-candidates. WallBuilders (David Barton), Mercy Culture, and the Russell Johnson network are publicly tied to the launch. This is a national Christian-nationalist political program, recruiting Washington as its next chapter.
Candidacy Announcement · intro →Direct quotes from public sermons. Every quote links to the exact moment in the source video. No interpretation. No spin. Just play it back.
"They sent the demons from Seattle to Olympia."
"The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does… So many women are like, 'don't touch me.' Well, what do you mean don't touch me? That's for the husband."
"If you've experienced abuse in the past, that should not be a permanent hurdle for you in being able to move forward with your husband or wife in marriage, in physical relations."
"It's ungodly of a government to put things in place that war against the family's ability… for a mom to stay home and work. It's impossible — and that's ungodly."
"Oh, there's those Christians talking about dominion again. That's exactly right. Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and he doesn't take that hat off when he steps into the political realm."
"If as a Christian you can't full-throated, full-hearted say hallelujah, praise the Lord, yes and amen [to defunding Planned Parenthood]… you need to check your pulse."
"Woke ideology has no place. It's not compassionate. It's not life-giving. It's not good. It's wicked."
"I will contend for just policies that uphold and defend life, faith, marriage, biblical sexuality, two genders, rule of law, legal immigration, school choice, lower taxes…"
"Democratic socialism, democracy and socialism — which have never worked anywhere… because they are at odds with a biblical worldview."
"The #MeToo movement became essentially not just believe all women, but believe all Democrat women. 'Believe all women' is entirely sexist."
Mail-in voting is "the most manipulative form of voting."
When asked about his organization's stance toward LGBTQIA+ Washingtonians: "I'm not sure what you mean by that."
Bonny reports that 63-year-old Grace City Church member Brian L. Brons was arrested June 10 on 10 counts including attempted first-degree rape of a child, child molestation, and commercial sex abuse of a minor. According to Bonny, Brons is the fifth man connected to Grace City Church to be arrested or convicted of sex crimes.
Direct reporting from Adam James's June 3 campaign appearance in Cashmere. Bonny documents Adam's claims that "believe all women is entirely sexist," that the #MeToo movement is partisan, and that mail-in voting is "the most manipulative form of voting" — a claim contradicted by the Bipartisan Policy Center and Brennan Center.
Lutheran pastor Aaron Musser ran a year of Grace City Church sermons through analytical software and found heavy concentration of "Satan," "demons," "strongholds," "war language," and "unseen realm" terminology. Independent confirmation of the rhetorical patterns documented in our Quotes section.
Bonny groups Grace City Church Pastor Josh McPherson with Russell Johnson, Mark Driscoll, Eric Metaxas, Doug Wilson, and other high-profile pastors. Russell Johnson — slated to headline Grace City's "Freedom Con: Rise of the Statesman" — has previously visited the church to preach.
Bonny publishes a community-research list of Grace City–affiliated churches, businesses, political candidates, law enforcement officers, and donors to Adam James's campaign. The post documents the church's anti-LGBTQIA+ activism (including replacing Wenatchee's Pride flags), its "business as mission" doctrine urging owners to tithe ~10% of gross revenue, and "first fruits" giving demands.
Adam James is challenging Rep. Mike Steele — a lifelong NCW local, fifth-term Republican, Ranking Member on the Capital Budget Committee, known for working across the aisle for the 12th district. Both candidates are Republicans. Only one has actually done the job.