Catherine Hildebrand

Catherine Hildebrand was born in Seattle, Washington. She earned a bachelor's degree from Gonzaga University in 2014 and a graduate degree from the Seattle Film Institute in 2016. Hildebrand's career experience includes working as a small business owner.[1][2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Catherine Hildebrand and I am running for the US House of Representatives, WA-01. Born and raised in Seattle, I'm now a small business owner in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. I believe that all Americans deserve to live comfortable, healthy lives, and that the current administration and Congress are hindering Americans ability to have the lives they deserve. I'm running because I believe that we can be a better America and that America is worth fighting for.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I think the single most important issue at hand is term limits in all branches of government. Career politicians are taking advantage of the American people and lining their pockets with lobbying money and outright bribes, getting wealthy from the laws they enact, staying healthy with their government health insurance, while their constituents suffer, can't afford gas, or groceries, or to go to the doctor. Supreme Court Justices sit on the bench until they literally die. This is not okay! It's time to set term limits to stop this.Working class people can't afford to live, while the wealthiest in our society hoard their money and grow their savings. The top 1% have more wealth than they could spend in a lifetime. We need progressive taxes on wealthy individuals and large corporations, with fewer exemptions, to fund social programs like healthcare, education, transportation infrastructure, and clean, reliable energy.Our public lands must be protected. This administration is closing down national parks and auctioning off public lands to the highest bidder. These private entities are looking monetize resources, destroy forests, control the flow of water, poison the land in search of oil and minerals, all for financial gain. We need to protect public lands and keep them pristine. Our natural ecosystems depend on our protection.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Government structural reform is my single biggest issue. The way our government currently allows unlimited terms in both the legislative and judicial branches breeds complacency in Congress and extremism in the Supreme Court. This complacency in Congress is why we have been unable to prevent the President of the United States from starting a war in the Middle East. Congress has not authorized a war, but they have granted the President too much authority, and this is what the price is for that complacency. Omnibus bills, hiding dozens of agendas under one bill, allow lawmakers to sneak in provisions unrelated to the main bill, and it prevents good legislation from passing. They need to stop.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Transparency,

Campaign websiteHildebrand's campaign website stated the following:Term LimitsI propose that all branches of government have term limits to protect the interests of American citizens and not the greed of career politicians. I will support legislation to establish term limits, and to prevent former members of congress from becoming lobbyists.Clean, Affordable EnergyAmericans need affordable energy to heat our homes and cook our food. By investing in renewable energy sources and rebuilding the national energy grid, we can ensure that every home in America has reliable power when they need it most. I support the Green New Deal, and will write each piece of it separately if I have to in order to pass it.Environmental SustainabilityWe have a right to clean air, water, and food grown from unpoisoned land. We need to strengthen the power of the EPA to enforce laws, and to write stricter laws to protect our lands and combat climate change. We need to have plans in place for disaster relief, but we also need to make drastic changes in land stewardship to lessen the occurrence of these disasters.Click here to learn more about my plans for environmental protection.EducationOur children deserve to go to schools and be safe, fed, and supported as they learn to become the leaders of the future. The department of education needs more funding to support school districts nationwide that need help.Student debt is crippling, and over 43 million Americans have student loans that equal to over 1.75 TRILLION dollars. These are working adults who cannot pay their loans because of unstable job markets, an increase in education costs, and stagnant wages. We can ease this burden by forgiving federal student loans and establishing free higher education at public colleges and universities across the country.Anti-lobbyingLobbying is bribery, and those with the most money are buying legislation. Lobbying is the reason it's so hard to file your taxes. Lobbying is the reason your dental insurance is not part of health insurance. It needs to go. While I support HR1601: Ban Members from Becoming Lobbyists Act, I believe we need to go further and ban money in lobbying altogether.ImmigrationThe United States was built on immigration. American was known as the great Melting Pot. We need immigrants today to keep our culture robust, to own small businesses and bring life into our communities. The immigration process today is confusing, difficult, and tedious. I propose major reform to the immigration process to allow our neighbors to come here safely and live, work, and participate in society. I will work to make that process easier, as well as the path to citizenship.HealthcareHealthcare is not an industry, and hospitals should not be for profit. Healthcare is a human right. Getting laid off shouldn't come with a loss of health insurance. Your insulin should not be so expensive that you have to take out a loan just so you don't ration it. Studies have shown that single payer is more affordable than the system we have. Both for individuals like you and me, and for the government. I will vote for Medicare for All. For All.Medical patents must be abolished. A newly created, life-saving medication needs to be shared with the world, not kept secret to create maximum profits. Pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies are in the market to maximize profits over people, and we are all suffering for it. I will work to pass legislation making patents for medications illegal.Gun ViolenceAt the time of this writing, there have been 187 mass shootings in the USA so far in 2026. We are only 142 days into the year. There have been more mass shootings than there have been days in 2026. This is completely unacceptable. And this doesn't even account for single deaths, either by homicide, suicide, or accidental deaths from gun violence, sometimes known as 'family fire'.The ATF is not able to protect people from gun violence because there are not enough laws for them to enforce.We need enforceable laws that ensure gun owners are being responsible with storage and handling, prevent violent criminals and domestic abusers from easily accessing firearms, and close loopholes that allow private sales without background checks.Every firearm must be registered and tracked from owner to owner, and licenses should be dependent on proper background checks, testing of proper firearm handling, and regular audits to ensure safe storage.Ghost guns and assault weapons must be banned.— Catherine Hildebrand's campaign website (July 22, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.