His decision to run for re-election invited distinct but intertwined deliberations that have played out in different ways across the country: how the political establishment should respond, and whether and how his accusers should seek his electoral unraveling. The answers in Washington led to a message striking for its starkness: that Mr. Sawyer, as one piece of direct mail put it, needs to be stopped “from harassing any more young women working in the State Capitol.”

“A lot of folks in party leadership or political leadership are grappling with how to handle these issues,” said Bob Ferguson, the state’s attorney general, who endorsed Ms. Morgan. “We’re seeing it more frequently: ‘Do I speak up? Do I endorse their opponent? Do I stay out of it?’”

There has been no consensus. More than once, Ms. Morgan said, she has been rebuffed by people who told her they could not go against an incumbent, no matter his personal history. In public and in private, some Democrats have questioned whether they should be spending precious campaign dollars fighting one of their own incumbents.

Mr. Sawyer, seeking his fourth term at the marbled Capitol in Olympia, is vowing to “stand tall” and not “bend to the will of Seattle money.”

But Ms. Gavre is having none of it. Sitting at a coffee shop near posters declaring “We the People Defend Dignity” and “We the People Are Greater Than Fear,” she argued that Mr. Sawyer deserved to be met with an organized campaign to derail his political career.

“I have no idea what’s going to happen,” she said, “but what I know is that either way, it sends this really clear message.”