By Bill Lucia | Editor
The first round of vote counting in yesterday’s primary is looking up for Democrats in the Legislature and contains some red flags for Republicans.
Senate Democrats last night said they were feeling confident about holding and possibly expanding their 30-19 majority in the chamber. “This is a great night for Senate Democrats,” said Sen. Manka Dhingra, chair of the Senate Democratic Campaign.
Meanwhile, four Republican incumbents in the state House could be in trouble.
In southwest Washington’s 17th District, Republican Rep. Kevin Waters trailed Democrat Ben Christly with 44% to Christly’s 52.7%. Rep. David Stuebe faces a similar dilemma running for the district’s other House seat. Stuebe, who is also Washougal’s mayor, is behind Vancouver City Councilmember Diana Perez by nearly 10%.
In the neighboring 18th, Republican Reps. Stephanie McClintock and John Ley were also looking shaky. Democrat Deken Letinich, a union leader, led Ley, and Democrat Randi Knott, a first-time candidate, had the edge on McClintock.
All of these candidates will advance to November, but the results so far are an ominous sign for the incumbent Rs.
House Democrats need to pick up seven seats to clinch a supermajority. The 26th District is another place where they have an opportunity for a flip. There, Democrat Renee Hernandez Greenfield was running in second but is in a strong position when factoring in votes that went to another Democratic candidate in the race.
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(Photo by Aspen Ford/Washington State Standard)
Two Seattle Democratic incumbents in the Legislature are fending off progressive challengers by wide margins.
Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, is leading progressive challenger Hannah Sabio-Howell 71.1% to 17.9%. Heather-Marie Wilson, who is running without stating a party preference, is in third with 10.8%. Veteran Democratic Rep. Gerry Pollet held a commanding lead over two fellow Democrats in the 46th District, which includes much of north Seattle east of Aurora Avenue. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson endorsed Sabio-Howell instead of Pedersen and Ron Davis in his bid against Pollet. Davis was running in third place with under 14% of the vote.
Elsewhere, two moderate Democratic incumbents in the House were hanging tough against progressive challengers. Rep. Amy Walen, D-Kirkland, led Redmond City Councilmember Jessica Forsythe by a margin of 618 votes. In Pierce County, Democrat Krista Perez, who works for the state Department of Commerce, clung to a five-vote edge on Rep. Melanie Morgan, D-Parkland.
By Jake Goldstein-Street
Washington state Supreme Court incumbents, including two new appointees of Gov. Bob Ferguson, were leading in early voting results. And a King County judge appeared on track to face off with a conservative county judge for an open seat on the high court in November, though that race remains close.
Justice Colleen Melody, who Ferguson picked late last year to finish out retiring Justice Mary Yu’s term, is leading attorney Scott Edwards. Justice Theo Angelis, Ferguson’s other appointee, is narrowly ahead of retired Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Dave Larson, with Thurston County Superior Court Judge Sharonda Amamilo a ways back.
From left to right, Mike Diaz, Jaime Hawk and David Stevens, the candidates for Position 3 on the Washington state Supreme Court. Diaz and Hawk are in a tight race for the second-place spot in the primary. (Photos courtesy of campaigns)
In the only primary for a vacancy on the court, Mason County Superior Court Judge David Stevens leads, as King County Superior Court Judge Jaime Hawk and state appeals court Judge Mike Diaz split the vote on the left. Hawk leads Diaz by about 2%.
Chief Justice Debra Stephens, the only previously elected member of the court on the ballot, is sailing through the primary.
By Jerry Cornfield
A Republican backed by President Donald Trump emerged as the frontrunner in the central Washington race to succeed a retiring GOP congressman who voted to impeach the president. Republican Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney, along with Democrat John Duresky, moved comfortably ahead of nine others vying to replace U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse in the reliably Republican 4th Congressional District. Republicans Jerrod Sessler and Matt Boehnke trailed with around 14% and 10%, respectively.
Republican Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney, left, and Democrat John Duresky, right. (Photos courtesy of campaigns)
In southwest Washington, moderate Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican state Sen. John Braun are headed to a November face-off after finishing well ahead of seven other candidates. Gluesenkamp Perez had 38.9% of the vote, followed closely by Braun with 38.7% and progressive Democrat challenger Brent Hennrich with 15.3%.
ICYMI
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