August primary results certified in Whatcom County

Election results for the August 6 primary in Whatcom County were certified August 20, and the Secretary of State will certify statewide results by Friday, August 23.

As of August 19, 656 ballots in Whatcom County had not been accepted of the 73,337 returned, according to the auditor’s website. About 44.8 percent of county voters participated in the election.

Raymond Pelletti, a Republican from Blaine, will face incumbent Alicia Rule, a Democrat from Blaine, for the 42nd Legislative District State Representative Position 1 in the November general election. Pelletti received 45.7 percent of the vote, with Rule receiving 46.6 percent and Janet Melman, a Democrat from Bellingham, receiving 7.6 percent.

Kamal Bhachu, a Blaine Republican, will challenge incumbent Joe Timmons, a Bellingham Democrat, for the Legislative District State Representative Position 2. Timmons received 52.7 percent of the vote, and Bhachu 47.1 percent.

Incumbent Atul Deshmane and Dan Johnson will be on November ballots for Public Utility District No. 1 Commissioner District 2, garnering 46.4 and 41 percent of the vote respectively. A third candidate, Austin Anderson, received 12.3 percent of the vote.

Proposition 2024-17, authorizing a property tax levy lid lift for Fire Protection District 21, also known as North Whatcom Fire and Rescue, was called soon after the initial ballot count. The ballot measure failed with 57.7 percent voting against it.

As for state results, Bob Ferguson (D) will face Dave Reichert (R) in the governor race.

State results remained largely unchanged from the first ballot counts, except for the Commissioner of Public Lands, which the Seattle Times has reported is one of the states narrowest vote margins in decades.

A statewide hand recount is needed to determine who will be in the November election with Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, in the lead for the Washington lands commissioner with 22 percent of the vote, according to the Seattle Times. As of election results at 5:17 p.m. August 20, Democrat Dave Upthegrove was ahead of Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson by just 51 votes to be the other candidate in the election.

Washington has a top-two primary, meaning the two candidates with the most votes advance to the November general election, regardless of party. 

The general election is scheduled for November 5.

For Whatcom County results, including precinct-level results, visit bit.ly/46YiRmo. To view a full list of state election results, visit the Washington State Secretary of State’s website at bit.ly/4dAtFJe.