Preliminary August primary results tallied

Posted

Results in this article were released 8 p.m. election night.

Preliminary results for the August 6 primary election have clearly established in some races which candidates will be on November general election ballots. 

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

About 22.8 percent of the county’s 162,390 registered voters turned in their ballots by 8 p.m. Election Day. There were 37,070 ballots counted election night and the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office estimated another 15,530 ballots were left. The auditor’s office expects to receive more ballots that are still in the mail or from late arriving ballot boxes before the election is certified on August 20.

Proposition 2024-17, authorizing a property tax levy lid lift for Fire Protection District 21, also known as North Whatcom Fire and Rescue, was failing by a wide margin. The ballot measure was failing with 56.4 percent (3,411 votes) of Whatcom County voters in opposition and 43.6 percent (2,633) in support.

The fire district measure would increase the property tax collected for the fire district from its current $0.76 per $1,000 to $1.10 per $1,000 in assessed home value. The funds would go toward hiring more personnel, upgrading fire engines and replacing the aging Station 63 in Birch Bay. The fire district twice went out for levy rate increases in 2021, failing both times.

For 42nd Legislative District Representative Position 1, incumbent Alicia Rule (D) was barely ahead of fellow Blaine resident Raymond Pelletti (R). Rule, who had 46.8 percent (11,662) in support, will face Pelletti in November, who had 46 percent (11,481). Democrat Janet Melman came in third with 1,751 votes.

For 42nd Legislative District Representative Position 2, incumbent Joe Timmons (D) will go against Kamal Bhachu (R) in November. Timmons received 52.8 percent of the votes so far (13,121), while Bhachu received 47.1 percent (11,721).  

Public Utility District No. 1 Commissioner District 2 will have incumbent Atul Deshmane and Dan Johnson facing each other in November, with Deshmane receiving 45.2 percent support (5,134) and Johnson 41.4 percent (4,705).

Incumbent Maria Cantwell (D) and Dr. Raul Garcia (R) will be on the November ticket for U.S. Senator. Cantwell had 57.8 percent and Garcia had 21.2 percent of the votes.

Incumbent Rick Larsen (D) and Cody Hart (R) will be running in November for U.S. Representative for Congressional District 2. Larsen received 50.4 percent (56,472) of votes and Hart received 19.4 percent (21,779). 

As for governor, Bob Ferguson (D) and Dave Reichert (R) will be facing off in November. Ferguson was ahead with 45.5 percent and Reichert had 27.9 percent.

Incumbent Denny Heck (D) and Dan Matthews (R) will run for lieutenant governor in November. Heck received 48.7 percent of votes, while Matthews had 22.5 percent.

The Washington State Secretary of State position will have incumbent Steve Hobbs (D) and Dale Whitaker (R) set to race in November. Hobbs received 49 percent of the vote and Whitaker received 36.8 percent.

Washington State Attorney General had a more narrow race than others in the primary. Pete Serrano (R) received 41.9 percent in support and will go up against Nick Brown (D), who received 36 percent, in November. Manka Dhingra (D) trailed close behind Brown, with 22.2 percent of votes in support.

The Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands race was neck and neck for the primary. If the race keeps pace, Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) and Sue Kuehl Pederson (R) will face each other in November. Beutler had 22.6 percent of support, while Pederson was a hair behind with 20.3 percent of support. Dave Upthegrove (D) was slightly behind, with 19.9 percent in support.

For the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, incumbent Chris Reykdal was leading with 39.6 percent and David Olson was behind with 31.1 percent. Reykdal and Olson will face each other in November. 

The next ballot count was scheduled for 5 p.m. August 7. To view county election results as they’re updated as well as county precinct committee officer results, visit bit.ly/3yuAGfN. To view a full list of state election results, visit the Washington State Secretary of State’s website at bit.ly/4dAtFJe.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here


OUR PUBLICATIONS