With the results of the Washington primary elections in hand, all eyes remain on key races across the state.
On Thursday, the Secretary of State’s Office certified the results of the Aug. 6 primary. It also ordered a hand recount of the results of the election for Commissioner of Public Lands. Dave Upthegrove, a Democrat, received 51 more votes than Sue Kuehl Pederson, a Republican who finished third in the race. Upthegrove or Pederson will face Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican who finished first in the primary.
In a news release, Deputy Secretary of State Kevin McMahan said the state is confident the election was accurate and trustworthy for all Washingtonians.
“The mandatory recount underscores the importance of every vote and reaffirms the commitment of our county election officials to ensure accurate election results,” McMahan said.
“We ask for everyone’s patience as county election officials administer the manual recount to ensure that each voter’s intent is accurately heard,” he added.
LD14 in the crosshairs
In central Washington, the center of controversy over redistricting, both Democrats and Republicans want to win over the area’s Latino vote.
The 14th Legislative District has been seen as an opportunity for Hispanic or Latino representation after a judge approved the new redistricting map last March. The changes integrated some communities in Pasco and the Yakima Valley into the new map.
In the newly redrawn 14th Legislative District, Republican incumbent Curtis King leads the race for state senator. Democrat Chelsea Dimas and Republican Deb Manjarrez led the races for state representative seats.
According to election results from the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, King maintained a wide lead to retain his seat in the 14th Legislative District, beating Hispanic Democratic candidate Maria Beltran by more than 16 percent.
The race for state representative Position 1 for the 14th Legislative District appeared closer, with Republicans Andy Kallinen and Gloria Mendoza and Democrat Dimas on the ballot.
Dimas, a Washington state human rights commissioner and Sunnyside resident, got nearly 37 percent of the vote. Mendoza, a former mayor of Grandview, got more than 32 percent of the vote. Kallinen will not advance to the general election.
For District 2 state representative position, the election was contested between Manjarrez, Democrat Ana Ruiz Kennedy and non-partisan candidate Eddi Perez.
Manjarrez, a Yakima businesswoman, had a wide lead with 54%, ahead of Ana Ruiz Kennedy who received nearly 40% of the vote.
According to data from the Secretary of State, there are 4.8 million registered voters in Washington. More than 40% cast their ballots in these primary elections.
