Democrats lead in most statewide races Tuesday

OLYMPIA — Some statewide races, including a gubernatorial race with 36 candidates, will be narrowed down to two candidates each following Tuesday’s primary election, with Democrats leading every race but that of Secretary of State as of 9:30 p.m.

For governor, more voters chose incumbent Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday night than all other candidates for the seat combined, netting 648,114 votes, or just under 52 percent. He is likely in the General Election to face challenger Loren Culp, the Republican police chief of Republic, who had 208,736 votes, under 17 percent, as of Tuesday night. Fellow Republicans Joshua Freed and Tim Eyman were in second and third place, respectively, each taking about 7 percent of the Tuesday night tally.

In Grant County, however, Republicans were the clear winners, with Culp leading the pack at 4,228 votes, or 38 percent, while Inslee came in second with 2,449 votes, or 22 percent. Eyman was in third with 833 votes, or 8 percent, while Freed earned 677 votes, or 6 percent.

Other statewide races fell along similar lines. In an open race for lieutenant governor, Democrats Denny Heck and Marjo Liias led their Republican rivals from the top-two race. Heck earned 333,676 votes statewide, or under 28 percent, while Liias earned 199,978, or under 17 percent. Republicans Ann Davison Sattler and Marty McClendon trailed in Tuesday night tallies, each earning around 11 percent.

In Grant County, however, Republicans McClendon and Joseph Brumbles took the top spots Tuesday night, earning 25 percent and 14 percent of the vote, respectively. Other Republicans in that race also took the third, fourth and fifth spots.

In the race for state treasurer, Democrat Mike Pellicciotti took in 658,345 votes statewide, or 54 percent, while Republican Duane Davidson netted 558,213 votes, or just under 46 percent. In Grant County, Davidson earned 7,776 votes, or over 73 percent, while Pellicciotti earned 2,834, or under 27 percent.

Running for state auditor, Democrat Pat McCarthy received 582,986 votes, or 48 percent, while Republican Chris Leyba had 493,394 votes, or under 41 percent. Democrat Joshua Casey was in third, with 11 percent of the vote. In Grant County, Leyba led with 7,430 votes, or 70 percent, while McCarthy had under 22 percent.

Incumbent Attorney General Bob Ferguson was winning his race Tuesday night with one of the largest percentages of votes in any race, with nearly 57 percent, netting 697,273 votes. Republicans Matt Larkin and Brett Rogers came in second and third, earning under 24 percent and over 12 percent, respectively. Ferguson also did better in Grant County than his fellow Democrats, earning 28 percent of the vote to Larkin’s 38 percent and Rogers’ 28 percent.

Incumbent Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz led her race Tuesday night, earning 618,974 votes, or under 52 percent, while Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson was in second place with 261,585 votes, or under 22 percent. In Grant County, Pederson netted 2,505 votes, or 24 percent, and trailed by just 10 votes behind fellow Republican Cameron Whitney.

Incumbent Chris Reykdal also led the nonpartisan race for superintendent of public instruction, though with the lowest vote total of any incumbent on the ballot, netting 454,083 votes, or just over 40 percent. Ron Higgins was in second place with 228,238, or a bit over 20 percent. In Grant County, Higgins garnered 2,630 votes, or over 28 percent, while fellow challenger Maia Espinoza netted 2,463, or over 26 percent.

In the race for insurance commissioner, Democrat Mike Kreidler led the pack with a solid 724,555 votes, or 60 percent of the vote. He is likely to face off against Republican Chirayu Avinash Patel, who netted 33,329 votes, or 28 percent. In Grant County, Avinash led with 56 percent of the vote to Kreidler’s 31 percent.

Regional Republicans fared better than those running for state office. Incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, won a majority of the votes for the Fourth Congressional District race Tuesday night, with 50,599 votes, or under 57 percent. Democrat Douglas McKinley had under 28 percent. Newhouse’s margin was larger in Grant County, earning 63 percent of the vote compared to McKinley’s 22 percent.

Vote tallies will continue to be updated as ballots are counted in the coming days.

Emry Dinman can be reached via email at edinman@columbiabasinherald.com.