Election 2016: Primary results, Aug. 2
Clallam County Commissioner Mike Chapman is making a strong case for his bid for a State Representative seat while Kevin Van De Wege is making a strong showing to succeed Sen. Jim Hargrove after the first round of ballots were counted in local and state primary election results Tuesday, Aug. 2.
Chapman, a Democrat, garnered 10,382 votes (45.65 percent) in the multi-county representative race, and looks to go up against George Vrable, a Republican, who earned 8.361 votes, or 36.76 percent. Chapman's lead within Clallam County was slightly great at about 10 percent.
Van De Wege, a Democrat holding the state representative spot, leads Republican Danille Turissini handily both overall (62-38) and in Clallam County (58-42).
In the race for County Commissioner Position 2, Democrat Ron Richards leads with 1,220 votes (37.54 percent) while Randy Johnson (no party preference) has a slight lead over Republican Gabe Rygaard (25-22) for the second spot heading into November's general election.
Incumbent Steve Tharinger, a Democrat, looks to hold on to his state representative spot for the 24th Legislative District with nearly 62 percent of the votes in the multi-county race over GOP/Independent John D. Alger, with both advancing to the general election.
In the area's Congressional race, Democrat Derek Kilmer holds a strong lead in his reelection bid for District 6's U.S. Representative with 58.65 percent of the votes, while Todd A. Bloom, a Republican, is in second with a little less than 24 percent of the region's votes. Kilmer, a Port Angeles native, earned spots on 55 percent of Clallam County residents' ballots.
U.S. Senator
Looking to retain her U.S. Senate seat, Democrat Patty Murray has more than 53 percent of the 790,000 votes cast statewide, with Republican Chris Vance second with 27.7 percent of ballots.
Washington state races
In statewide races, incumbent Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican challenger Bill Bryant are the frontrunners. Inslee has about 48.6 percent of statewide ballots, Bryant with 38.1. Inslee had an eight-point advantage from Clallam voters (46.5-38.6).
"I'm honored to have the support of so many Washingtonians tonight," Gov. Inslee said via a press release.
"I'm proud of what we've accomplished the last four years: more than 250,000 new jobs, huge investments in early learning, full-day kindergarten, lower class sizes in the early grades, and a cut to college tuition for every college student. But we are not done yet. We are going to keep building a stronger economy and better future for every Washington family."
The race for the top two spots for Lieutenant Governor is murkier, with Republican Marty McClendon leading a pack of challenger with 20.3 percent of the vote and Democrat Cyrus Habib with 19.6 percent. Democrats Karen Fraser and Steve Hobbs both have more than 15 percent of ballots.
Republican incumbent Kim Wyman holds a slight lead over Democrat challenger Tina Podlodowski, 48.4 to 45.7, and both look to advance to the general election.
Duane Davidson (25.5) holds a slight lead over fellow Republican Michael Waite (23.6) for state treasurer.
Republican Mark Miloscia and Democrat Pat (Patrice) McCarthy look to advance in the state auditor race in November, with Miloscia getting 37.4 percent of ballots to McCarthy's 30.8.
Democrat incumbent Bob Ferguson holds a commanding lead over Libertarian challenger Joshua B. Trumbull (72.8-27.2) for state attorney general.
In the race for Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands, Republican Steve McLaughlin leads all challengers with 39.1 percent of ballots cast, with Democrat challenger Hilary Franz garnering about 21 percent of the vote to place second.
Vying to replace outgoing Randy Dorn as Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Erin Jones (22.76 percent) and Chris Reykdal (20.59) hold the top two spots.
Democrat incumbent Mike Kreidler leads in the state insurance commissioner race with 57.6 percent of ballots. Republican Richard Schrock (35.2) is second.
Barbara Madsen holds a large lead in the Supreme Court Justice Position 5 race with 64.3 percent of the vote, and Greg Zempel coming in second (29.1).
Precinct voting
In local precinct races, Peter Walchenbach holds a single vote lead over Patrick Williams for the Sequim 401 precinct (27 to 26).
In the Sunland North 270 precinct, Sharon A. Briggs holds a 73-45 vote lead over Penney Van Vleet.
In the Riverside 265 precinct, Clara L. Chandler holds a 70-27 vote lead over Mayree Lowman.
In the Cline 217 precinct, Elizabeth Bumgarner leads Carole Woods in votes, 50 to 41.
In the Blue Mountain 209 precinct, Marcia G. Farrell (46 votes) leads Rose Marschall (22) and Chris Rodda-Walker (16).
Source: Sequim Gazette