Field narrowed in Primary

NEWPORT – The race to be the next Fifth District U.S. Representative and 7th District state representatives just got smaller following the Primary election, which wrapped up Tuesday, Aug. 6.

In the 10-person contest to replace Cathy McMorris Rodgers as 5th Congressional District U.S. Representative, as of Friday, Aug. 9, Republican Michael Baumgartner, got the most votes in the sprawling district, 28.23% districtwide. Democratic candidate Carmela Conroy got the second most, with 18.79% districtwide. They move on to the General Election in November. As of close of business Monday, Baumgartner had 52,364 votes district-wide and Conroy received 34,844 votes.

Among Pend Oreille County voters, Republican Jacquelin Maycumber got the most votes, 1,130 or 25.11%. Maycumber, who declined to run for reelection as 7th District state representative to pursue the U.S. Representative position, carried Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties. She finished third in the districtwide race, with 12.54% of the vote.

Brian Dansel is another Republican name Pend Oreille County voters might recognize. He served as 7th District state senator before resigning to take a job with the Trump administration in 2017. Dansel finished fifth with 10.33% of the votes districtwide. In Pend Oreille County, he pulled 15.27% or 672 votes, finishing third, behind Maycumber and Baumgartner. Baumgartner said he was happy with the results, both districtwide and in Pend Oreille County.

“We are very pleased with the primary results, facing two talented candidates with deep roots in NE Washington,” he said. “We’ll be working hard to earn the support of those voters in November.”

Conroy said she was happy about the results. She noted she was outspent three to one by Baumgartner, a candidate with more name recognition.

“It was gratifying to make it into the top two, when there were so many candidates to choose from,” she said. “Primary voters had to invest a bit of time to knowledgeably participate at this stage of the race.”

In the race for U.S. Senator, Democrat Maria Cantwell was ahead, with 57.52% of 1,088,699 votes. Republican Scott Nazarino got 107,763 votes, 5.69% to finish second, slightly ahead of another Republican candidate, Issak Holyk, who received 5.6% of the vote 107,763.

County races

While there were no county races that required a Primary Election to narrow the field, county commissioner candidates appeared on the ballot in their districts, as they are a partisan race. Non partisan races with just two candidates were not on the ballot.

In the commissioner district 1, representing the south county, Republican candidate John Gentle had the lead, with 717 votes or 52.95% of the vote. Steve Haroldson Minnich, another Republican candidate, drew 602 votes, 44.46%.

In the district 2 county commissioner race, Republican candidate Brian Smiley was leading with 70.77% of the vote, 966. Kevin Young, also a Republican, received 26.15% or 357 votes.

Gentle and Smiley are incumbents. There are 58 ballots left to count in Pend Oreille County. The next count will take place Friday when there are enough ballots to count.

Pend Oreille County Fire District 4 passed an Emergency Medical Services Property Tax Levy, 334 to 229 or 59.33% to 40.67%.

Statewide races

The most watched race is probably for governor. In that contest Democratic candidate Bob Ferguson had the lead, with 45.2% of the votes, 864,545. Republican candidate Duane Reichert was in second place with 27.39% or 523,977 votes.

Pend Oreille County voters preferred Reichert, giving him 30.55% of the vote, 1,358. Republican candidate Semi Bird came in second in the county, with 1,226 votes, 27.88%. Bird got 203,192 votes statewide, finishing in third place of the 28 candidates. In Pend Oreille County, Ferguson got 1,037 votes, 23.33%.

In the commissioner of public lands race, Republican Jaime Herrera Butler had the most votes, with 404,536 or 21.9%. Democratic candidate Dave Upthegrove was in second place with 387,857 of 20.99%, slightly ahead of Sue Kuel Pederson, with 382,133 or 20.68%.

Republican candidate Pete Serrano was leading for attorney general, with 784,986 votes, 41.8%. Democratic candidate Nick Brown was in second place, with 666,695 votes, 35.5%.

In the nonpartisan superintendent of public instruction race, incumbent Chris Reykdal had the most votes with 684,967 votes, 39.44%. David Olson received 539,322 votes, 31.06%.

Democrat Steve Hobbs got the most votes for secretary of state, with 48.84% or 720,153 votes. He will face Republican Dale Whitaker, who garnered 542,290 or 36.77%.

Democratic candidate Pat Patrice McCarthy had 59.16% of the vote in the race for state auditor. He drew 1,099,908 votes to 757,778 votes for Republican Matt Hawkins, who got 40.76%.

In the race for state treasurer, another Democratic candidate, Mike Pellicciotti, had 1,092,770 votes or 58.65%. Republican Sharon Hanek had 768,803 or 41.26%.

For insurance commissioner, Democrat Patty Kuderer drew 826,365 votes, 45.47%. Phil Fortunato, a Republican, got 514,931 votes, 28.34%.

Democrat Denny Heck was leading for lieutenant governor, with 48.95% of the votes, 906,883. He will face second place Republican candidate Dan Matthews, who got 22.8% of the vote, 422,378.