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By Don Gronning
Of The Miner
NEWPORT – The Primary Election is certified and in the books. Fire District 4’s Emergency Services levy did not pass, narrowly missing the 60% needed to pass, with 338 people voting yes and 235 voting no. The Miner incorrectly reported the levy was passing in last week’s election story.
Fire District 4 wants to run the levy again in November, Pend Oreille County Elections Supervisor Liz Krizenesky said.
Other local races didn’t change much. Incumbent county commissioner John Gentle had 734 votes to 615 for Steve Minnich for the District 1 job. Both Republicans will move on to the General Election when the whole county will vote on county commissioners. In the primary, just the people in the district voted.
Brian Smiley, the incumbent county commissioner from district 3, leads Kevin Young 984-363. Both men are also Republicans.
The race for the Washington’s 7th Legislative District representative positions, Andrew Engell came in first for the position 1, the job Jacquelin Maycumber is giving up. Maycumber ran for the 5th Congressional District seat that Cathy McMorris Rodgers held. McMorris Rodgers didn’t seek reelection.
Republican Soo Ing-Moody is holding second, with a 207 vote lead over Teagan Levine district wide. All three are Republicans. Engell has 19,870 votes, Ing-Moody has 10,485 and Levine has 10,278. The top two candidates advance to the General Election.
Hunter Abell leads in the race for position 2, the position formerly held by Joel Kretz, who retired. Both Kretz and Abell are Republicans. Democrat Paul “Rocky” Dean is second. Abell has 15,749 district-wide and Dean has 12,277.
In statewide races, the Commissioner of Public Lands will go to a recount, Krizenesky said. The Seattle Times reported that since the Aug. 6 primary, the race for the next lands commissioner has narrowed significantly between Democrat Dave Upthegrove and Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson. Both campaigns say they expect the margin to be so close it will trigger a recount. If the difference between the candidates is less than one half of one percent and also less than 2,000 votes, a recount is required.
As of 6 p.m. Monday, just 193 votes, or one-hundredth of a percentage point, separate Metropolitan King County Councilmember Upthegrove from former power analyst and natural resource officer Kuehl Pederson. The Associated Press has Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler leading. If the race comes down to less than one quarter of one percent and also less than 1,000 votes, a manual recount is required, according to state law.
Republican Michael Baumgartner has a solid lead in the race to replace Cathy McMorris Rodgers in the U.S. House of Representatives. He drew 55,859 votes, 27.46%. Democratic candidate Carmela Conway came in second and will advance to the General. She drew 37,227 votes districtwide, 18.3%.
Washington voters qualified nine presidential candidates from minor parties to appear on the November ballot, in addition to the Republican and Democratic Party nominees.
To qualify for the General Election ballot, a minor party or independent candidate must obtain 1,000 signatures from registered Washington voters who have not signed another party’s nominating petition. These voters must attend a state convention held in support of the party or candidate. Conventions may only be during a specific period, from the first Saturday in May to the last Saturday in July. Appeal of any qualification must be filed with the Thurston County Superior Court no later than five days after notification.
Minor party and independent candidates for president will appear on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot as follows, with the Presidential nominee listed first and Vice Presidential nominee listed second in order of their qualification:
We The People Party; Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Nicole Shanahan
Green Party; Jill Stein, Samson LeBeau Kpadenou
Socialism and Liberation Party; Claudia De la Cruz, Karina Garcia
Socialist Workers Party; Rachele Fruit, Dennis Richter
Socialist Equality Party; Joseph Kishore, Jerry White
Libertarian Party; Chase Oliver, Mike ter Maat
Cascade Party; Krist Novoselić, James Carroll
Justice For All Party; Cornel West, Melina Abdullah
Independent Candidate; Shiva Ayyadurai, Crystal Ellis
