Herrera Beutler wins; state seats retained by GOP

Republican incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler has retained her seat as Washington U.S. Representative in District 3. 

As of the third round of ballot counts, Herrera Beutler had 52.8 percent of votes, leading Democrat challenger Carolyn Long by about 16,000 votes. 

“I’m so honored to have once again earned the trust of Southwest Washington residents who have selected me to serve them in Congress for another term,” Herrera Beutler said in a statement Nov. 7, after the second vote count made clear she would be the winner. “I’ve always worked to be a public servant who solves local problems and makes our region’s priorities my priorities, and that will be my approach in this next Congress.”

Long conceded the race that evening.

“What we’ve built on this campaign is greater than one person — it’s a movement of folks from all over Southwest Washington that cannot and will not end with this election,” she said in a statement. “We ran a civil campaign that I can look back on with pride knowing that we stayed focused on the issues that matter to people in my district.”

Herrera Beutler said she had a “good conversation” with Long following her concession, and called her a “worthy opponent” who ran a “vigorous campaign.”

The challenger initially called the race “too close to call” on Tuesday, citing tens of thousands of ballots yet to be counted. But Herrera Beutler’s lead only grew Wednesday.

The margin, Herrera Beutler noted in an interview Tuesday, closely mirrors that of her first campaign in 2010. Though she has earned easy re-elections since then, Long put that streak in doubt in 2018, outraising the incumbent by around $1 million and earning endorsements from President Obama and a slew of Democratic fundraising groups.

Herrera Beutler said she never expects to cruise to victory, adding that she was “humbled” to be performing so well despite being outraised by Long.

“I’ve never taken for granted that I was entitled to this seat or that I should expect it,” she said. “I’m not surprised this is close.”

Meanwhile, Long’s spokesman Will Casey noted that Long made a tight contest of a race that Herrera Beutler has won by double digits in most elections.

“It’s a testament to the strength of the race that we ran,” he said. “It’s a race the incumbent has previously won by 20 or more points.”

While Democrats nationwide have retaken the House of Representatives, Herrera Beutler said her focus on local issues is what has put her in solid position amid a tough night for many other GOP candidates.

“They’re not the sexy issues, but they’re the issues that affect the people of this region,” she said. “People pay attention to that. … That’s why we’re in an optimistic place versus a lot of my colleagues in a lot of districts that are a lot more red.”

In the U.S. Senate race, incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell retained her seat. She received 58.9 percent of votes statewide as of the third count, compared to her Republican challenger Susan Hutchison who received 41.1 percent. 

Clark County Council

As of the third round of results for the new Clark County Council Chair, voters are leaning toward having a current councilor in the position next year.

District 4 Councilor Eileen Quiring, a Republican, led by 1,057 votes over Democrat Eric Holt following Thursday afternoon’s count. 

Initially, Holt had a roughly 1,200-vote lead following the first results, which shifted to Quiring over subsequent counts.

Per state law, if the difference in votes is below 2,000 and also is less than half a percentage point, a recount would happen. As of the third count the percentage difference in votes was a little more than .6 percent, which would not warrant a mandatory recount. 

For Clark County Council District 1, incumbent Republican Jeanne Stewart is on her way out. 

Challenger Democrat Temple Lentz managed to get about 60.3 percent of the vote as of the third round of numbers — handily more than Stewart’s 39.7 percent.

Clark County Council District 2’s results were even more lopsided, though, but in favor of the incumbent. 

As of the third round of results, councilor Julie Olson gained 77.4 percent of the vote to challenger Elisabeth Veneman’s 22.6 percent. Both candidates are Republicans.

Olson said her strong numbers reflect that she has represented the district well. 

“I think whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, at the local level it’s about finding solutions for people, and I think I’ve been able to do that fairly well,” Olson remarked. “I’m hoping to continue that in the future.”

State Legislature races

In the race for Washington State Rep. District 17 Position 1, incumbent Republican Vicki Kraft managed to edge out a victory over challenger Democrat Tanisha Harris who conceded to Kraft Nov. 8.  

Kraft netted about 50.9 percent of the vote, just shy of 1,000 votes above Harris, as of the third round of results. 

In her concession posted to Facebook, Harris wished Kraft “all the best in Olympia.”

“I’m so grateful for all our volunteers who gave their time and energy these past 8 months. Your enthusiasm sustained me and I will always carry a special place in my heart for all of you,” Harris said in her statement. 

The race for Position 2 in District 17 is decidedly more in favor of the incumbent, as Republican Paul Harris had 57.9 percent of the vote to challenger Democrat Damion Jiles’ 42.1 percent as of the third count.

“I campaigned hard. I worked hard,” Harris said after the initial Nov. 6 results. 

Harris also pointed to his track record as a legislator. 

“I just work across the aisle a lot. (I) listen to the constituents, vote for what I think my constituents want, which I think I have, and continue to represent them well,” he said. 

For Washington State Rep. District 18 Position 1, incumbent Republican Brandon Vick was able to pull out a victory. Vick had about 55.8 percent to challenger Democrat Chris Thobaben’s 44.2 percent as of the third count.

Vick likened the biennial elections to State Representative seats as “a public performance review for our job every two years.”

“I’m just honored by the fact that our constituents, our voters, think that (I’ve) done something right over the last six years, and I’m happy to go to work for them for the next two,” he said.   

The biggest upset in the state races for those who paid attention 

to the August primary is for Washington State Rep. District 18 Position 2, as Republican Larry Hoff had about 52.8 percent of the vote to Democrat Kathy Gillespie’s 47.2 percent, as of last count. Gillespie won first place in the primary with more than 52 percent of the vote.

Following the initial results Nov. 6, Hoff said his lead was “the result of all the hard work we put up, and all of the people that helped us.”

“I can’t say enough about all of the volunteers,” he said. “I was the candidate, but it takes a world of help.” 

Like District 17, the incumbents of Legislative District 20 came in on top in their contests, though by greater margins. 

Washington State Rep. District 20 Position 1 incumbent Republican Richard DeBolt has 62.4 percent approval districtwide over challenger Democrat John Thompson. DeBolt did slightly better in Clark County with those district voters putting him at 64.3 percent as of the third round of results.

For District 20 Position 2, Republican incumbent Ed Orcutt managed a 68.3 percent lead in Clark County and a 64.1 percent districtwide in the first numbers, with Democrat Challenger Brennan Bailey having 31.7 and 35.9 percent, respectively. 

Other countywide races 

Outside of county council races, several other elected positions in county government were up for grabs this year. 

Regarding contested races, Incumbent Clark County Assessor Peter Van Nortwick had the edge over challenger (and Ridgefield city councilor) Darren Wertz, netting 59.8 percent of the vote to Wertz’ 40.2 percent as of the third round of results. Both candidates are Republicans.

Van Nortwick was pleased to see the numbers in his favor, chalking it up to his ability to communicate with county residents about what happens to their property taxes and why, especially following the increases felt countywide following state school funding changes among other impacts.

“I just think that message came through,” Van Nortwick said.

For the Clark County Clerk race, incumbent Republican Scott Weber was able to recover from an August primary vote that saw challenger Democrat Barbara Melton in the lead. 

As of the third round of numbers released, Weber has 53.1 percent of the vote to Melton’s 46.9 percent. In the primary, Melton led with 50.7 percent of the vote. 

The successor to the retiring Clark County Treasurer Doug Lasher is likely Alisha Topper based on the Nov. 8 results. Topper had 69.1 percent of the vote compared to fellow candidate Robert Hinds’ 30.9 percent.

For the Clark Public Utilities District 1 Commissioner, Incumbent Jim Malinowski is looking like he will retain his seat. The third release of numbers showed him with a 55.6 percent lead over challenger Sherry Erickson and her 44.4 percent.

Statewide initiatives

The third set of results showed three out of four statewide initiatives passing. 

The one failing is Initiative 1631 which would apply fees on sources of greenhouse gas emissions with revenue generated used to fund pollution reduction and environmental efforts. About 40.4 percent of Clark County voters were in support of the initiative, compared to the 43.7 percent in approval statewide.

Initiative 1634, which would prevent local governments from putting new or increased taxes on certain grocery items such as soda, had about 53.8 percent of Clark County voters cast their ballot in support, while about 55.1 percent did statewide.

Initiative 1639, which would introduce several measures related to gun safety on “semiautomatic assault rifles” as defined in the initiative, require training, raise the age of legal purchase as well as introduce storage requirements on all firearms, had roughly 54 percent voting in support of the initiative in Clark County, compared to almost 60.3 percent statewide.

Initiative 940, which would require police officer training on violence de-escalation, mental-health, and first-aid while establishing a “good faith” standard on the use of deadly force, had about 53.8 percent of Clark County voters approving the initiative while about 59.6 percent did so statewide.

Local levy 

Green Mountain School District’s capital projects levy looks to be set to pass given the third election numbers released. The levy, which would raise $1.25 million over five years for renovations and replacements on the small school district’s campus. About 55.5 percent of district voters were in favor of the levy, 201 votes for to 161 against.

Editor’s note: Because of early deadline, results in this article are based on Nov. 8th third round of results.