Eric Holt reacts to his strong opening numbers in the primary at Warehouse 23 in Vancouver.
Carolyn Long addresses a crowd of her supporters at The Thirsty Sasquatch.
The primary election has revealed strong local support for Carolyn Long.
As of last count, the Democrat had 39.6 percent of Clark County’s votes for the Congressional seat. Incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, was in second place with about 39 percent of the vote.
“I am excited that our campaign’s message is resonating with voters,” Long said in a statement. “It shows the District is ready for change and that we can flip this district blue in November.”
District wide, however, Herrera Beutler still had the lead, taking about 40.9 percent of 3rd Congressional District voters’ ballots. Long trailed at 36.6 percent.
In a distant third was David McDevitt, also a Democrat, with 7.8 percent of the Clark County vote. Fellow Democrat Dorothy Gasque picked up 5.4 percent of the vote, with Republican Earl Bowerman receiving 5.2 percent. Republican Michael Cortney received 2.1 percent of the vote and Democrat Martin Hash received 1 percent.
The U.S. Senate race is a lock for the presumptive front-runners of both parties as incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell and Republican Susan Hutchison have secured the top-two spots in the statewide contest. Cantwell had about 55 percent of the vote while Hutchison took in 24 percent.
In Clark County, Cantwell had about 48.9 percent while Hutchison was trailing with about 21 percent. The county voters also showed a significant number for Camas resident and right-wing activist Joey Gibson, who in Clark County was third with about 5.4 percent of the vote.
The current County Council Chair is on his way out.
Current District 4 Councilor Eileen Quiring had close to 38.5 percent of the vote as of the last count, with Democratic challenger Eric Holt in second place with roughly 24.1 percent. Incumbent Marc Boldt, no party preference, trailed Holt with 22 percent. Though she had since suspended her campaign to support Holt, fellow Democrat Christy Stanley did pick up some votes, netting about 15.4 percent.
Holt was excited by the initial results, thanking his supporters for their hard work on his campaign. He said that he expected the gap between him and Quiring to to get closer as subsequent results came in.
Holt pointed at the percentage Stanley was able to pull in the race, reasoning it was a good sign for how he would fair come November.
“You add that (percentage) onto me, we’re actually in first place right now,” Holt remarked. He added he wasn’t surprised at Quiring’s numbers as she had the most in campaign funds for the contest.
“I think the people of Clark County have spoken, and they want a Democrat to win the race,” Holt remarked.
The three-way race for Clark County Council District 1 was a close one based on the fourth set of numbers from the elections. Democrat Temple Lentz secured close to 33.7 percent of the vote as the front-runner, with incumbent Republican Jeanne Stewart in second with 33 percent. Jim Moeller, also a Democrat, looked to be out of the contest with 31.7 percent.
The race for Legislative District 17 Position 1 had three candidates though one, James Tolson, suspended his campaign in June. He still picked up about 7.3 percent of the vote, though incumbent Republican Vicki Kraft and challenger Democrat Tanisha Harris will advance, netting 49.2 and 43.5 percent respectively.
In another State Legislature race Clark County votes were similar to the multi-county district-wide contest. Incumbent Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, led both locally and across District 20, receiving 59.4 percent in Clark County and 56.7 percent overall. In both cases Democrat Brennan Bailey was second, receiving 33.3 locally and 34.2 percent district-wide, leaving independent candidate Mark Smith in third in both cases.
The race for Clark Public Utilities District commissioner has the incumbent with a majority vote as current District 1 seat holder Jim Malinowski had about 56.4 percent of the vote as of the fourth count. In second was Sherry Erickson with roughly 27.1 percent, making Judy Chipman the odd one out with 16.5 percent.
The race for Clark County Assessor has the incumbent on top as Republican Peter Van Nortwick took 42.8 percent of the county’s last vote count before publication. Fellow Republican challenger Darren Wertz took 32.1 percent with Norbert Schlecht, no party, trailing in third with 25.1 percent.
Outside of top-two contests, a levy lid lift for Clark County Fire Protection District 13 looked to be passing at greater than a two-to-one lead. The measure would lift the district levy rate from 84 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to $1.25 per $1,000 and would be used to replace aging equipment for the fire department that covers about 37 square miles of northeastern Clark County. As of the fourth count it had 68 percent approval.
Though races with only two candidates were guaranteed to see both move onto the general election, results from the primary showed strong showings for Democrats in districts where their party struggled two years ago.
The race for District 17’s Position 2 has incumbent Republican Paul Harris sitting on top though with a slimmer margin than he had even for 2016’s general contest, taking in just about 55 percent of the vote. Challenger Damion Jiles, a Democrat, picked up the 45 percent remaining, significantly more than 2016 Democratic candidate Martin Hash (the same who ran for Congress this year) who took in only 36.9 percent that November.
One candidate who made the decision to run barely a week before the filing deadline has given the Republican incumbent something to worry about with a strong showing. Brandon Vick, R-Felida, is up four points with 52 percent of the vote for District 18’s Position 1 seat with Democrat Chris Thobaben taking 48 percent. This is much tighter than in 2016 where Vick handily beat 23-year-old challenger Justin Oberg 63-37 in that year’s general election.
Most surprising might be that district’s race for Position 2, currently occupied by Republican Liz Pike who is not seeking re-election. Democrat Kathy Gillespie is on top with 52 percent of the vote on Republican Larry Hoff’s 48 percent, a contrast to 2016’s general election where Pike beat Gillespie 56.8 to 43.2.
Editor’s note: election numbers are based on the fourth round of results which were released Friday, Aug. 10, the last count available before deadline.
