The first week’s results from the general election show several races in the 18th Legislative District were too close to call, though incumbent Republican state Rep. Stephanie McClintock and Democrat U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez are poised to serve another term.
The results of the Nov. 5 general election were still being counted by press time. The ballot includes votes for local, state and federal offices, along with four statewide initiatives on the ballot for Washington voters.
Local elections
The state senator seat in the 18th state legislative district, which encompasses Battle Ground and surrounding areas, was too close to call as of Friday, with Democrat Adrian Cortes leading Republican Brad Benton by only a few hundred votes.
Cortes expressed optimism while acknowledging some anticipation for the final results.
“I just thank the voters of the 18th for supporting me. We ran the strongest campaign for an 18th district senators race [in] the past 35-40 years,” Cortes said. “It’s a close race, but if you look at all the races in the 17th and 18th, our race is the most successful in terms of being ahead of our opponent on election night.”
Incumbent Stephanie McClintock led the state representative position 1 race against Democrat Deken Letinich. Republican John Ley maintained a narrow lead over Democrat John Zingale in the representative position 2 race. Ley, the leading Republican candidate, faces a trial for election fraud charges in a 2022 race for an 18th Legislative District representative seat in which he is accused of not being a district resident. The trial was set for October but was rescheduled to Feb. 24.
The 20th State Legislative District, which includes Woodland, La Center and Ridgefield, races are one-sided. Incumbent Republican John Braun is running unopposed for his state senate seat. Incumbent Republican Peter Abbarno easily led the representative position 1 seat with well over 80% of the vote as of Friday. Incumbent Republican Ed Orcutt, running for representative position 2 seat, also runs unopposed.
The general election will also determine two Clark County Council seats. In the Clark County Council’s District 3 seat, representing the Vancouver area, Wil Fuentes led the race against Chuck Keplar. The race for the fourth district seat, representing Camas, Washougal and county lands north, was close at press time. Joe Zimmerman narrowly led the race by a few hundred votes over Matt Little.
Federal and state offices
As of Thursday, U.S. Third Congressional District Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Skamania) led Republican opponent Joe Kent, Yacolt, by over 10,000 votes.
In a Thursday news release, Gluesenkamp Perez declared victory and reaffirmed her goals for her second term. She emphasized her commitment to reducing costs for middle class and working families, securing the U.S. Southern border, promoting apprenticeships and careers in the trades, and ensuring citizens have the right to repair their own belongings.
“Thank you, Southwest Washington. Serving you in Congress is a profound honor and a gift I will never squander,” she said in a press release. “I’m deeply grateful for this vote of confidence in the work I’ve done to set aside national politics and represent our community in Washington, D.C. I will continue to honestly reflect the independence of Southwest Washington in everything I do as our voice in D.C. Our heritage as fiercely independent, loyal fighters for our community is as clear to me as it was the day my family and I decided to ask for the privilege of working for our community.”
Statewide, Democrat Bob Ferguson won the governor race against Republican Dave Reichert.
Democrat incumbent Denny Heck took the lieutenant governor race, beatingRepublican Dan Matthews.
Democrat incumbent Maria Cantwell is set to serve her fifth term, as she claimed the U.S. senator race against Dr. Raul Garcia, who trailed by over 600,000 votes as of Friday.
Democrat incumbent Steve Hobbs led the race for Washington’s secretary of state.
In the Commissioner of Public Lands race, Democrat Dave Upthegrove was handily leading Republican and former U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler at press time.
According to voting totals, Democrat Pat McCarthy will serve as the next state auditor. Democrat Mike Pellicciotti is leading the state treasurer race. Democrat Nick Brown took the state’s attorney general seat. Chris Reykdal led the superintendent of public instruction race.
Ballot measures
The preliminary results of four statewide ballot measures were also counted.
As of Friday, Initiative 2066 was expected to pass. If approved by the majority of Washington voters, I-2066 would require cities and counties to ensure natural gas is supplied to applicable businesses and residents. Additionally, the initiative would repeal sections of House Bill 1589, which the state Legislature passed last March. I-2066 would repeal the law that requires large utility companies, namely Puget Sound Energy (PSE), to merge their natural gas and electric utility customers into one rate plan. Under the law, PSE would be required to develop a plan by 2027 to assess the feasibility of cost-effective electrification options for its customers.
On the other hand, Initiative No. 2109 is unlikely to pass. I-2109 would have repealed a capital gains excise tax for assets over $250,000 in value. This 7% capital gains tax is used by the state to fund early child care services.
Initiative No. 2117, a ballot measure to repeal the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), will likely fail. The CCA, which the initiative would have rescinded, works to reduce carbon emissions through “allowances,” which companies can purchase and trade at auctions, similar to stocks. Each year, the state reduces the amount of allowances, which raises the value and price. The funds are transferred to transportation improvement projects, including road improvements, across the state. Local Republican leaders have argued the law has caused gas companies to raise prices.
Initiative No. 2124 also failed. I-2124 would have allowed employees in Washington to opt out of the state’s payroll tax to receive benefits under WA Cares, the state’s long-term healthcare insurance program.
The final results will be officially certified by Nov. 26.
Follow local Clark County elections at results.vote.wa.gov/results/20240806/clark/. Cowlitz County elections can be found at results.vote.wa.gov/results/20240806/cowlitz/. State results are updated at results.vote.wa.gov/results/20241105/.
