Flurry of candidates file for upcoming election 

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Those seeking seats in county, state and federal government races made their commitments known last week as candidate filing for 2022 races closed on Friday.

From May 16 to May 20, more than 500 candidates in elections featuring Clark County voters filed to run for a variety of seats up for election. Among the races is a highly competitive Congressional contest and three Clark County Council seats which will go to an August primary election, two of which will result in new representation. 

Congressional seat

For the U.S. House of Representatives Washington District 3 seat, incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, will face off against four from her own party in August. Challengers Joe Kent, Heidi St. John, Vicki Kraft and Leslie French all filed as Republicans to unseat Herrera Beutler, who has been Southwest Washington’s representative since 2011.

On the Democratic side, one candidate dropped out of the race to throw his support behind another person in his party. Though Brent Hennrich initially filed to run, he withdrew his candidacy by Friday. On social media, Hennrich announced his support for fellow Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Davy Ray, another Democrat who ran in 2020, also filed for the seat. 

The Congressional race also features American Solidarity Party candidate Oliver Black and independent Chris Byrd.

State Legislature

There’s a number of competitive races following the shift of Washington state legislative boundaries and several retirements of current lawmakers. 

The 17th Legislative District moved from central Clark County to the east part of the county in the latest redistricting. Position 1’s Rep. Vicki Kraft is running for Congress, leaving the seat open for three Republican hopefuls, who include Anthony Ho, Hannah Joy and Kevin Waters. Democrat Terri Niles also filed for the seat. 

For position 2, incumbent Paul Harris filed to run again. He will face fellow Republican Earl Bowerman, independent Republican Justin Forsman and Democrat Joe Kear.

The 18th Legislative District shifted from its sprawl across north and east Clark County to a more centralized representation in the county, which includes Battle Ground. Both current seatholders Brandon Vick and Larry Hoff announced their retirements earlier this year and will not run again. 

For Vick’s position 1, Republican Stephanie McClintock will face Democrat John Zingale. Position 2 is more competitive, with Republicans Brad Benton, Greg Cheney and John Ley competing alongside Democrat Duncan Camacho.



The boundaries of the 20th Legislative District shifted south and now include Ridgefield and La Center. Both seats in the state House of Representatives won’t see much action, as incumbent Republicans Peter Abbarno and Ed Orcutt are the only ones to file for their respective positions.

Clark County races

All three seats up for election on the Clark County Council will have competitive primary races this year. Current councilors Temple Lentz and Julie Olson previously announced they would not run for re-election for the district 1 and district 2 seats, respectively.

For district 1, Doug Coop, Hector Hinojosa and Glen Yung are seeking election to the county’s most urban district. 

In district 2, Michelle Belkot, Kim Hamlik and Chartisha Roberts have filed.

For the newly-created district 5, recently-appointed councilor Richard “Dick” Rylander will go up against former state Sen. Don Benton and Sue Marshall.

The race for Clark County sheriff has three people who filed for current sheriff Chuck Atkins’ role after Atkins announced he would not run for re-election. The race includes the sheriff office’s chief criminal deputy John Horch, Vancouver Police Corporal Rey Reynolds and county sheriff’s deputy David Shook.

The only other contested Clark County government race is for auditor. Current auditor Greg Kimsey has filed against challenger Brett Simpson.

Clark Public Utilities’ board of commissioners also has a competitive race for its district 2 seat. Incumbent Nancy Barnes will be challenged by Carol Dillin and Don Steinke in August.

Seats with more than two candidates will go to the state primary election on Aug. 2. The top two in those contests will move onto the Nov. 8 general election.

To view the full list of those who have filed in Clark County, go online to voter.votewa.gov/CandidateList.aspx?e=876&c=06