The first day of unofficial primary election results show the local propositions to raise the fire district levies for Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue (CCFR) and Fire District 3 are passing overwhelmingly.
Tuesday primary election results were released shortly after 8 p.m., with local, state and federal races being voted upon. The next count of ballots will be made Wednesday afternoon.
Levy lid lifts
As of Tuesday night, CCFR’s proposition to raise its levy is passing with 4,605 votes (61.90%) with 2,834 voters (38.10%) in opposition. An approved levy lid lift will raise property tax collection to $1.50 per $1,000 assessed property value. Because the allowed property tax increases have not kept up with property value increases in the district, the levy rate has dropped from $1.50 per $1,000 in 2017 to $1.26 per $1,000 today. The lid lift would fund equipment, building expansions and two new fire stations in west Ridgefield and Woodland, respectively.
After previously failing, Clark County Fire District 3’s levy lid lift is currently passing with 4,565 votes (65.49%) in favor, and 2,405 voters (34.51%) in opposition. Fire District 3 taxpayers currently pay $1.16 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Should voters approve a $0.34 lid lift, the tax rate would reset to $1.50. The lid lift would fund more paramedic-certified firefighters, updated medical equipment and replace an aging ambulance to transport patients to area hospitals. The lid lift would also ensure the fire district’s five fire stations are fully staffed.
Federal and state offices
Democrat incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez leads U.S. Congressional District 3’s race with 56,634 votes (46.87%). Republican Joe Kent will likely be her opponent in the November general election, as he earned 46,302 votes (38.32%). Republican Leslie Lewallen is behind with 15,023 votes (12.43%).
Statewide, Democrat Bob Ferguson leads the governor race with 459,407 votes (45.49%). Republican Dave Reichert is set to challenge him by garnering 281,993 votes (27.92%) as of Tuesday. Semi Bird, the state’s Republican Party nominee, is trailing with 94,938 votes (9.4%)
Democrat incumbent Denny Heck leads the lieutenant governor race with 477,731 votes (48.67%). Behind is Republican Dan Matthews with 220,912 votes (22.5%).
Democrat incumbent Maria Cantwell will advance to November’s general election in the U.S. senator race with 578,629 votes, (57.83%). Dr. Raul Garcia is the closest challenger, with 212,439 votes (21.23%).
The race for Washington’s secretary of state is led by Democrat incumbent Steve Hobbs with 484,861 votes (49%). Republican Dale Whitaker takes second with 394,132 votes (36.8%)
The Commissioner of Public Lands position, which has seven candidates, is currently led by Republican and former U.S. representative Jaime Herrera Beutler with 221,678 votes (22.64%). Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson trails her with 198,343 votes (20.26%), closely followed by Democrat David Upthegrove with 194,412 votes (19.85%).
Voters will narrow down several more of the state’s executive positions this election leading up to November’s general election. Democrat Pat McCarthy leads the state auditor seat with 583,607 votes (59.16%). Democrat Mike Pellicciotti leads the state treasurer seat with 579,517 votes (58.65%). Republican Pete Serrano leads the attorney general race with 416,064 votes (41.85%), followed by Democrat Nick Brown with 356,851 votes (35.9%) and Democrat Manka Dhingra with 220,485 votes (22.18%). Chris Reykdal leads the superintendent of public instruction race with 364,059 votes (39.55%), followed by David Olson with 285,859 votes (31.06%). Readers can go to results.vote.wa.gov/results/20240806/default.htm to follow all statewide races.
Local elections
The state senator seat in the 18th state legislative district, which encompasses Battle Ground and surrounding areas, is led by Democratic candidate Adrian Cortes with 11,517 votes (46.86%), followed by Republican Brad Benton with 7,554 votes (30.74%). 18th District Rep. Greg Cheney is behind the Senate race with 5,505 votes (22.40%).
Incumbent Stephanie McClintock leads the representative position 1 seat with 13,317 votes (54.74%), followed by Deken Letinich with 11,009 votes (45.26%). Democrat John Zingale leads representative position 2 with 11,824 votes (48.35%), followed by John Ley with 9,362 votes (38.28%). Former Battle Ground Mayor Philip Johnson trails them with 3,269 votes (13.37%). John Ley, the leading republican candidate, faces an October trial for election fraud charges in a 2022 race for an 18th Legislative District representative seat for not being a district resident.
The 20th state legislative district, which includes the City of Woodland, also has state legislative seats to fill. Incumbent John Braun is running unopposed for his state senate seat.
Incumbent Peter Abbarno leads the representative position 1 seat with 3,689 votes (86.7%). Incumbent Ed Orcutt is running unopposed for the representative position 2 seat.
The Clark County Council’s District 3 seat, representing Vancouver, is in a close race. Chuck Keplar leads with 4,552 votes (35.91%), followed closely by Wil Fuentes with 4,509 votes (35.57%). In third is John Jay with 3,616 votes (28.52%). The fourth district seat, representing Camas, Washougal and county lands north, is led by Joe Zimmerman with 3,825 votes (26.06%), followed by Matt Little with 3,488 votes (23.76%).
The Clark County Elections Office has counted 76,470 ballots, with an estimated 60,000 more to count. The first day’s voter turnout is 22.75%.
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/.
