Primary election night returns in Clark and Cowlitz counties reshaped several key legislative races Tuesday with incumbents facing stiff challenges ahead of the November general election.
Clark County voters set up several closely watched legislative contests for the November general election, with a mix of incumbents and challengers appearing to advance.
Updated ballot counts will be announced in the days ahead as more votes are tallied ahead of election certification.
In the 18th Legislative District, Democratic challengers held narrow leads over Republican incumbents in both races.
Randi Knott led Rep. Stephanie McClintock 51.69% to 48.31% in Position 1, while Deken Letinich topped Rep. John Ley 53.24% to 46.76% in Position 2.
In the 17th Legislative District, Ben Christly captured 52.65% of the vote in Position 1 to advance with Kevin Waters, who received 44.04% of the votes, while Diana Perez led David Stuebe 54.82% to 45.01% in Position 2.
Several Clark County races also produced decisive primary results.
Incumbent County Assessor Peter Van Nortwick led Tyler Thoune with 70.68% of the vote, while County Clerk Scott G. Weber earned 54.48% in a three-way race to advance alongside Rachel Shapiro.
The open county auditor race was the county's most crowded contest, with Mitchell Kelly narrowly claiming a present first place at 29.15%, followed closely by Eileen Quiring O'Brien at 28.74%, as Sharon Wylie and Ty Stober sit with a lot of ground to make up.
In county council races, Glen Yung and Bryan Shull currently hold an advantage in District 1, Michelle Belkot leads in District 2 ahead of John Zingale, and Troy McCoy holds a nearly 1,000-vote lead over Peter Silliman in the District 5 contest.
Voters also overwhelmingly approved East County Fire & Rescue Proposition 6 with 68.26% support and Clark County Fire Protection District No. 10 Proposition 3 with 61.44% approval.
19th District Rep. Jim Walsh holds 54.60% of the vote over Kevin Moynihan with 45.25% of the vote in the 19th Legislative District Position 1 primary.
The Position 2 race in the 19th Legislative District sees incumbent Joel McEntire at 40.84%, landing below Terry Calrson, who received 44.04% of the vote, after initial results in the four-person race, sending the two to the November primary.
County voters also favored Richard Dahl over Chelsea Chandler for County Commissioner District 3, 56.22% to 43.77%, while incumbent Clerk Staci Myklebust holds a large margin over Ashley White 64.35% to 35.27%.
In the race for Washington's 3rd Congressional District, voters gave Republican John Braun 38.71% of the vote, behind incumbent Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez at 38.90%, although Gluesenkamp Perez.
See full results and follow for updated tallies here:
https://results.votewa.gov/results/public/washington/elections/20260804
https://results.votewa.gov/results/public/clark-county-wa/elections/20260804
https://results.votewa.gov/results/public/cowlitz-county-wa/elections/20260804
