WAWG
Below is a summary compiled by Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ lobbyist Diana Carlen of the election results in Washington state as of last night. There are still a number of votes to count in the coming days. Governor Inslee has easily been reelected to a second term. We are also likely to continue to have split control in the Legislature with the Senate to be controlled by Republicans and the House to be controlled by Democrats.
Governor: Governor Jay Inslee (Democrat) was easily re-elected to a second term, defeating former Port of Seattle Commissioner Bill Bryant (Republican) 56.32 percent to 43.68 percent. Washington has not elected a republican governor since 1984.
Washington Senate: Currently, Republicans enjoy a slim majority in the Senate of 26-23, which includes one Democrat that caucuses with the Republicans. Twenty six out of 49 Senate seats were up for re-election. Senate democrats needed to pick up two seats to regain control of the Senate, but based on returns as of last night, they only appeared to pick up one seat. King County still has approximately 200,000 votes to count which impact the 43rd and 5th legislative districts. Based on the results released last night, the Senate will remain in republican control with a slim majority of 25-24. The races that were most closely followed were as follows:
17th District/Clark County – In an open seat, Rep. Lynda Wilson (Republican) is leading former Rep. Tim Probst (Democrat) 54.06 percent to 45.94 percent.
41st District/King County – Challenger Lisa Wellman (Democrat) is defeating Incumbent Senator Steve Litzow (Republican) 55.15 percent to 44.85 percent.
5th District/King County -Incumbent Senator Mark Mullet (Democrat) is leading Rep. Chad Magendanz (Republican) 53.38 percent to 46.62 percent.
28th District/King County – Senator Steve O’Ban defeated challenger Marisa Peloquin (Democrat) 52.33 percent to 47.67 percent.
Washington House: Currently, Democrats control the House with a narrow 50-48 advantage. All House seats were up for re-election this year. Republicans needed to pick up one seat for a tie which last happened in 1999-2001. While Republicans appear to have picked up at least one seat in the 31st district, they lost two seats in the 30th district. There are also several races that are too close to call and could trigger a recount. Democrats are likely to retain control of the House with a slim majority of 51-47.
31st District/King and Pierce Counties – In an open seat, former Rep. Phil Fortunato (Republican) defeated Lane Walthers (Democrat) 56.88 percent to 43.12 percent.
30th District/King and Pierce Counties – Two critical races were being followed in this district. Challenger Kristine Reeves (Democrat) is leading Rep. Teri Hickel (Republican) 52.21 percent to 47.79 percent. Challenger Mike Pellicciotti (Democrat) is leading Rep. Linda Kochmar (Republican) by 55.3 percent to 44.7 percent.
5th District/King County – Two key races in this district. Challenger Jason Ritchie (Democrat) is narrowly leading Rep. Jay Rodne (Republican) 50.46 percent to 49.54 percent. In an open seat, Paul Graves (Republican) is narrowly leading Darcy Burner (Democrat) 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent.
17th District/Clark County – In an open seat, Vicki Kraft (Republican) is leading Sam Kim (Independent) 50.55 percent to 49.45 percent.
44th District/Snohomish County – In an open seat, former Rep. John Lovick (Democrat) defeated Janice Huxford (Republican) 53.1 percent to 46.9 percent.
19th District – In an open seat, Teresa Purcell (Democrat) is leading Jim Walsh (Republican) 50.44 percent to 49.56 percent.
Lt. Governor: In an open seat, Senator Cyrus Habib (Democrat) defeated Marty McClendon (Republican) 55.81 percent to 44.19 percent.
Secretary of State: Incumbent Kim Wyman (Republican) was re-elected as Secretary of State by defeating challenger Tina Podlodowski (Democrat) 53.14 percent to 46.86 percent.
Commissioner of Public Lands: In an open seat, environmental attorney Hilary Franz (Democrat) defeated former Navy Reserve Commander Steve McLaughlin by a vote of 54.9 percent to 45.1 percent.
State Treasurer: With two Republicans facing off in this open seat, Duane Davidson defeated Michael Waite by a vote of 58.64 percent to 41.36 percent.
State Auditor: Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy (Democrat) is defeating Senator Mark Miloscia (Republican) 54.03 percent to 45.97 percent.
BALLOT MEASURES
Carbon Tax/I-732: The proposal to enact the first carbon tax in the nation is losing with 58.55 percent voting no versus 41.45 percent voting yes.
Increasing Minimum Wage/Mandating Paid Sick Leave/I-1433: The proposal to increase the minimum wage to $13.50 by 2020 and require employers to pay one hour of sick leave per 40 hours worked is passing with 59.48 percent voting yes and 40.52 percent voting no.