Almost 21 percent of the ballots were counted in initial returns; turnout expected to reach 45 percent when all the returned ballots are counted

It appears U.S. Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler has staved off an intense battle from a number of conservative Republicans in the 3rd Congressional District race to advance to the Nov. 8 general election. If she does hold on to advance from Tuesday’s primary election, Herrera Beutler, will face Democrat challenger Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the general election.

Less than half of the expected ballots were counted in the initial results released Tuesday night. The election is not final until it is certified on Aug. 16.

Gluesenkamp Perez, the co-owner of a car care business, received 31.77 percent (34,229) of the votes in the initial results throughout the 3rd Congressional District. Herrera Beutler, who has served in Congress since 2010, received 24.48 percent (26,373) of the votes. 

Herrera Beutler had received a vigorous challenge from other Republicans who were enraged by her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump. Trump endorsed Joe Kent in his bid to unseat the veteran congresswoman. Kent, a former Green Beret, received 20.11 percent (21,666) of the votes in the first returns. Heidi St. John, a local business owner, has 15.08 percent (16,248) of the votes thus far. There were a total of nine candidates in the 3rd Congressional District race.

County races

In the race for Clark County Sheriff, it appears John Horch and Rey Reynolds will be advancing to the November general election. Horch, currently the chief criminal deputy of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, has 45.59 percent (28,425) of the votes in the initial report released Tuesday night. Reynolds, a 24-year veteran of the Vancouver Police Department, received 38.09 percent (23,747) of the votes. David Shook, a veteran of more than 30 years in law enforcement including the past two with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, received 16.33 percent (10,179) of the votes.

There were three races for seats on the County Council on the Aug. 2 primary ballot. In the race in District 1, it appears Glen Yung and Hector Hinojosa will advance to the November general election. Yung, who followed a career in finance by operating a remodeling business with his wife, had 45.73 percent (4,490) of the votes in the first release of results. Hinojosa, a veteran of 40-plus years as a field service engineer and technical consultant in the semiconductor industry with a long list of roles in community service, had 31.38 percent (3,081) of the votes in the initial report. Doug Coop, a business veteran with 30-plus years of community service, received 22.89 percent (2,247) of the votes.

In the County Council District 2 race, Michelle Belkot and Chartisha Roberts appear headed to the November general election. Belkot, a 20-year veteran in civil service and a veteran of 24 years in military service, received 43.81 percent (5,152) of the votes. Roberts, whose professional experience is as a Human Resources recruiter and administrator in healthcare and transportation, received 34.74 percent (4,086) of the votes. Kim Hamlik, a small family business owner with a work history in human resource, risk management and government relations, received 21.45 percent (2,522) of the votes in the first report.

The race for County Council District 5 is currently led by Sue Marshall, who is presently a board supervisor of Clark Conservation District. Marshall has 32.93 percent (4,682) of the votes. The battle for the second spot in the November general election is extremely close. Former State Senator Don Benton has 26.34 percent (3,745) of the votes and Rick Torres has 25.30 percent (3,597) of the votes. Torres, a current business owner and former Clark County Sheriff’s Office sergeant and Vancouver Police Department officer, trails Benton by just 148 votes after the first returns. Dick Rylander, a current member of the council after being appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to fill the District 5 seat, received 15.44 percent (2,196) of the votes.

State legislative races

In the race for Legislative District 17, state representative position 1, Democrat Terri Niles has 45.41 percent (10,817) of the votes. Niles will likely be joined in the November general election by Republican Kevin Waters, who has 22.48 percent (5,356) of the votes. Republican Hannah Joy (17.87 percent) and Republican Anthony Ho (14.15 percent) are the other candidates in the race.

In the race for Legislative District 17, state representative position 2, Democrat Joe Kear has a comfortable lead with 46.17 percent (10,933) of the votes. Incumbent Paul Harris leads two other Republicans in the battle to join Kear in November. Harris has 30.92 percent of the votes followed by Earl Bowerman (12.26 percent) and Justin Forsman (10.5 percent).

Democrat Duncan Camacho has a large lead in the race in Legislative District 18, state representative position 2. Camacho has 46.83 percent (9,344) of the votes. It appears he will be joined in the November general election by Republican Greg Cheney, who has 19.37 percent (3,865) percent of the votes.

Republican John Ley received 20.33 percent (4,056) of the votes, which would currently be in the top two. However, a Clark County Superior Court judge ruled that Ley’s votes will not be used to determine which two candidates advance to the November general election after a challenge was filed to his voter registration.

Republican Brad Benton received 13.31 percent (2,655) of the votes in the initial returns.

Proposition 11

Proposition is a Sales and Use Tax of 0.1 percent for Public Safety and Criminal Justice purposes. The Clark County Council adopted a resolution proposing a sales and use tax pursuant. If approved, a one tenth of 1 percent sales and use tax will be implemented. The revenue will be split between Clark County (60 percent) and the cities within Clark County (40 percent) and used for public safety and criminal justice purposes. Clark County will use its revenue share for public safety and criminal justice purposes, including but not limited to, funding a body worn camera program, increased staffing for the Sheriff’s Office, and other expenses.

Proposition 11 is currently passing with 60.44 percent of the votes.

Other races, results

Results will be updated each day until all of the ballots have been counted. Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey estimates that the turnout will be as high as 45 percent. Just 21 percent of the ballots were counted in the initial report released Tuesday night.

The election will be certified on Aug. 16.

For Clark County election results, go to https://clark.wa.gov/elections/results

For statewide results, go to https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20220802/default.htm