In the 18th Legislative District, Democrat Adrian Cortes is leading Republican Brad Benton by just 252 votes as of midday Tuesday, with about 6,000 votes yet to be tallied
Carleen Johnson
The Center Square Washington
A week after the general election, several state legislative contests in Washington have yet to be called.
Some counties have completed their ballot counts, but several larger counties are still in the process of adding thousands of votes to their totals
In Legislative District 10, which includes Skagit and Snohomish County, Republican state Sen. Ron Muzzall was leading Democratic challenger Janet St. Clair by more than 1,500 votes. However, St. Clair was getting a larger percentage of the votes in Skagit County, where there are 10,000 ballots outstanding. Skagit County is expected to update its totals Tuesday evening.
In the 18th Legislative District in southwest Washington’s Clark County, where Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, is not seeking reelection, Democrat Adrian Cortes is leading Republican Brad Benton by just 252 votes as of midday Tuesday, with about 6,000 votes yet to be tallied. The margin is so close that a recount may be required.
If Cortes is successful, Democrats will add to their Senate majority by one seat.
Washington Democrats voted Monday to elect Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, to be the new Senate Majority Leader.
Pedersen will replace Sen. Andy Billig, D-Spokane, who is retiring after 14 years in the Legislature.
Pedersen has served in the Senate since 2013 and has chaired both the House Judiciary and Senate Law and Justice committees. He has served as Majority Floor Leader in the Senate since 2022.
“I’m eager to build on the bipartisan progress we have made since Democrats took back control of the Senate in 2018. I am humbled to lead this diverse and talented group of senators,” Pedersen said in a Monday news release. “We are excited to see our majority grow. I am confident this new energy and passion will help Senate Democrats continue to put people first and tackle the issues Washingtonians care about most – affordable housing, great public schools, behavioral health, gun violence prevention, climate change, and more.”
Also in the 18th Legislative District, in the Position 2 seat for state representative, Republican John Ley is leading Democrat John Zingale by more than 1,400 votes. The Position 1 contest in the 18th Legislative District went to incumbent Republican Stephanie McClintock over Democrat Deken Letinich.
In neighboring Legislative District 17, which includes parts of Clark, Klickitat and Skamania counties, Sen. Lynda Wilson did not seek reelection, and Republican Paul Harris sought to replace Wilson, leaving his position in the House. He is leading Democrat Marla Keethler by more than 2,000 votes. There are thousands of ballots outstanding, but Harris is leading Keethler in all three counties the district encompasses.
Also, in the 17th Legislative District, in the race for the Position 2 seat for state representative, the Republican mayor of Washougal, David Stuebe, holds a lead of 868 votes over Democrat Terri Niles. However, with 6,000 ballots yet to be added in Clark County, where Niles is getting the bulk of the votes, that could put the Democrat over the top.
Klickitat County, also part of the 17th Legislative District, has about 2,600 votes to be added, with another batch to be updated later Tuesday. Stuebe is leading in that part of the district.
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