State Sen. Craig Pridemore, who decided to run for state auditor rather than seek re-election, has conceded in the statewide race following primary election results.
Although primary results have not been finalized because some ballots are still trickling in, preliminary results placed Pridemore third in a four-candidate race. Republican candidate James Watkins has more than 45 percent of the vote, Democrat Troy Kelly has nearly 24 percent of the vote, and Pridemore, a Vancouver Democrat, has about 20 percent.
The top two candidates advance to the general election in November.
“I have officially conceded the primary to James Watkins and Troy Kelley,” Pridemore said in an email to The Columbian. “Out of respect for supporters, I was planning to wait until tomorrow (to concede). I was getting so many calls about it, however, that I really did just want to get it over with.”
The other candidate in the race, Democrat Mark Miloscia, had about 9 percent of the vote on Thursday.
Pridemore was elected to the Washington state Senate in 2004, and he served as a Clark County commissioner from 1999 to 2004. Democrat Annette Cleveland and Republican Eileen Qutub are running for his open Senate seat.
