First-term state Rep. Vicki Kraft, R-Vancouver, emerged with a thin early lead over her Democratic challenger, Tanisha Harris, on Tuesday night in what’s shaped up to be a competitive, expensive race.
As of Tuesday night the election remains too close to call — according to preliminary county results, Kraft is leading Harris by just 575 votes, with potentially several thousand more votes to count.
So far, Kraft garnered 50.6 percent of the vote to Harris’ 49.3 percent for Position 1 in the 17th Legislative District.
“I’m thankful to be in the lead,” Kraft wrote in a message to The Columbian. “This is very similar to the election night results in 2016 so I’m hopeful we’ll continue to see an upward trend in Republican votes over the next few days to solidify the victory.”
Kraft, the incumbent, previously worked for conservative think tank the Freedom Foundation. She’s also worked for major corporations Dell, Pillsbury and Frigidaire. During her term in the Legislature, she staked out conservative positions on gun control, abortion, taxes and other issues.
Harris, who works for the YWCA Clark County as a program specialist for the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, drew support from the state’s Democratic establishment in hopes of expanding the party’s narrow House majority. Statewide-elected officials, including Attorney General Bob Ferguson and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, have traveled to Clark County to campaign for her.
Speaking at the Clark County Public Service Center, Harris said she’s not ready to concede the race yet.
“Living in the 17th, this is to be expected,” said Harris. “This is a true purple swing district. We are in a position to win.”
Paul Harris wins
The other 17th District House seat will remain filled by Republican Paul Harris, who appeared to be coasting to a fifth term Tuesday night.
Harris, who is no relation to Tanisha Harris, won 57.5 percent of votes, according to preliminary results. His Democratic challenger, Damion Jiles, got 42.3 percent.
“I’m kind of shocked, but I will take it,” Harris said, celebrating his victory at an election night party at WareHouse ’23.
The venue was hopping — both the Clark County Democrats and the Clark County Republicans booked the venue to view election results Tuesday evening. At the Republicans’ celebration, a television broadcast Fox News. At the Democrats’ party just down the hall, a screen swapped between projecting the results of the New York Times’ election tracker and local government channel CVTV. A sign in the hallway directed respective political supporters to the correct party.
“It’s been a strange cycle, so I just really couldn’t tell how this was going to be. I felt like I was going to win, but I didn’t know,” Paul Harris said. “I appreciate the support from the district, I really do.”
The 17th Legislative District, which encompasses part of east Vancouver and adjacent parts of unincorporated Clark County, has long been considered a swing district.
In 2014, the district swung right and has since stayed there after Republican challenger Lynda Wilson defeated incumbent Monica Stonier, a Democrat, in a House race. Wilson is now the district’s state senator.
This story was updated 10 a.m. Wednesday with comments from Vicki Kraft.
