Voting underway in primary election; Crowded local, state races will be thinned in Aug. 6 vote

Registered voters in Clark County have begun casting their ballots for next week’s primary election.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Clark County Elections Office had received 33,156 ballots. There are 336,462 eligible voters in Clark County, according to the elections office.

The primary ballot is hefty. Overall, 654 elected offices and 94 local measures are in front of voters, according to the secretary of state’s office.

In Olympia, 25 out of 49 Senate seats are open, along with all 98 House seats.

In Washington’s jungle primary system, the top two vote-getters for each office will move on to the general election in November. That can result in two candidates from the same party competing in the November election.

The heavy pool of candidates is about to shrink significantly. For example, the governor’s race currently includes 28 candidates. Gov. Jay Inslee is not running, meaning Washington will soon have its first new governor in 12 years.

Democrats Bob Ferguson and Mark Mullet and Republicans Dave Reichert and Semi Bird appear the most likely to succeed, but only two of them will advance.

Additionally, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, faces 10 opponents in her bid for reelection.

Other statewide races include those for secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, commissioner of public lands and superintendent of public instruction.

3rd District

The competitive race for the 3rd Congressional District has attracted national attention. The seat could decide control of the U.S. House.

A rematch between incumbent Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, and Republican Joe Kent of Yacolt is expected.

However, Leslie Lewallen, a Camas city councilor and Republican, argues that rematches rarely result in a flipped outcome. She is trying to convince GOP voters she has a better chance of returning the seat to Republicans. (Kent bested Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler in the 2022 primary, ending her 12-year term. Now, Herrera Beutler is running for commissioner of public lands.)

Additionally, longshot independent candidate John Saulie-Rohman hopes to shake up the race.

Legislature

In Clark County, there are four races for the state Legislature that will winnow down following the primary.

In the 49th Legislative District, Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, is running for reelection for House Position 2.

The Democrat faces two Republican challengers: Russell Barber, a software engineer and cybersecurity consultant for a large energy provider, and Justin Forsman, a small-business owner and longtime network engineer.

In the 17th Legislative District, three are vying for Rep. Paul Harris’ House Position 2 seat as he runs to succeed fellow Republican Sen. Lynda Wilson, who is retiring.

The hopefuls are Democrat Terri Niles of Vancouver, a politically active intensive care unit nurse; Republican David Stuebe, the mayor of Washougal; and Republican Hannah Joy of Carson, who has a background in Republican grassroots advocacy.

The newly redrawn district now runs from east Vancouver through Skamania County to White Salmon and Goldendale in Klickitat County.

In the 18th Legislative District, three candidates are competing to succeed Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center.

After redistricting, Rivers no longer lives in the 18th District, which now includes unincorporated areas north of Vancouver, as well as Battle Ground.

One candidate is Rivers’ seatmate Rep. Greg Cheney, R-Battle Ground, a practicing attorney who was elected to the 18th District in 2022. Cheney will face Democrat Adrian Cortes, a Battle Ground city councilor and former mayor, and Republican Brad Benton, the son of Don Benton, a former state senator and Trump administration official.

Three are running for Cheney’s now open House Position 2 seat: Democrat John Zingale, a Vancouver Public Schools teacher; Republican Philip Johnson, a former Battle Ground mayor and city councilor; and Republican John Ley, a former airline pilot.

Other races, local measures

Two experienced Clark County councilors are retiring this year: Karen Bowerman and Gary Medvigy.

Three candidates are running for Bowerman’s Clark County Council District 3 seat: Chuck Keplar, John Jay and Wil Fuentes.

Five candidates are running for Medvigy’s Clark County Council District 4 seat: Shannon Roberts, Joe Zimmerman, Matt Little, Dorothy Gasque and Peter Cutile.

There are also three Vancouverites running for a six-year term on the Clark Public Utilities board.

Sherry Erickson, Chris Thobaben and James Oneil each hope to succeed District 1 Commissioner Jim Malinowski, 86, who isn’t seeking reelection after serving two six-year terms.

Voters will also see multiple local fire and emergency services levies near the bottom of the ballot.

Casting your ballot

Ballots need to be postmarked or placed in a designated drop box by 8 p.m. Aug. 6.

The deadline to register to vote online or by mail has passed. But it’s not too late to register in person. Clark County residents who still need to register or update existing voter registrations can do so at the Clark County Elections Office, 1408 Franklin St., Vancouver, up until 8 p.m. Election Day.

All ballots have been mailed. If you have not received your ballot, contact the elections office at 564-397-2345 to request a replacement ballot. Replacement ballots may also be requested or accessed electronically at VoteWA.gov to print out and return by mail or drop box.

An online voters’ guide and a sample ballot are available at clarkvotes.org.

Preliminary results will be released by 8:30 p.m. Election Day. The results will be certified Aug. 20.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the newly redrawn 17th Legislative District now runs from east Vancouver through Skamania County to White Salmon and Goldendale in Klickitat County.