Races across Southwest Washington remained close following the release of an updated ballot count by election officials on Friday evening.
- Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, is 2,079 votes ahead of Democrat challenger Marla Keethler in the race for the 17th District Senate seat in the Washington Legislature. The seat has been held by Vancouver Republican Lynda Wilson, who is retiring. Harris stands at 51.23 percent or 41,120 votes to Keethler’s 48.64 percent or 39,041 votes districtwide, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s Friday count.
- Republican David Stuebe still leads in the 17th District, Position 2, House race. Stuebe had 50.53 percent or 40,187 votes, with Democrat Terri Niles at 49.31 percent or 39,214 votes.
- The 18th District Senate race is even tighter than the 17th District. Democrat Adrian Cortes has maintained a slight lead over Republican Brad Benton since election night. Cortes has 50.23 percent or 38,988 votes to Benton’s 49.58 percent or 38,483 votes — a 505 vote difference.
- In the 18th District, Position 2, race John Ley is maintaining a lead over Democrat John Zingale. Ley, a Republican, has 50.69 percent or 39,191 votes to Zingale’s 49.14 percent or 37,996 votes.
- In the Clark County Council District 4 race, Joe Zimmerman has a slight lead over Matt Little. Zimmerman has 49.65 percent or 22,304 votes, with Little trailing at 49.63 percent or 22,295 votes.
- Vancouver’s Prop 4, which would fund more police officers and support staff, is failing with 39,909 or 52.07 percent of Vancouver voters rejecting the measure.
The Clark County Elections Office reported it had about 20,000 ballots left to count as of Friday night. The office expects to release the next set of election results at 3 p.m. Saturday.
