Aug. 6
LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 5
State Representative Pos. 1
(D) Jason Ritchie: 10.2%
(D)Victoria Hunt: 34.8%
(D) Kristiana de Leon: 10.03%
(R) Landon Halverson: 17.11%
(R) Mark Hargrove: 27.82%
LD5 State Representative Pos. 2
(R) Patrick Peacock: 42.74%
(D) Lisa Callan: 57.18%
LD5 State Senator
(D) Bill Ramos: 53.85%
(R) Chad Magendanz: 46.08%
Buckley lid lift
Approve: 63.61%
Reject: 36.39%
LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 31
State Representative Pos. 1
(R) Drew Stokesbary: 63.74%
(D) Sara Sutterfield: 36.17%
State Representative Pos. 2
(D) Bill Thomas: 7.37%
(R) Joshua Penner: 38.42%
(D) Brian Gunn: 29.56%
(R) Brandon Beynon: 24.49%
Insurance Commissioner
(D) Patty Kuderer: 45.02%
(D) Chris D. Chung: 3.14%
(No party) Jonathan Hendrix: 3.59%
(D) Bill Boyd: 3.32%
(D) John Pestinger: 5.82%
(No party) Tim Verzal: 0.81%
(R) Phil Fortunato: 27.88%
(R) Justin Murta: 10.34%
***
Aug. 5
It’s election night, and the preliminary results for the Legislative Districts 5 and 31 are coming in.
This election is different in that Enumclaw was absorbed into the more liberal LD 5 with Maple Valley and Issaquah, and is no longer represented by Rep. Drew Stokesbary or Sen. Phil Fortunato of LD 31 (Rep. Eric Robertson is stepping down).
Buckley remains in LD 31. While the district is likely to continue to be a Republican stronghold, Wilkeson local Sara Sutterfield is challenging Minority Leader Rep. Stokesbary for Position No. 1 in a race described as a “Davis vs. Goliath affair” by the Tacoma News Tribune.
Attempting to take Robertson’s seat is Orting Mayor Josh Penner, who was endorsed by Robertson, plus Bill Thomas of Sumner, Brian Gunn of Auburn, and Brandon Beynon of Bonney Lake.
Buckley is also voting on a emergency services levy lid lift that would support the Buckley Fire Department by raising the property tax from 30 cents to 50 cents.
With that in mind, here are tonight’s results; keep in mind that the election won’t be certified until Aug. 20, and there will be updates posted here until any additional votes are unlikely to sway the race.
LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 5
This year, two local residents are on the ballot for LD5 — Black Diamond City Councilmember Kristiana de Leon, running as a Democrat, and Mark Hargrove, Republican.
Both appear to be underdogs, as Democrats Victoria Hunt and Jason Ritchie, both from Issaquah, secured far more endorsements than de Leon including from The Stranger (Hunt) and the Seattle Times (Ritchie).
Similarly, Republican candidate Landon Halverson, Issaquah, secured the endorsement of King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn and Rep. Robertson, among others, while Hargrove, despite being a former state rep, has no endorsements listed on his website. Despite this, Hargrove seems positioned to make it to the general election after the initial results came in.
State Representative Pos. 1
(D) Jason Ritchie: 10.31%
(D)Victoria Hunt: 34.95%
(D) Kristiana de Leon: 9.89%
(R) Landon Halverson: 16.99%
(R) Mark Hargrove: 27.84%
State Representative Pos. 2
(R) Patrick Peacock: 42.69%
(D) Lisa Callan: 57.24%
State Senator
(D) Bill Ramos: 53.97%
(R) Chad Magendanz: 45.96%
BUCKLEY LID LIFT
Approve: 63.61%
Reject: 36.39%
LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 31
State Representative Pos. 1
(R) Drew Stokesbary: 60.6%
(D) Sara Sutterfield: 39.12%
State Representative Pos. 2
(D) Bill Thomas: 8.75%
(R) Joshua Penner: 36.66%
(D) Brian Gunn: 33.81%
(R) Brandon Beynon: 20.67%
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
Last but not least, the Plateau may want to follow the race for Washington state’s Insurance Commissioner, as Sen. Fortunato is taking a stab at the position.
Fortunato formerly announced his candidacy for Secretary of State, but switched to run for Insurance Commissioner a month later.
(D) Patty Kuderer: 44.8%
(D) Chris D. Chung: 3.17%
(No party) Jonathan Hendrix: 3.6%
(D) Bill Boyd: 3.38%
(D) John Pestinger: 5.73%
(No party) Tim Verzal: 0.81%
(R) Phil Fortunato: 27.98%
(R) Justin Murta: 10.43%