(The Center Square) – With about 6,000 ballots left to count, Tuesday night’s primary election results show incumbents in Spokane and Spokane Valley maintaining significant leads over their challengers.
Washington state runs a primary election every August, with the top two candidates advancing to the November general election. If a race only has one or two people running, both advance, so Tuesday’s results provide some insight ahead of this fall, when Republican voters typically record higher turnout.
According to Spokane County Elections, more than 350,000 registered voters live in the area, but only about 66,800 cast their ballots before Tuesday’s 8 p.m. deadline. That put voter turnout at 19.10% for Spokane County. Last August, over 144,800 people voted in the county, with turnout reported at 39%.
While initial results show voters passing all four tax measures on the ballot, the races most people had their eyes on were in the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley.
Spokane City Councilmember Zack Zappone secured the most votes out of his two opponents, advancing to November with challenger Christopher Savage.
“It is clear that voters enthusiastically support the work we’ve done, from addressing affordability and housing to making our streets safer,” Zappone wrote in a press release on Wednesday. “Voters want to see Spokane continue to move forward for working and middle-class families.”
The incumbent secured over 51% support, or about 5,700 votes, while Savage brought in 29%, which comes out to just over 3,250 votes. The third candidate, Cody Arguelles, received almost 19% of the votes, but will not advance. If Savage sees more support this fall, it could narrow the council majority.
Progressives, Zappone included, occupy five of the seven positions, with conservatives filling the rest.
Savage has run unsuccessfully for a seat on the council three times, most recently in 2023. Tuesday’s results give him a shot at finally making that dream a reality. According to campaign finance data, he raised over $38,000 for his campaign as of Aug. 6, with Arguelles bringing in almost $52,000.
Zappone has raised about $41,000 so far, putting his campaign funding between both challengers. The Center Square reached out to Savage for a comment, but didn’t receive a response before publishing.
“This is exactly where we wanted to be. I am endlessly grateful to my team and all my supporters,” Savage posted to his campaign’s Facebook profile on Tuesday night. “You have been working day and night to make this happen. This seat is within striking distance. November can’t come fast enough.”
Spokane Valley had two city council races with two or more candidates. Councilmember Laura Padden secured over 51% support, nearly 5,800 votes, while her challenger, Brad Hohn, managed to bring in the second most. He garnered just over 3,900 votes, which is almost 57% of the turnout for that race.
Joseph Ghodsee, the third candidate for that seat, will not advance after bringing in only 1,324 votes.
Hohn is a supporter of Councilmember Al Merkel, a controversial figure on the dais who was elected in 2023. Merkel is often at odds with his peers and hopes that Hohn can give him an edge on the council.
Merkel has two other supporters, Daryl Williams and Catherine Nelson, up against Councilmember Ben Wick and Mayor Pam Haley for their seats on the council in the general election. Councilmember Rod Higgins chose not to run for reelection, with newcomer Mike Kelly leading the race for that seat.
Kelly ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the state Senate last year, but managed to secure 45% support on Tuesday, which comes out to just over 5,000 votes. He’ll advance with Kristopher Pockell, who also ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the state House of Representatives last year.
Pockell brought in 32.5% support on Tuesday night, with about 3,600 votes in that race. He and Kelly also raised the most money out of any candidates in the Valley. Pockell has raised about $19,600 as of Aug. 6, with Kelly raising about $13,000 for his campaign.
Voters will have a chance to decide on each of these races come Nov. 4.
