(The Center Square) – Spokane County incumbent Al French sailed to victory Thursday night after election officials released results maintaining a Republican majority on the board of commissioners.
French’s success follows several other campaigns dating back to 2002 when he served on the Spokane City Council until 2009 before joining the county in 2011. He’s won every time since, with the 2024 General Election marking the start of his final term.
The ballots closed on Nov. 5, but election officials have spent the last week and a half tabulating thousands of ballots. Spokane County received over 288,000, a 76.86% voter turnout, with almost 60,000 having a say over French’s seat.
“On election night, we had an early lead, and it has grown every day since then,” French’s campaign wrote in a Facebook post last week.
As of Thursday night, French secured over 51% of the vote, with a margin of 1,556 votes with only 450 left to count. His Democrat challenger, Molly Marshall, a 30-year Air National Guard veteran, conceded last Friday despite many outlets and the county waiting to call the race.
Marshall and French ran a highly contested race; while he scored a more comfortable margin this time, he only won the August primary by 736 votes. Two weeks before the general election, his campaign filed a complaint against some of Marshall’s donors.
They alleged that Marshall’s donors exceeded the legal limit in a failed recall effort to overturn French’s last successful reelection. Some of those same donors then helped fund several ads, some peddling claims he’s continually denied regarding water contamination in his district.
One ad blamed French for covering the crisis and interfering with state aid, which he denied.
French’s success protects the county’s Republican majority as the city of Spokane, the second largest in the state, eyes a Democrat majority. Much of the eastern half of the state is held by Republicans in the Legislature, but the legislative district encompassing the city is entirely red.
Republicans had a chance at finally flipping one of those seats but failed, with Democrat Natasha Hill taking the seat in the 3rd Legislative District. French’s loss would’ve instated a blue majority across the city, county government and District 3.
According to the Public Disclosure Commission, French’s campaign raised nearly $264,000, spending roughly $228,000. Meanwhile, Marshall’s campaign raised just over $244,000, spending just under $202,000.
The Center Square contacted French and Marshall for comments on Friday but did not receive an immediate response.
“While this is not the outcome we hoped for, I am deeply grateful for the hundreds of neighbors, volunteers, and donors who stood by our campaign,” Marshall’s campaign wrote in a Facebook post. “Though this campaign has ended, I am still committed to this community, and I will continue the fight to make Spokane County a place we are proud to call home.”
