(The Center Square) – Tuesday night was like any other for most, but for some, it meant the end of the Primary Election and being one step closer to advocating for central Washington.
The region is home to Tri-Cities and six legislative districts. Each consists of a state senator and two representatives, with many having secured a reelection bid on Tuesday.
The Primary Election solidified the top two candidates from each race, who will then face off head-to-head in this November’s General Election. However, many races only had two candidates, meaning both advanced anyway.
For the sake of space and retention, all of the results are on the Secretary of State’s website.
Leg. Districts 8, 14 & 16 – Tri-Cities
Central Washington’s biggest city, or collection of, is Tri-Cities, which includes Kennewick, Pasco and Richland. However, due to recent redistricting, the three are largely split between Districts 8, 14 and 16.
While District 8, the smallest of the three, didn’t have any three-person race, Republican Rep. Stephanie Barnard will proceed unopposed. At the same time, Republican Rep. April Connors will defend her House seat from Democratic newcomer John Christenson.
Meanwhile, in District 14, all three positions are up for grabs. Republican incumbent Sen. Curtis King will face Democrat Maria Beltran after being his only challenger in the primaries. However, due to Rep. Gina Mosbrucker leaving for a congressional race and the redistricting process that moved legislators around, District 14 will see new House Representatives.
Democrat Chelsea Dimas and Republican Gloria Mendoza earned the majority of the votes needed to proceed, but only Mendoza did so with a margin of less than 200 votes, making it too close to call. At the same time, Democrat Ana Ruiz Kennedy and Republican Deb Manjarrez will advance after earning far more votes than the third candidate for the second House seat.
In District 16, all three Republican incumbents will go on to November after facing only a single democratic challenger each. Sen. Perry Dozier will face Kari Isaacson; Rep. Mark Klicker will go against Linda Gunshefski, and Rep. Skyler Rude compete with Craig Woodard.
Leg. District 15
District 15, which encompasses the Yakima Valley and was highly affected by the redistricting, will also see some new faces. Sen. Nikki Torres is staying, but it’s not her election season yet; instead, voters will replace the district’s two House Representatives, similar to District 14.
Republican Rep. Chris Corry will now represent District 15 instead of 14, which he represented prior to the 2021 redistricting. He’ll face off with his only challenger, Chase Foster.
Meanwhile, Jeremie Dufault, who used to serve District 15 before the redistricting, is back on this year’s ticket to face Rich Bright, both of whom are Republicans.
Leg. Districts 12 and 13
Right above the Tri-Cities and Yakima Valley is District 13, which covers much of Grant and Kittitas County. Both incumbents, Rep. Tom Dent and Rep. Alex Ybarra, are up for reelection and will proceed to General Election unopposed.
However, even further north is District 12, which encompasses Chelan County and portions of King and Snohomish. It is the only among the six to overlap with a significant part of western Washington.
Still, all three seats are up for grabs; however, with Sen. Brad Hawkins leaving Olympia for bid with the county instead, Rep. Keith Goehner has his eyes on the Senate seat.
Having run against only one person in the primaries, Goehner and Democrat Jim Mayhew will proceed to the General Election. Meanwhile, Democrat Heather Koellen and Republican Brian Burnett will battle it out at the November ballot for Goehner’s House seat after receiving the majority of votes to oust the third candidate.
Rep. Mike Steele, having only faced one challenger, will face fellow Republican Daniel Scott in the General Election in an attempt to retain his House seat.
Each candidate who advanced above and in other key races for Governor, Attorney General and more will face off at the General Election on Nov. 5.
The official results of the Primary Election are certified on Aug. 20; unofficial results could change as ballots come in.