Sunday, August 07, 2016

The Political Desk: Primary Results

So, how did things go? Well, here are some notes and observations before we get to the results.
  • First off, for all these results, we're looking at a top-two victory. The two highest results goes on to the general. If there are only two guys in the race, well, you know what the ballot looks like.
  • That said, if you get over 50% of the results, you're doing pretty well going forward. I'm noting the current percentage for the higher of the two candidates.
  • Even getting less than 50% isn't bad if you're in a crowded field or there are multiple strong candidates. 
  • It will be a while before we know the final official results. Washington has mail-in votes, with the postmark on election day. So there are a lot of birds still in the air. General results will likely hold, but if there are close elections (and there is always one or two that are hanging fire), you may see a switch in late returns. 
  • And since King, Pierce and Snohomish counties have the most voters, it may take a while before everyone gets counted. I did a rough draft of this on three days ago, and while the positions of the top two may have switched, the numbers are holding.
  • Which is why I'm waiting a couple days before posting this.
  • It was a good time for incumbents.
  • It was good for Republicans, despite the sadness at the national level. We will have a Republican State Treasurer, and the GOP took the top slots for State Auditor and Commissioner of Public Lands.
  • Libertarians showed up in two slots. This is how you build a national party.
  • Stuff my blog recommended are in Boldface. 
And with all that, the envelopes please:

US Senator, State of Washington: Patty Murray (53%) vs Chris Vance
US Representative, 9th District: Adam Smith (56%) vs Doug Basler

Governor: Jay Inslee (49%) vs Bill Bryant
Lt. Governor: Cyrus Habib (22%) vs Marty McLendon
Secretary of State:  Kim Wyman (48%) vs Tina Podlowski 
State Treasurer: Duane Davidson (28%) vs Michael Waite (Both Republicans. Welcome to top-two voting!)
State Auditor: Mike Miloscia (36%) vs Pat (Patrice) McCarthy
Attorney General: Bob Ferguson (72%) vs Joshaua Turnbull (hey, a Libertaian made it to November!)
Commissioner of Public Lands: Steve McLaughlin (38%) vs Hilary Franz
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Erin Jones (25%) vs Chris Reykdal
Insurance Commissioner: Mike Kriedler (58%) vs Richard Schrock

State Senate, 11th District: Bob Hasegawa (79%) vs Dennis Price (Another Libertarian!)
State Representative, 11th District, Position 1, Zack Hudgins (66%) vs Erin Smith Aboudara
State Representative, 11th District, Position 2: Steve Berquist vs. Write-In Candidates (which aren't even mentioned on the Secretary of State's website, which is a pity)

State Supreme Court, Position 5: Barbara Madsen (63%) vs Greg Zempel
State Superior Court, Position 44: Cathy Moore (55%) vs Eric Newman

Less than a hundred days to the election. Thank goodness.

More later,