The 2022 Election has drawn to a close. Now the counting of ballots commences. Keep in mind that this is an initial count as of Tuesday night. Thousands of ballots are yet to be counted, and results could change.
Let’s look at the first count results from the top of the ticket on down.
In the U.S. Senate, we have Democrat incumbent Patty Murray easily beating Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley by a margin of 56% to 42%. In the U.S. House races, the hotly contested 8th District has Democrat incumbent Kim Schrier leading Republican challenger Matt Larkin 52.7% to 46.99%. Interestingly, in the 3rd District, two political newcomers are slugging it out, with Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez leading Republican Joe Kent 52.62% to 46.8%. This would be a pick-up for the Democrats if the numbers hold. Republican Jamie Herrera-Beutler previously occupied the seat.
In the only statewide official race, Secretary of State appointed incumbent Steve Hobbs, Democrat, led challenger Julie Anderson, Independent, 49.97% to 46.92% – with write-ins making up the difference.
The House Democrats are three seats to the positive for the state Legislature, and the Senate looks to stay at its current balance.
In the 10th District, incumbent Republican Greg Gilday is losing to challenger Clyde Shavers 47.2% to 52.68%. In the 18th open seat, Republican Stephanie McClintock is narrowly trailing Democrat John Zingle by 549 votes. This would be a pick-up for the Ds. In the 26th District open seat Democrat, Adison Richards has 51.1% over Republican Spencer Hutchins’ 48.8%. This would be another pick-up for the Ds as the seat was previously occupied by Republican State Rep. Jesse Young, who is attempting to join the Senate. In the 35th, the Republicans appear poised to pick up the open Senate seat being vacated by long-time conservative Democrat Senator Tim Sheldon, with the candidacy of Republican Rep. Drew MacEwen leading by 54.5%. Senate Republicans stand to lose a seat in the 42nd if appointed incumbent Simon Sefzik loses to Democrat House seatmate Sharon Shewmake who is leading 51.3% to 48.6% – or 1,252 votes.
Again, these are the preliminary results – many more ballots will be counted day by day. WR will give a full review once the dust settles and the election is certified. WR’s team looks forward to working collaboratively with the new and returning legislators on preserving and improving the retail industry in Washington State. Thank you to all candidates for running for office.
