A few more primary ballots trickled into the Grays Harbor County elections division this week, and after another count Thursday morning, incumbent auditor Chris Thomas leads Jasmine Dickoff by 15 votes in the Democratic race to face Republican Joe MacLean for county auditor in the November general election.
Another count is scheduled for Monday, as a few additional votes could still show up before the Aug. 20 deadline.
“Voters can still send in their cure letters,” said county elections administrator Scott Turnbull. Cure letters are sent to voters who may have forgotten to sign their ballots, or where the signature didn’t match the name on the ballot. By filling out and returning a cure letter, those voters can have their votes counted.
Because of the razor-thin margin between Thomas and Dickhoff, state law requires a hand recount. The election is scheduled for certification on Tuesday.
Other notable races
In the State Representative District 19 Position 2 race, incumbent Brian Blake (D-Aberdeen) will likely face Republican challenger Joel McEntire in November. McEntire edged out fellow Republican David Parsons 7,564 to 6,805, 21.82 percent to 19.89 percent, district-wide. McEntire’s margin of victory was wider within Grays Harbor County, 22.71 percent to 15.93 percent as of Friday.
In the two-person race for State Representative District 19 Position 1, incumbent Jim Walsh (R-Aberdeen) and Democratic challenger Erin Frasier are practically deadlocked. District-wide Walsh holds 50.2 percent of the 34,867 votes cast. Grays Harbor County voters had the margin a little tighter, 50.14 percent for Walsh to 49.86 percent for Frasier, setting up what is shaping up to be a tight contest in November.
District 24 State Representative positions 1 and 2 races were close as of Friday within the county, but the incumbents held significant leads in the district-wide counts.
For position 1, incumbent Democrat Mike Chapman (D-Port Angeles) leads Republican challenger Jodi Wilke 60-40 percent among the nearly 48,000 votes tabulated. The race within the county is much closer, with Chapman holding a 52-48 percent advantage.
Position 2 counts show incumbent Democrat Steve Tharinger (D-Sequim) leading Republican challenger Jim McEntire 59-41 percent out of 47,473 votes counted. In Grays Harbor County, Tharinger’s lead is just 52 to 48 percent.
In the packed U.S. Senator race, incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell will face Republican challenger Susan Hutchison in the general election.
Statewide, more than 63 percent of voters cast their primary ballots for incumbent Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) in the District 6 race for U.S. Representative. Facing him in November will be Republican Douglas Dightman.