Ed Barton out in 1st Legislative District as another Republican enters

Published 10:43 am Thursday, May 26, 2016

Republican Ed Barton has withdrawn as a candidate to replace Democratic 1st Legislative District State Rep. Luis Moscoso, while another Republican has filed to run for the position.

Four Democrats also are running for the seat.

Barton ran for the seat in 2014, losing to Moscoso by a 54 percent to 46 percent margin.

At the end of 2015, he announced that he planned to run in the 2016 election for the district’s State Senate position.

Then, when longtime State Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe announced at the end of the legislative session that she would not seek a seventh four-year term, and Moscoso said he would seek the Senate position, Barton said that he would run for the position that Moscoso now holds in the State House of Representatives. Barton filed for the House seat during the May 16-20 filing period, but withdrew Monday, May 23, just before the deadline to get his name off the Aug. 2 primary ballot, saying that the withdrawal was in the name of party unity.

At the end of filing week, another Republican, Jim Langston, filed for the House seat against Democrats Shelley Kloba, Aaron Moreau-Cook, Darshan Rauniyar and Kyoko Matsumoto Wright. Langston’s filing led to Barton’s withdrawal.

Meanwhile, Republican Mindie Wirth filed to run against Democrats Moscoso and Guy Palumbo for the 1st District State Senate seat, and Republicans Neil Thannisch and Brian Travis and Democrat Kaz Sugiyama filed to run against incumbent Democratic State Rep. Derek Stanford. Republican Art Coday, who had announced a run for the Senate position, did not file.

The top two vote getters for each position on the primary ballot qualify for the Nov. 8 general-election ballot.

Barton sent this statement Wednesday: “After consulting with many people, I made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from the race for the House. Our best chance for a victory was to focus on the general election, and have a clear path and strong showing in the primary.

“I want to thank the 50-plus donors and 900-plus followers that believed in our vision, and a common sense, balanced and fiscally prudent approach to governance.

“Jim Langston’s filing as a Republican and his decision to self-fund a campaign created a contested primary that we did not have the financial resources to fight, would not have given us the strong 45 percent-plus vote we needed to show PACs and the Party that the 1st was winnable, and would divide the local party at a time when we need unity most.

“While I am profoundly disappointed in Jim’s decision to run as a Republican in our race, I would be more disappointed if we lose the opportunity to pick up the seat.

“In order for us to win in November, we need to be united now behind a slate of candidates in the 1st, and focus on getting them elected. I will be working hard this cycle to get constitutionally conservative judges and justices elected in Washington — an area that needs more emphasis and focus — especially at the appellate level.”

He said that Wirth has a good chance to defeat Moscoso, calling Wirth “the strongest overall candidate the Republicans have run in the 1st in a decade, present company included.

“This is a winnable matchup against Palumbo and Moscoso. I couldn’t be more excited about her candidacy and chances for election.”

Republicans have not won a general election in the district since 1994.

The 1st Legislative District includes most of Mountlake Terrace, all of Brier and Bothell, unincorporated areas of Snohomish County north and east of Bothell including the Maltby area, north Kirkland, and unincorporated areas of King County between Bothell and Kirkland.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.