A close look at election results in the Snohomish County executive race suggests there is more to the story than incumbent Aaron Reardon running up a double-digit victory.
With results from the Nov. 8 general election recently certified, we loaded up the precinct-by-precinct canvass and did some data mapping.
Reardon, a Democrat from Everett, easily carried his hometown. Still, the data suggest his win came because he connected with voters living in and around the county’s southern communities, particularly Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace. Nearly 80 percent of Reardon’s lead came there.
The unincorporated areas out east and up north – plus the communities of Snohomish, Monroe, Sultan, Lake Stevens and Arlington – proved friendlier places for state Rep. Mike Hope, the Republican challenger.
The race got ugly. We heard from a number of people who said they weren’t going to give either candidate their vote. Data suggest that probably happened. More than 11,000 voters skipped over that part of their ballot. That was about 5 percent of the people who participated in the election.
Garth Fell, the county’s election manager, cautioned against reading too much into those numbers. Similar “under votes” were seen in the executive race in 2007 (7 percent) and 2003 (5 percent).
Snohomish County executive race by precincts
| Municipality | Registered voters | Turnout | Reardon | Hope | Write-in | Total votes | % Reardon | % Hope | Reardon difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington | 9,091 | 4,568 | 2,154 | 2,225 | 16 | 4,395 | 49% | 51% | -71 |
| Bothell | 9,433 | 5,339 | 2,927 | 1,930 | 14 | 4,871 | 60% | 40% | +997 |
| Brier | 4,320 | 2,524 | 1,527 | 825 | 9 | 2,361 | 65% | 35% | +702 |
| Darrington | 662 | 367 | 199 | 150 | 1 | 350 | 57% | 43% | +49 |
| Edmonds | 26,583 | 16,707 | 10,553 | 5,149 | 34 | 15,736 | 67% | 33% | +5,404 |
| Everett | 46,031 | 21,749 | 12,402 | 8,312 | 131 | 20,845 | 59% | 40% | +4,090 |
| Gold Bar | 1,036 | 474 | 229 | 224 | 1 | 454 | 50% | 49% | +5 |
| Granite Falls | 1,718 | 753 | 379 | 342 | 2 | 723 | 52% | 47% | +37 |
| Index | 101 | 66 | 44 | 15 | 1 | 60 | 73% | 25% | +29 |
| Lake Stevens | 14,767 | 6,957 | 3,023 | 3,653 | 18 | 6,694 | 45% | 55% | -630 |
| Lynnwood | 16,586 | 8,466 | 5,146 | 2,800 | 20 | 7,966 | 65% | 35% | +2,346 |
| Marysville | 31,037 | 15,202 | 7,405 | 7,149 | 48 | 14,602 | 51% | 49% | 256 |
| Mill Creek | 10,443 | 5,820 | 2,787 | 2,754 | 10 | 5,551 | 50% | 50% | +33 |
| Monroe | 6,817 | 3,575 | 1,597 | 1,744 | 10 | 3,351 | 48% | 52% | -147 |
| Mountlake Terrace | 10,344 | 4,976 | 3,270 | 1,350 | 13 | 4,633 | 71% | 29% | +1,920 |
| Mukilteo | 12,363 | 6,843 | 3,802 | 2,692 | 18 | 6,512 | 58% | 41% | +1,110 |
| Snohomish | 5,077 | 2,688 | 1,250 | 1,299 | 30 | 2,579 | 48% | 50% | -49 |
| Stanwood | 3,288 | 1,660 | 767 | 810 | 8 | 1,585 | 48% | 51% | -43 |
| Sultan | 2,240 | 1,090 | 485 | 544 | 2 | 1,031 | 47% | 53% | -59 |
| Woodway | 917 | 560 | 273 | 251 | 1 | 525 | 52% | 48% | +22 |
| Unincorporated East | 55,573 | 30,547 | 14,139 | 14,812 | 96 | 29,047 | 49% | 51% | -673 |
| Unincorporated North | 40,985 | 21,337 | 9,582 | 10,728 | 70 | 20,380 | 47% | 53% | -1,146 |
| Unincorporated South | 74,753 | 37,860 | 20,745 | 14,607 | 113 | 35,465 | 58% | 41% | +6,138 |
| Too small to detail | 130 | 63 | 25 | 35 | 0 | 60 | 42% | 58% | -10 |
| Total | 384,295 | 200,191 | 104,710 | 84,400 | 666 | 189,776 | 55% | 44% | +20,310 |
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