Another day of ballot counting doesn’t shake up leaderboards

EVERETT — The leaderboard didn’t change but several close races remained tight after a second day of ballot counting Wednesday.

Democratic candidates maintained leads in two closely watched legislative races representing Snohomish, Skagit and Island county residents.

Democrat Clyde Shavers of Oak Harbor remained in front of state Rep. Greg Gilday, R-Camano Island, who is trying to keep the 10th Legislative District seat to which he was first elected in 2020. The latest tally showed 52.5% to 47.4%.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Dave Paul, D-Oak Harbor, sustained his advantage on Republican Karen Lesetmoe of Oak Harbor, by a vote of 54.2% to 45.7%.

Support for renewing a critical funding measure for the Monroe School District grew slightly following Wednesday’s ballot count.

Proposition 1, a four-year programs and operations levy, was passing by 293 votes, up from 258 on Tuesday night. Of the 10,981 ballots counted, 51.3% approved the tax. A simple majority is required for passage.

And in Lake Stevens, a measure to increase the local sales tax to pay for transportation improvements was passing by a margin of 304 votes, up from 293 on Election Night.

Meanwhile, Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs maintained a narrow lead on his nonpartisan challenger, Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson. Hobbs led 49.8% to 46.8% with second-day results tallied from nearly all 39 counties. The two are separated by around 58,000 votes.

Wednesday’s tally showed a slight uptick for someone not on the ballot — Brad Klippert, a Republican state lawmaker, who mounted a late bid as a write-in candidate. There were 3.4% of ballots cast for a write-in as of Wednesday, up from 3.1% on Tuesday.

There was virtually no change percentage-wise in the duel between U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, a Sammamish Democrat, and Republican Matt Larkin, of Woodinville. Schrier, who is seeking a third term, leads 53% to 47%.

She continued to trail Larkin in Snohomish County where the challenger has garnered 54.8%.

As of Wednesday, turnout in the county stood at 39% of the roughly 508,000 registered voters. Election officials reported at least 107,000 ballots remain to be processed and tabulated.

The next update of results will be posted Thursday afternoon.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dospueblos.