Democrats Cortes, Fosse fend off Republicans Kemp, James

EVERETT — Even before Election Day, it was guaranteed that new faces would represent the 38th Legislative District.

On Tuesday, it appeared a pair of Democrats had the edge to maintain control of the contested district, as Julio Cortes and Mary Fosse fended off Republicans Gary Kemp and Mark James.

Incumbent Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, appeared to be winning re-election in the 21st District. Earlier he said, if elected, he would hold both a seat in the House and on the Snohomish County Council, despite concerns that it would be “double-dipping.”

And elsewhere in Snohomish County, incumbent state lawmakers were ahead.

1st Legislative District

The 1st District’s two incumbent representatives appeared to handily defend their seats Tuesday night.

Democratic representative Davina Duerr, was poised to stay in Position 1 against Republican John Peeples with 70.9% of votes. Duerr, 51, was appointed to her seat in 2019, filling a vacancy left by then-Rep. Derek Stanford’s appointment to the state Senate. She was elected to her seat in 2020, winning 66% of the vote over Republican Adam Bartholomew.

Another Democrat, Shelley Kloba, appeared headed for re-election to her fourth term in Position 2. The incumbent representative led Republican challenger Jerry Buccola with 71.3% of the vote.

12th Legislative District

Two House positions were up for grabs in the 12th.

Republican incumbent Keith Goehner won Position 1, seeing as he ran unopposed. Goehner has held the position since 2018.

In Position 2, incumbent Mike Steele, of Chelan, was fending off Robert Amenn, of Gold Bar, with 79.9% of the vote. Both candidates are Republican. Steele has held the position since 2016, and he’s vying for his fourth term in office.

21st Legislative District

A state Senate seat and two House positions were open in the 21st District.

For the Senate seat, Democratic incumbent Marko Liias, of Everett, was leading Janelle Cass, of Edmonds, with 63.5% of the vote. Liias, who works in the Snohomish County Executive’s Office, is chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and architect of the Move Ahead Washington transportation package signed into law earlier this year.

Incumbent Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, was leading Republican Amy Schaper, of Mukilteo, with 67.4% of the vote. Peterson was appointed to the Snohomish County Council in September despite concerns that being re-elected — and thus holding both positions — would be too much responsibility for one person. He has held the 21st District House seat since 2014, and Schaper also challenged Peterson in 2018. She lost, garnering only 34.2% of the vote.

In Position 2, incumbent Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, led Republican Petra Bigea with 66.8% of the vote. Ortiz-Self has held the position since 2014. Bigea, 55, also challenged Ortiz-Self in 2018.

32nd Legislative District

All three of the 32nd’s seats in Olympia were up for grabs, and all three incumbents seemed secure in another term Tuesday night.

Incumbent Rep. Cindy Ryu, a Democrat, appeared to have fended off Lori Theis, a first-time candidate affiliated with the Election Integrity Party, with 81.4% of the vote. This will be the seventh term in Position 1 for Ryu, 64, who also served as Shoreline mayor from 2008 to 2009.

Democratic Rep. Lauren Davis was easily winning a third term in Position 2 over Republican Anthony Hubbard, another first-time candidate. Davis garnered 78.5% of votes to Hubbard’s 21.3%.

Jesse Salomon was winning his bid for a second term as the 32nd’s state senator by 75.3% of votes, defeating fellow Democrat and first-time candidate Patricia Weber.

In the August primary election, Salomon, 46, took 65.4% of the vote to Weber’s 19.2%, while independent candidate Evelyn Anthony earned 14.3%.

38th Legislative District

Democrats were poised to keep the 38th Legislative District after the first ballot count Tuesday.

State Sen. June Robinson, of Everett, led with 59.2% of votes in her bid for re-election against familiar Republican challenger Bernard Moody, of Everett. They squared off in 2020, when Robinson won with about 58% of the vote after being appointed to the four-year term vacated by former state Sen. John McCoy.

The 38th District, which includes Everett, Marysville and Tulalip, shifted slightly and added parts of Marysville, which historically leans Republican.

Gary Kemp, a residential electrician and former union leader from Marysville, trailed Everett city spokesperson Julio Cortes for a House seat, with the vote at 59.3% to 40.6%. They were separated by 5,445 ballots.

Mark James, a Marysville City Council member and small business owner, trailed Mary Fosse, an Everett City Council member and former legislative aide, in a 57.9% to 41.9% race.

44th Legislative District

The 44th District made history last year by having its first ever all-Black delegation — comprised of Sen. John Lovick, Rep. April Berg and Rep. Brandy Donaghy — and the second all-Black delegation in Washington’s history.

And the three Democratic lawmakers seemed headed for re-election Tuesday.

Berg, of Mill Creek, was fending off Republican Ryne Rohla for Position 2, garnering 57.6% of the vote. Berg, 48, was seeking her second term. Rohla, a 31-year-old economist who works in the state Attorney General’s Office, was making his first run for office.

Donaghy ran against Republican Mark Harmsworth hoping to secure her first full term in Position 1 after being appointed to the role in December 2021. Harmsworth is back after previously holding Position 2 in the 44th for two terms, then being ousted in 2018. This time, Donaghy was beating Harmsworth with 54.5% of the vote.

For the Senate seat, Republican Jeb Brewer challenged Lovick. Lovick looked likely to maintain his seat, winning with 59.5% of the vote. In the same political shuffling that moved Donaghy into the House last December, the Snohomish County Council appointed Lovick to the Senate, after Democrat Steve Hobbs resigned to become secretary of state.

Snohomish PUD

Veteran Commissioner Tanya Olson was beating challenger Ken Maertens 71.7% to 27.6% in a showdown for a six-year term on the Snohomish County Public Utility District Board of Commissioners.

If results hold, Olson, of Everett, will secure a fourth term representing District 3, which covers an area bounded by I-5 on the west and county lines on the south and east. It takes in parts of Everett and Lake Stevens, as well as the cities of Snohomish, Monroe, Sultan, Gold Bar and Index.

In the campaign, Olson said her 40 years of experience with the district — 22 as an employee who rose to assistant general manager followed by 18 as commissioner — gave her a greater understanding of the issues facing the PUD.

Maertens, of Monroe, is a mechanical engineer. He said his engineering background and program management skills made him better able to guide SnoPUD’s research and development as it prepares for future demands.

Herald writer Jerry Cornfield contributed to this report.

Kayla J. Dunn: 425-339-3449; kayla.dunn@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @KaylaJ_Dunn.

Riley Haun: 425-339-3192; riley.haun@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @RHaunID.