Larsen won the race, but Koster leads in candidates’ hometown

City-by-city vote results

How cities in Snohomish County voted in the Nov. 2 election (Excel files):

Though Republican Snohomish County Councilman John Koster isn’t going to Congress, he can take comfort in knowing his neighbors wanted him to.

Koster lost to U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., in their Nov. 2 duel, but is leading him in the city of Arlington, where they both grew up.

Koster is receiving 55 percent of votes to Larsen’s 45 percent, according to a Herald analysis of ballots tallied through Nov. 15.

And Koster is outpolling Larsen in Snohomish County, though by a smaller margin, of 51 percent to 49 percent, the analysis found. The election is expected to be certified in the county today.

While Larsen may lose bragging rights in his hometown, he will enjoy a sixth term in Congress, capturing 51 percent of the vote in the 2nd District, which stretches from Mukilteo to the Canadian border.

Larsen is dominating in Whatcom and San Juan counties, and barely leading in King and Island counties. Koster holds a slight edge in Skagit County.

Within Snohomish County, Koster is ahead in nine cities and the unincorporated areas, while Larsen is ahead in four towns all known for their support of Democratic candidates. Their closest battle is Darrington, where only six votes separated the two at the time of the analysis.

Koster is pulling 57 percent of the vote in Stanwood and Sultan while Larsen is collecting 58 percent of ballots cast in Everett. However, the incumbent’s best performance is in tiny Index, where the 59 votes he picked up amounted to 77 percent.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray is leading Republican Dino Rossi in Snohomish County by roughly the same margin as she is statewide.

Murray had 52 percent of the vote to Rossi’s 48 percent in the Herald analysis. She is winning statewide with 52.3 percent.

She is winning in the historic strongholds of Democrats from the city of Everett south along I-5 to King County, while he, like Koster, is leading throughout eastern and northern Snohomish County.

Murray is garnering 57 percent of the votes in Everett, 60 percent in Edmonds and 64 percent in Mountlake Terrace. Rossi, meanwhile, is pulling 55 percent in Arlington and 56 percent in Monroe, Sultan and Stanwood. He is also ahead in Marysville with 51 percent.

On one of the hottest ballot measures, Snohomish County voters split pretty evenly on Initiative 1100, which aimed to get the state out of the business of selling hard liquor.

The Herald review of precincts found voters turning it down by the slimmest margin of 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent, though on election night it was passing in the county. Statewide, it’s losing 53.4 percent to 46.6 percent.

Voters in 13 cities and towns are rejecting the measure while it is passing in seven others, according to the analysis. It is also enjoying support in the unincorporated areas in the east and north parts of the county.

Among the most populous cities, voters in Everett, Edmonds, Lynnwood and Marysville are turning it down while those in Mukilteo and Lake Stevens are approving it.

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