Primary likely sets up rematch in 21st Legislative District

By Evan Smith

Results of the Aug. 2 primary set up a rematch in the 21st Legislative District between incumbent Democratic State Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self and Republican challenger Jeff Scherrer. The two will meet on the Nov. 8 general-election ballot.

Ortiz-Self defeated Scherrer in the 2014 general election by a 58.5 percent to 41.4 percent margin.

This year, primary results counted through Wednesday, Aug. 10, showed Ortiz-Self with 56.0 percent of the votes to 32.2 percent for Scherrer. Libertarian candidate Bruce Guthrie had 6.3 percent, and independent candidate Mohammed Riaz Khan had 4.7 percent.

Elections officials plan to certify primary results Tuesday, Aug. 16.

The 21st District has not elected a Republican for 16 years.

That’s prompted Scherrer to repeat his 2014 campaign slogan, “Let’s bring the 21st District into the 21st century.”

Scherrer, an Edmonds resident, owns a computer business.

Ortiz-Self, a counselor in the Everett School District, joined the State House of Representatives by appointment in early 2014, after Marco Liias moved from the House to the Senate. She won a full two-year term when she defeated Scherrer later that year.

She is vice chairwoman of the House Education Committee, and a member of the Transportation Committee and the committee on early learning and human services.

In the race for the other 21st District House position, both incumbent Democrat Strom Peterson and Libertarian candidate Alex Hels will advance to the November ballot after Peterson took 76.6 percent of the primary votes to 22.6 percent for Hels. No Republicans were on the ballot.

Peterson, a former Edmonds city councilman, is a member of the House Environment Committee, the Capital Budget Committee and the Local Government Committee. He is running for a second two-year term.

The 21st Legislative District includes most of Edmonds, unincorporated areas north of Edmonds and Lynnwood and northeast of Lynnwood, all of Mukilteo, and part of south Everett.

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