Primary roundup: State Sen. Hobbs survives GOP attack ads

EVERETT — Moderate Democratic state Sen. Steve Hobbs of Lake Stevens withstood a barrage of attack ads from Senate Republicans to easily win his primary Tuesday.

Republican state Sen. Keith Wagoner of Sedro-Woolley was in tight scrap with a former Republican lawmaker as he tried to survive the primary.

And Ethel McNeal, the newest member on the Everett City Council, was trailing in her bid to keep the seat to which she was appointed earlier this year.

Snohomish County election officials predict turnout for the election will be around 34 percent. About two-thirds of those ballots were tallied Tuesday. There were an estimated 24,000 ballots on hand to be processed. The next round of results is scheduled to be released Wednesday.

Here are results from some of the most closely watched contests for state and local offices:

44th Legislative District: Hobbs, 48, who is pursuing a fourth term, collected 56.9 percent. As anticipated, he will face Republican Doug Roulstone, 68, of Snohomish, a retired Navy captain who captured 39.5 percent. Libertarian Jeremy Fitch, 38, of Everett, finished third.

An independent political committee funded by the Senate GOP spent nearly $189,000 on television commercials and mailers blasting Hobbs’ voting record — even though some of the bills were dreamed or drafted by Republicans. Organizations representing realtors and education reform activists spent $32,000 on advertising supporting Hobbs.

Republicans went on the offensive because the 44th is known as a swing district, meaning voters will elect Democrats and Republicans to represent them in Olympia.

Right now Democrats hold a one-seat advantage in the Senate. Thus, if the GOP were to unseat Hobbs, and they lost no other seats, Republicans would retake the majority.

The district covers Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Mill Creek and unincorporated areas around Everett.

39th Legislative District: Democrat Claus Joens led Tuesday as Wagoner dueled with fellow Republican Elizabeth Scott for the second spot in the election for this state Senate seat.

Joens, of Marblemount, the only Democrat in the race, had 40.5 percent, followed by Wagoner with 29.0 percent and Scott with 25.8 percent. Jamal Rabieh of Sedro-Woolley, an Independent, had 4.9 percent.

Wagoner, the former mayor of Sedro-Woolley, was appointed to the position in January, succeeding Kirk Pearson, a Monroe Republican. He beat out Scott for the post.

Scott is looking to return to the Legislature, where she served two terms in the House from the 39th District.

At stake is a a four-year term representing the sprawling legislative territory encompassing stretches of rural Snohomish and Skagit counties, and a sliver of King County. It includes the cities of Arlington, Monroe, Sultan, Gold Bar and Index.

39th Legislative District: Democrat Ivan Lewis of Sultan was leading Republicans Robert J. Sutherland of Granite Falls and Randy Hayden of Darrington in a closely watched contest to succeed the outgoing leaders of the House Republican Caucus.

Lewis garnered 48.4 percent, followed by Sutherland with 38.4 percent and Hayden with 13.2 percent.

The trio were battling for the seat now held by Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish.

38th Legislative District: Sen. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, was ahead with 40.6 percent, but it may be a few days before he knows who he will face in November. Democrat Bruce Overstreet, of Everett ,was second, just 118 votes in front of Republican Savio Pham, of Everett.

McCoy, 74, a member of the Tulalip Tribes, is seeking a second full term in the Senate. He was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2002, appointed to a vacant Senate seat in 2013 and won a full term in 2014.

Pham, 46, a native of South Vietnam, moved from King County to Everett in May. Pham, who is making his first run for office, worked as a field representative for Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Smith before moving to Everett.

Overstreet, 57, an Everett High School teacher, was also making his first bid for office. His late father, Bob Overstreet, served on the Everett City Council.

The 38th District encompasses Everett, Tulalip and part of Marysville.

32nd Legislative District: Democratic state Sen. Maralyn Chase, of Edmonds, was fending off fellow Democrat Jesse Salomon, the deputy mayor of Shoreline. But it is likely the two will both advance to the general election.

Chase had 39 percent, followed by Salomon with 36 percent and Republican James Wood with 25 percent.

Chase, who had a 669-vote advantage, won by a wide margin in the Snohomish County part of the district, while losing in King County.

The strongly Democratic legislative district takes in Lynnwood, Edmonds and Shoreline.

In a race for an open House seat, Democrat Lauren Davis enjoyed a large lead over fellow Democrat Chris Roberts and Republican Frank Deisler. The trio were competing to succeed retiring Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Seattle.

Davis, who was endorsed by Kagi, had received just under 50 percent of the vote. Deisler was second but was just four votes ahead of Roberts.

21st Legislative District: Democratic Sen. Marko Liias, of Lynnwood, and Republican Mario Lotmore, of Mukilteo, were comfortably ahead Tuesday night.

Liias, who has served in the Legislature since 2008, led with 49.6 percent followed by Lotmore with 30.5 percent, Democrat Riaz Khan, of Mukilteo, with 12.8 percent and Scott West, of Edmonds, with 6.9 percent.

The district includes Mukilteo and parts of Lynnwood, Edmonds and Everett.

1st Legislative District: Rep. Derek Stanford, D-Bothell, will face Republican Josh Colver of Bothell this fall.

Stanford, who was first elected to the House in 2010, had 67.2 percent, while Colver, a first-time candidate, had 25.9 percent. Colin McMahon, who did not align with a political party, had 6.9 percent.

In the other House race, Rep. Shelley Kloba, D-Kirkland, and Republican Debra Blodgett, of Snohomish, appeared likely to advance to a November match-up.

Kloba, who was seeking a second term,tallied 63 percent, and Blodgett, the chairwoman of the Snohomish County Republican Party, had 31.3 percent. Libertarian Matt Seymour, of Bothell had 5.7 percent.

The district covers communities in south Snohomish and north King counties including Bothell, Maltby and Kirkland.

Everett City Council: Councilwoman Ethel McNeal trailed two challengers by a wide margin Tuesday as she sought to retain the seat to which she was appointed earlier this year.

Tyler Rourke, an aerospace engineer, had 42.4 percent, and Liz Vogeli, a neighborhood association leader and Democrat Party activist, had 32.8 percent in ballots counted. McNeal had 23.6 percent.

McNeal took office in January after the council chose her to fill the vacancy created when Cassie Franklin was elected mayor. Rourke was a finalist for the appointment.

Snohomish Public Utility District, District 1: Commissioner Sid Logan trailed challenger Mary Rollins Tuesday as he sought to continue serving in the seat to which he was appointed last year.

Rollins led with 31.7 percent, followed by Logan with 30.4 percent. Bruce King received 26.9 percent and Sam Buchanan had 11 percent.

Logan was appointed to the nonpartisan position in March 2017, and the term runs through the end of this year. The seat will be on the ballot again in 2020, resuming its regular, six-year election cycle.

District 1 covers the northern half of the county, including Everett, Marysville, Arlington, Granite Falls, Darrington as well as Camano Island in Island County.

Snohomish Public Utility District, District 2: Commissioner Kathy Vaughn, who was pursuing a fifth term, was in a tight battle with two challengers in the first night of ballot counting.

Rebecca Wolfe led with 30.1 percent of the vote, followed by Vaughn with 29.2 percent and David Chan with 28.3 percent. Vaughn trailed Wolfe by 260 votes and led Chan by 246 votes.

Maggie Mae was next with 8.4 percent followed by Kaili Chickering with 3.9 percent.

District 2 covers southwest Snohomish County, including Lynnwood and Edmonds.