Snohomish County Council incumbents cruise to victory

EVERETT — Snohomish County Council won’t see any new faces this election cycle.

All three councilmembers up for re-election were safely holding onto their seats as of Tuesday night when preliminary results were released. The three women hoping to replace them faced long-shot odds, based on results from August’s primary election.

Nate Nehring was raking in 69.9% of the vote in District 1 as of Tuesday night. The Republican chaired the council last year and has highlighted his bipartisan work while in the political minority.

Democratic challenger Nicole Ng-A-Qui, of Stanwood, hoped to limit development in the expansive district and preserve green space. She garnered 29.9% of the 21,370 votes tallied in Snohomish County’s northeast district.

Jared Mead also had a steady lead in District 4, a compact district including Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace and Brier. The Democrat and former state lawmaker held 60.6% of the vote.

About 39.3% of voters cast their ballot for Republican Brenda Carrington, who was an unsuccessful Mead challenger in 2020.

In her campaign materials this year, Carrington said she wanted to limit property taxes and bolster law enforcement.

Sam Low also came in well ahead of his challenger. The Republican is known for his work on transportation issues plaguing District 5, including the U.S. 2 trestle and Highway 522. He celebrated the victory at an election party in Lake Stevens, with 59.4% compared to challenger Brandy Donaghy’s 40.5%.

Donaghy is a Democrat and Navy veteran who hoped to bring her experience in disaster preparedness to the council.

Claudia Yaw: 425-339-3449; claudia.yaw@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @yawclaudia.