St. Clair barely leads Muzzall, Low up on Sutherland in legislative races

EVERETT — After the first drop of ballots in Snohomish County, Democrats held leads in many races for the state Legislature.

Lines wrapped around Snohomish County campus on Tuesday night as many stood in line to cast their ballot. Collection boxes throughout the county were busy through the day.

Republican state Sen. Ron Muzzall, was in a tight race with Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair. Democratic state Rep. Clyde Shaver’s race against Carrie Kennedy and County Council member and state House incumbent Sam Low’s campaign against former state Rep. Robert Sutherland were among other local notable legislative races.

Snohomish County election officials cautioned many more ballots will be counted throughout the next few days. On Tuesday night, the county reported about 90,500 uncounted ballots, with more to come via mail.

District 1

Incumbent state Rep. Davina Duerr, a Democrat, was leading Republican challenger Mark Davies for a seat in the state House 70.4% to 29.4%.

Duerr has held the seat since 2019. In the other House position, Democratic Rep. Shelly Kloba won an unopposed race. Derek Stanford, the incumbent state senator, also won re-election unopposed.

The district includes parts of Bothell, as well as Woodinville.

District 10

In an extremely tight race, Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair held a minuscule lead over incumbent Republican state Sen. Ron Muzzall after the first ballot drop.

“I’m proud of our campaign, the grassroots effort driven by many volunteers to share our message,” St. Clair wrote in an email. “Despite disappointing national trends, voters here know the importance of reducing costs, supporting working families with fair wages, childcare, and housing, protecting reproductive freedoms, and improving local health and safety. We’re confident that those issues are guiding voters and wait eagerly for updates.”

St. Clair held 50.1% of the vote with Muzzall grabbing 49.8%. Just 153 votes separated the two candidates after 43,982 votes had been counted.

Muzzall took office in 2019. The candidates spent well over $1 million on the campaign. The district covers Island County, a wide swath of the north coast of Snohomish County, as well as Arlington and parts of Skagit County.

In the state House, two Democrats held leads over Republican challengers.

Incumbent state Rep. Clyde Shavers held a 54% to 45.9% lead over Carrie Kennedy, who touted numerous conspiracy theories during her campaign.

Rep. Dave Paul, also an incumbent Democrat, held a 54.3% to 45.7% over challenger Gary Wray, an Island County builder.

“There are a lot of votes still to count, but I’m excited by last night’s results,” Paul wrote in an email. “We ran a positive campaign that focused on our bipartisan work to improve education, pathways for living-wage jobs, and healthcare. I’m excited to get back to work and serve our community in Olympia next session.”

District 12

Brian Burnett, a former Chelan County sheriff from Wenatchee, was leading Heather Koellen, a nurse and North Bend City Council member, in the race for a vacant House seat.

Burnett ran as a Republican. He grabbed 53% of the initial 59,902 votes tabulated.

Koellen is seeking to become the first Democrat to serve as a state representative from District 12 since 1965.

Significant redistricting in 2022, later amended this April, shifted the 12th District to the West. Because more people moved west of the Cascades than east since the last redistricting in 2011, the move was necessary to keep the district roughly the same size by population.

The incumbent, Keith Goehner, a Republican, ran for the district’s state Senate seat against Democrat Jim Mayhew. Goehner held a lead over Mayhew, grabbing 55.6% of the early vote.

In the other House race, incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Steele also had a lead, holding 63.6% of the vote against fellow Republican Daniel Scott.

District 21

Democratic state House representatives cruised to victory in the 21st District, initial returns suggest, as incumbents Strom Peterson and Lillian Ortiz-Self comfortably led challengers Riaz Khan and Kristina Mitchell. As of Tuesday, Peterson had gathered 67.6% of the vote and Ortiz-Self was leading Mitchell 67.5% to 32.3%.

The district represents the cities of Edmonds and Mukilteo.

Peterson has served in the state House for nearly a decade. He also serves as a Snohomish County Council member. Peterson hopes to increase the affordability of housing, introduce rent stabilization and require permits to purchase guns.

His challenger, Khan, is a former Mukilteo City Council member who ran as a Republican. Khan was a Democrat for years, formerly serving as the vice chair of the 21st Legislative Democrats, before changing parties prior to this year’s election.

Ortiz-Self, a school counselor at Everett Public Schools for over two decades, has served in the State House since 2014. While in office, she hopes to help balance the state’s budget, which has suffered from lower than expected revenues, and update the state’s public school funding formula to provide more money for personnel, supplies and transportation.

Her challenger, Kristina Mitchell, ran as a “Conservative,” declining to run as a Republican because she did not align with its “far-right agenda,” she said. Mitchell wanted to drop out of the race, according to a Facebook post she made on Sept. 27, but couldn’t.

District 32

Democratic Rep. Lauren Davis held a lead over Lori Theis in the race for her House seat.

Davis was leading 75.6% to 24.3% after the first ballot drop.

Davis, from Shoreline, is known for Ricky’s Law, a 2016 involuntary drug treatment law she advocated for before joining the Legislature. The legislation is named for Davis’ friend Ricky Garcia. Theis is a business owner concerned about crime. She wants to hire more police officers to solve that issue.

Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Cindy Ryu held a 75.2% to 24.7% lead over Republican Lisa Rezac. Ryu has held the position since 2011.

The district includes parts of Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds and Shoreline.

District 38

Julio Cortes, an incumbent Democrat, held a 71.6% to 24.9% lead over Annie Fitzgerald, a Democratic Socialist.

Cortes won the seat in 2022.

“Thank you for the trust and support, it is a strong win for our campaign,” Cortes posted to his campaign Facebook page. “I look forward to continuing to serve Washington State and protecting all of our rights.”

Mary Fosse, who serves on the Everett City Council, was also on her way to re-election after the first ballot drop. She led Republican Marnie Claywell 59.4% to 40.5%.

The district encompasses Everett and much of Marysville and Tulalip.

District 39

Sen. Keith Wagoner had a wide lead over Democrat John Snow in his bid for re-election to the state Senate.

Wagoner led Snow 59.6% to 40.3% after the early ballot returns.

Sam Low, a Snohomish County Council member who has also served in the state Legislature since winning election in 2022, was leading Robert Sutherland, who has espoused election conspiracy theories and formerly served in the state House. Both Low and Sutherland are Republicans.

Low beat Sutherland in the 2022 race for the position. Low held 58.8% of the early vote, while Sutherland had 39.8%.

“Strong win tonight!,” Low’s campaign posted on Facebook. “Looking forward to representing everyone in District 39 in Olympia for 2 more years! Thank you everyone for your kind words and support!”

The district includes eastern Skagit and Snohomish counties and northeastern King County. It is mostly rural, and Republicans currently hold all three of its positions in the Legislature.

Longtime Republican state Rep. Carolyn Eslick was leading fellow Republican Jackie Huey 63.8% to 34.1%.

District 44

Incumbent Democratic Rep. April Berg, of Mill Creek, is set to win another term in the state House, beating out Republican challenger Sam Sim. As of Tuesday, Berg led 58.4% to 41.5%. The district covers the cities of Mill Creek and Snohomish, as well as parts of south Everett, Monroe and Bothell.

In office, Berg hopes to reduce state property tax rates while adding a 1% tax to sales of homes costing over $3 million to fund affordable housing. She also hopes to modernize the legislative calendar and increase funding to local school districts.

Sim, a newcomer to politics, is a tech entrepreneur from Bothell.

The district’s other state Rep. Brandy Donaghy, a Democrat, won an unopposed race.

This article has been updated with the latest vote counts, as of 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; X: @jordyhansen.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.