Voters in the 32nd state legislative district are decisively sending Democrats back to Olympia.
In King County 26.37 percent of the district’s voters turned out while 47.91 percent of Snohomish County’s district voters went to the polls.
Returns as of the morning after Election Day showed Rep. Maralyn Chase, D-Edmonds, leading Republican challenger and Shoreline City Council member Bob Ransom with a total of 59.16 percent, 60.13 percent in King County and 55.85 percent in Snohomish County.
Chase held an election night party at the Highland Ice Arena in Shoreline where about 75 people were there to see the first returns at 8 p.m. and broke out in cheers when the early numbers showed Chase with a considerable lead.
“I’m not surprised,” Chase said, after the cheering died down. “We doorbelled and doorbelled, and you don’t have a coalition that’s this large without listening to people.”
The diverse group of supporters Chase rallied into her camp includes environmentalists, labor groups, small business owners and educators, among others, said Chase’s campaign manager Sally Soriano.
“She represents bipartisan community problem solving, that’s what Maralyn has brought back to this community,” said supporter LaNita Wacker.
On election night, Ransom said he was disappointed with the first set of returns and is concerned about King County’s handling of absentee ballots.
“It’s disappointing in that usually the first results are my best results and reflect how things will end up. The real question is whether King County is a real representative of the absentee ballots,” he said. “Chris Vance, head of the Republican party is talking about filing a suit.”
According to recent media reports, King County election officials acknowledged that thousands of mail-in ballots had been delayed because of technical problems, but that the voters, like military personnel stationed abroad, should have received the ballots by Election Day.
On Wednesday morning Ransom said “I concede the election to Maralyn and wish her well, I feel the voters basically didn’t want a change unless it was lower taxes.”
For the 32nd District position two seat in the state House, the numbers showed Democrat incumbent Rep. Ruth Kagi, of Lake Forest Park, leading with 63.75 percent over Republican challenger Margaret Wiggins, of Bothell. Kagi received 65.77 percent of the votes in King County and 56.79 percent in Snohomish County.
“I’m very pleased with that level of support and it’s very gratifying, especially with 40 percent of the district being new,” Kagi said. “I did some doorbelling in the new parts of the district and those in the older 32nd District know me.”
She said she is ready to try to find “creative solutions for a very difficult and challenging session.”
Wiggins said she is not surprised by the results. “These returns mean that 35 percent of voters are opposed to what Kagi stands for and she needs to address our issues such as working on transportation in some other ways — I’ll be e-mailing her and letting her know where we stand.”
In the state Senate race, Democrat incumbent Sen. Darlene Fairley, of Lake Forest Park, led Republican challenger and Edmonds City Council member Michael Plunkett with 61.4 percent of votes, 63.69 percent in King County and 53.56 percent in Snohomish County.
“Though the King County results were expected, I am pleased that in Snohomish County, where he’s (Plunkett) better known that I am still winning there,” Fairley said.
Fairley said the session will be the worst ever and that this election has shown that voters want to send experience to Olympia.
“I congratulate Sen. Fairley on her re-election,” Plunkett said, “and wish her and all the legislators who got elected a productive session and hope they can all work together.”
In the first congressional district U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, was leading GOP challenger Joe Marine of Mukilteo 53 percent to 43 percent as of the Enterprise’s deadline.
“I’m very pleased, and it shows a lot of work by a lot of folks on the campaign,” Inslee said after the first set of returns, which had him leading 57 percent to 40 percent. We relied on grass-roots politics here rather than money,” he said from a party at a restaurant in Richmond Beach. Inslee said he spent only $20,000 on one set of mailings and used yard signs, purchasing no advertising. This leaves him with $800,000 in the bank for his next campaign, he said.
Marine joked that the first returns were “better than the primary.” While he did not sound optimistic, he held out hope that newspaper endorsements from the Everett Herald, Eastside Journal and Seattle Times would influence late voters. The Enterprise endorsed Inslee.
In the seventh congressional district, voters overwhelmingly voted to send Jim McDermott back to D.C. with 74.91 percent of the vote.
Edmonds Editor Bill Sheets contributed to this report.
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