Thurston County voters will winnow large fields of candidates when they cast their ballots in the August primary.
Friday was the last day for candidates to file the paperwork to place their names on the August primary ballots. When the filing period closed, only five non-judicial incumbents on the Thurston County ballot were left without opponents: Coroner Gary Warnock, Prosecuting Attorney Jon Tunheim, 2nd Legislative District Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Lacey, and 20th Legislative District Reps. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, and Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama.
Judge's races drew little interest this election season. Incumbents are running unopposed in every race, from State Supreme Court to Thurston County District Court.
Candidates have until Monday to withdraw their names from the ballot. The August primary will cull the field of candidates to the top two vote-getters, irrespective of their party affiliations, and those candidates will meet in the November general election.
Congress
The races in the two congressional districts that represent Thurston County are overflowing with choices.
U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Tacoma, who represents the 10th District, is facing four opponents: Republican Keith R. Swank of Puyallup, Republican Dan Earnest Gordon of Lakewood, Democrat Eric Mahaffy of Olympia, and Richard Boyce of Lakewood, who listed his party affiliation as Congress Sucks.
U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Ridgefield, who represents the 3rd District, is facing eight opponents: Republicans Vicki Kraft and Leslie L. French of Vancouver, and Heidi St. John and Joe Kent of Battle Ground; Democrats Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washougal and Davy Ray of Stevenson; American Solidarity Party member Oliver Black of Longview; and independent Chris Byrd of Toutle.
Legislature
The county's legislative races are competitive. With Rep. Laurie Dolan announcing her retirement earlier this year, five candidates stepped up to run for her Position 1 22nd Legislative District seat, including Democrat Beth Doglio, who previously served as a legislator with Dolan in the Position 2 22nd District House seat.
Other candidates are Democrats Sarah Leon, Maria Siguenza and Anthony Keen, all of Olympia, and Republican Loretta Byrnes of Lacey and Sans M. Gilmore of Tumwater.
Two challengers filed to run against incumbent Democrat Jessica Bateman for the Position 2 22nd District seat: Democrat Kevin Young of Olympia and Republican Kate Plager of Lacey.
Two people are running for the state 35th Legislative District seat being vacated by Tim Sheldon, a Mason County Democrat who had caucused with Republicans for the past decade. Drew MacEwen, a Republican who is currently a representative for the district, wll be running against Democrat Julianne Gale of Shelton.
MacEwen's vacant seat drew four candidates: Democrat Sandy Kaiser of Thurston County, and Republicans Tiffany Sevruk of Olympia, Travis Couture of Allyn, and Patti Case of Union.
Countywide offices
Only the Sheriff's race drew fewer candidates than expected.
Challenger Derek Sanders filed to replace long-time incumbent John Snaza, who is seeking re-election. Both are running as independents.
Sanders, a current deputy, has criticized Snaza's leadership and said he aims to bring increased transparency and a more professional culture to the Sheriff's Office.
He also has called for renewed focus on hiring, retention and support to improve deputy morale. Many of his concerns are shared by former deputy Tyler (Turpin) McCoy, who previously announced he intended to run for Sheriff as a Democrat.
However, McCoy did not file for the 2022 primary by Friday, despite telling The Olympian on Thursday that he still intended to meet the deadline.
District 3 County Commissioner Tye Menser of Olympia, who is looking to secure a second term, will face one challenger, Republican candidate Vivian Kay Eason of Tumwater, a fiscal conservative and Army veteran who aims to bring "less partisan" politics to the Board of County Commissioners, according to her website.
Menser, a Democrat, is campaigning as responsible manager of tax dollars who is passionate about criminal justice reform, inclusion and the environment, according to his website.
In the race for county clerk, incumbent Linda Enlow, a Democrat, will face fellow Democrat Tonya Moore, who has 24 years of experience in superior court administration.
Enlow has worked to implement electronic filing systems to reduce trips to the courthouse and save taxpayer money, according to her website. She aims to expand electronic filing to ex parte orders, writs and search warrants. She also plans to review staffing levels and job classifications in the Clerk's Office, according to her website.
Moore aims to bring service-centered leadership to the Clerk's Office, make the court system more accessible to the public and increase procedural efficiency, according to her website.
Thurston County Treasurer Jeff Gadman, a Lacey Democrat, is running for re-election against Jeff Curry, an Olympia candidate with no party preference.
Assessor Steven Drew will face Dave Kolar, an independent. And Auditor Mary Hall, an Olympia Democrat, will face Sal Militello, a Lacey Republican.
Find the complete candidate filing list or the candidate names in ballot order on the Thurston County Auditor's election webpages.
