Washington's 3rd Congressional District race does not have any clear winners, but the latest results show Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez losing ground against challenger Republican Joe Kent, as she now leads with less than 6,000 votes.
The Washington Secretary of State's office reported Thursday evening that Perez, D-Stevenson, had 132,161 votes, or 50.85 percent of the total, and Kent, R-Yacolt, edged close behind with 126,279 votes, or 48.58 percent of the 259,919 ballots tallied.
Clark County, the congressional district's most populous county, continues to lean in Perez's favor. Its round of updates Thursday showed Perez ahead with 90,693 votes, or 56.89 percent of the 159,406 votes cast, with Kent trailing with 68,713 votes, or 43.11 percent.
Perez continues to be the top vote-getter in Clark and Pacific counties. Ballot totals from Cowlitz, Lewis, Skamania, Thurston and Wahkiakum counties still favor Kent.
There are around 54,500 ballots left to count, with the 3rd District's segment of Thurston County left undetermined. According to postings on Kent's social media accounts, his team is hopeful that later-arriving ballots will tip Southwest Washington in his favor.
As tens of thousands more ballots remain to be counted, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs encouraged voters to be patient with ballot processing as counties face slight hiccups with the state's election management system. In a release, the office said county election officials working to update vote totals are facing an issue with VoteWA, which is affecting workers' ability to check signatures and process ballots.
"We understand that accuracy is important, even if it takes time," Hobbs said.
Elections workers will continue to work through Veterans Day and into the weekend processing ballots.
Upcoming ballot tally updates from the district's counties: Cowlitz County at 5 p.m. Friday; Clark County at 6 p.m. Friday; Lewis and Pacific counties at 4 p.m. Monday; Skamania County at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday; and Wahkiakum County at 5 p.m. Nov. 28.
Election results will be certified on Nov. 29.
