The primary race for the state Commissioner of Public Lands has continued to tighten, and is likely headed for an automatic recount to determine which two candidates will appear on the November general election ballot.
As of Monday afternoon's statewide results posted on the Washington Secretary of State's website, former congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican, won the primary with 418,583 votes, or 22.3% of votes cast. But two other candidates are in nearly a dead heat for the other spot on the ballot.
King County Council member Dave Upthegrove, a Democrat, has 395,834 votes, or 20.83% of the votes cast. Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson has 395,642 votes, or 20.82% of the votes cast.
The Commissioner of Public Lands race, the winner of which leads the Department of Natural Resources, was wide open because incumbent Hilary Franz ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in the 6th District.
The primary field included four other candidates:
* Patrick DePoe with 267,143 votes or 14.1%.
* Allen Lebovitz with 193,528 votes or 10.2%.
* Kevin Van De Wege with 142,887 votes or 7.5%.
* Jeralee Anderson with 84,108votes or 4.4%.
Election results will be certified by each county on Tuesday, Aug. 20, and the Secretary of State certifies final results by Aug. 23, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
However, the need for a recount is spelled out on the Secretary of State's website: If the difference between the candidates is less than one half of 1 percent and also less than 2,000 votes — which this one is at this point — a recount is required after results are certified.
In this case, because the difference between the candidates is less than one quarter of 1 percent and also less than 1,000 votes, the recount will need to be done manually by the 39 counties.
The results of the other statewide races are much more clear cut, as of the Monday tallies. Here are the candidates that will advance to the November ballots.
Governor: Democrat Bob Ferguson (44.9%) and Republican Dave Reichert (27.5%).
Lt. Governor: Incumbent Democrat Denny Heck (48.6%) and Republican Dan Matthews (23%).
Secretary of State: Incumbent Democrat Steve Hobbs (48.4%) and Republican Dale Whitaker (36.9%).
State Auditor: Incumbent Democrat Pat McCarthy (58.8%) and Republican Matt Hawkins (41.1%).
Attorney General: Republican Pete Serrano (42.1%) and Democrat Nick Brown (35.3%).
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Incumbent Chris Reykdal (39.3%) and David Olson (31.2%).
Insurance Commissioner: Democrat Patty Kuderer (45.2%) and Republican Phil Fortunato (28.5%).
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