Incumbent Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope appears certain to advance to the general election in November after the initial results of the primary election were released on Tuesday night.
Who he will face has yet to be determined as two challengers were within 124 votes after the initial tally.
Of the 4,715 tabulated votes in the initial results for Commissioner District 1, Republican incumbent Swope received 45.73%, or 2,156 votes, while Democrat Damian Bean placed second with 28.12%, or 1,326 votes. Republican challenger Peter Lahmann narrowly trails Bean with 25.92% or 1,222 votes.
In the race, 11 voters submitted a write-in candidate. The top two finishers will advance to the November general election.
In District 2, incumbent Republican Lindsey Pollock led challenger Christina Riley with 3,131 votes, or 59.32% to 2,050 votes, or 38.84%. The only two candidates in the race, Pollock and Riley are set to face off in November.
Only residents of the commissioner districts vote in the primary while the entire county will vote in the general election.
The Lewis County Auditor’s Office counted a total of 17,118 ballots on election night, with an estimated 1,500 ballots left to count. The next count will be released at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7. As of election night, the Lewis County Auditor’s Office estimated voter turnout to be 30.83%. The election will be certified on Aug. 20.
The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
PUD Commissioner
In the race to replace outgoing Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD) commissioner Ed Rothlin, Dave Fenn currently leads a field of five candidates with 34.33% of the vote, or 1,493 votes, while Angie Brown placed second with 26.81% of the vote, or 1,166 votes.
Julie Balmelli-Powe received 21.43% of the vote in the race, with 932 votes, while Jerry Lord placed fourth with 10.32%, or 449. Jilona Speer placed fifth with 277 votes, or 6.37% of the vote.
Legislative races
All three incumbents from the newly reconfigured 20th Legislative District — Reps. Ed Orcutt and Peter Abbarno and Sen. John Braun — also widely ran ahead in their races on Tuesday, though Orcutt and Braun did not face a challenger. In a race with Melvin Kaleolani Apana, who identifies as a “Culture Republican,” Abbarno received 20,720 votes, or 88.58% of the vote, compared to 1,723 votes, or 7.37%, for Kaleolani Apana.
