Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Wash. Primary Will Winnow Crowded Fields

Washington State Redistricting Commission
The seat from Washington’s 4th Congressional District, which runs from the Canadian Border to the Columbia River in central Washington, is up for grabs.";

Washington voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to turn in their primary ballots. Secretary of State Kim Wyman projects a turnout of about 40 percent.

Among others, the primary will winnow the crowded fields for an open central Washington Congressional seat and a Seattle-area state Senate position.

Washington’s heavily-Republican 4th Congressional District runs from the Canadian Border to the Columbia River, and includes Okanogan, Moses Lake and the Tri-Cities. A dozen candidates, most of them Republican, are vying to replace longtime Congressman Doc Hastings who’s retiring.

The primary will narrow the field to just two. And they could both be Republicans because Washington has a top-two primary.

If there’s a mirror-image contest to this one, it’s the battle for state Senate in south Seattle’s 37th Legislative District. There, a field of mostly Democrats is jockeying to replace longtime state Sen. Adam Kline, who is also retiring.

Another primary race to watch is the donnybrook in Washington’s 31st Legislative District. That’s where a Democrat and a Republican from the Washington House have teamed to try to oust longtime and controversial Republican Senator Pam Roach.

About half of Washington’s state Senate seats are up this year along with all 98 House positions and all 10 of the state’s Congressional seats.

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia." Prior to joining the Northwest News Network, Austin worked as a television reporter in Seattle, Portland and Boise. Austin is a graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Austin’s reporting has been recognized with awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Society of Professional Journalists.