Washington Democrats are hoping to flip a handful of Republican-controlled legislative seats this fall in pursuit of a supermajority. And they’re confident after initial results Tuesday night.
State House races in Southwest Washington’s 17th and 18th Legislative Districts — four seats in total — show Democratic candidates leading Republican incumbents by small margins.
A pair of House races in the 14th Legislative District in Yakima, a region recently redistricted to strengthen the Latino vote, were also closely watched. One of those races, Position 1, showed Democratic challenger Chelsea Dimas getting just over 40% of the vote, while Republican incumbent Gloria Mendoza had just over 50%. In the other race, Position 2, Republican incumbent Deb Manjarrez led with 51% on election night, while the challenger, Democrat Ezequiel Morfin, had just 27% of the vote.
“We don’t want to celebrate too early, but we definitely feel there are some ripples coming in that might turn into that big blue wave,” said Shasti Conrad, chair of the state Democratic Party.
Washington’s Republican Party leader Jim Walsh said primary results were “generally within our range of expectations,” and said November elections will be dependent on voter turnout. Walsh has expressed skepticism in the past that Democrats could flip any seats in Yakima.
Pedersen gets thumbs-up in Seattle
Early results show incumbent Sen. Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat, with a resounding thumbs-up from his constituents in the 43rd Legislative District, in the heart of Seattle.
Pedersen garnered 71% of the votes, while his challenger from the left, Hannah Sabio-Howell, had 17%. Both will appear on the November ballot.
The Sabio-Howell campaign was defiant Tuesday.
“We are fighting for something that is more than just an austerity budget and false choices, between funding this, between funding that,” Sabio-Howell said.
Pedersen’s campaign released a statement saying he was “honored” by the results. Pedersen watched the results from his home in Capitol Hill and could not be reached directly for comment.
“I will never take this job for granted,” his campaign statement said, “and I know this seat belongs to the people, not to any politician. I will continue to work hard to earn the people’s votes again in November.”
Sabio-Howell had collected endorsements from both Pedersen’s Democratic seatmate, state Rep. Shaun Scott, and socialist Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson.
