Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Travis Couture drives a campaign truck in the Tahuya Day Parade last month. In Tuesday's primary election, Couture placed second among four candidates to advance to the Nov. 8 general election to represent District 35 Position 2 in the state House of Representatives.
NOTE: This story has been updated to include Wednesday's 4:30 p.m. second ballot count.
Democrat Sandy Kaiser and Republican Travis Couture will advance to the Nov. 2 general election in their bid for a two-year term representing District 35 Position 2 in the state House of Representatives.
In the initial results in Tuesday's primary race, Couture and Kaiser outpolled Republicans Patti Case and Tiffany Sevruk to face off in their bid to replace incumbent Drew MacEwan of Union, who is running for a seat in the state Senate to replace the retiring Tim Sheldon of Potlatch.
District 35 covers all of Mason County, and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties.
In the initial results in Mason County, Kaiser had 7,360 votes for 44.84%, and Couture had 4,458 votes for 27.16%. Case was third with 3,522 votes for 21.46%, and Sevruk fourth with 1,066 votes for 6.49%.
The tallies over the three counties, according to the office of the Secretary of the State, are Kaiser with 15,512 votes for 46.24%, Couture with 8,888 votes for 26.49%, Case with 5,776 votes for 17.22% and Sevruk with 3,355 votes for 10%.
Kaiser, a fourth-generation Washingtonian who lives in Olympia, is a former U.S. diplomat, vice president at The Evergreen State College in Olympia and communications director at the state Department of National Resources.
"I'm excited to be leading this race, with powerful support from voters who want a locally focused, independent-minded representative who will fight for them in the Legislature," Kaiser said in a news release. "I'm the only candidate who will defend reproductive rights, and that has been an important issue with many voters."
Couture is a U.S. Navy veteran who works at Naval Submarine Base Kitsap in Silverdale. He is the former chairman of the Mason County Republican Party.
"I am overwhelmed and humbled by the support I've received from the community," Couture wrote to the Journal. "Our campaign worked extremely hard, and it's all thanks to the many great volunteers in all three 35th District counties."
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