Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Primary turnout finishes up just shy of 45%
On election night Aug. 6, Mason County Fire District 6 Commissioner Troy Woodard, left, Fire Chief Clint Volk and Shelton Mayor Eric Onisko look at the first posted results of the primary election at the Mason County Auditor's election center in Shelton. The news was good for fire commissioners, whose levy was passing with 65.52% on the first count. But Onisko's bid to unseat state Rep. Travis Couture (R-Allyn) representing the 35th District ended when he finished behind Couture and Democrat James DeHart, who advance to the Nov. 5 general election.
State Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, will face Democrat Emily Randall in the Nov. 5 general election in their bid to replace Derek Kilmer as the District 6 represenative in Congress.
If MacEwen wins, the Republican Party will choose someone to complete his term in the state Senate. MacEwen spent a decade in the state House before being elected to the Senate in 2023. The 35th District includes all of Mason County and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties.
In the most recent ballot count released by the Mason County Auditor's Office on Aug. 12, Randall received 78,673 votes for 34.36% and MacEwen 69,247 votes for 30.25%. In Mason County, MacEwen received 9,112 votes for 46.57% and the other top vote-getter, Democrat Hilary Franz with 4,711 votes for 24.08%. Democrats have had the seat since 1965.
Of Mason County's 45,055 registered voters, 20,073 had cast ballots for a voter turnout of 44.55%. The results are scheduled to be certified Tuesday.
The latest results confirmed the general election lineup for two seats on the Mason County Commission.
Mason County Commissioner Randy Neatherlin will face William Harris in his bid for a fourth term, and Tom Beben and Pat Tarzwell will compete for the other seat up for grabs on the three-member commission.
For the seat representing District 1, Neatherlin, an independent, had 4,219 votes for 55.37% of the vote and Harris, a Republican, had 2,147 votes for 28.18% of the vote. Republican Ted Jackson was eliminated after receiving 1,195 votes for 15.68%.
In the contest to represent District 2, Beben, who declares no party preference, received 2,533 votes for 40.99%. Tarzwell, a Republican, got 2,100 votes for 33.99%, and Republican Richard Beckman garnered 1,491 votes for 24.13%.
Mason County Fire District 6's levy for fire protection and emergency medical services was passing with 61.7%. Fire 6 covers the Union area. North Mason Regional Fire Authority's levy for fire protection and emergency medical services was also passing with 64.54%. The tally also includes 129 votes from Kitsap County.
In the two races to represent the 35th District, Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, ran unopposed for another term in Position 1. He received 33,129 votes for 92.62%, with 2,641 write-in votes. For Position 2, incumbent Republican Travis Couture received 22,272 votes for 46.74% and Democrat James DeHart 20,440 votes for 42.89%. Shelton Mayor Eric Onisko, a Republican, received 4,874 votes for 10.23%. Totals for both positions include portions of Kitsap and Thurston counties.
In the contest to replace Gov. Jay Inslee, the top vote-getters among the 27 candidates in Mason County are Republican Dave Reichert with 7,497 votes for 37.7% and Democrat Bob Ferguson, the state's attorney general, with 7,272 votes for 36.57%. Statewide, Ferguson received 871,262 votes for 45.16% and Reichert 528,499 votes for 27.39%.
For the U.S. Senate, Mason County voters gave Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell 9,290 votes for 47.69% and Republican Raul Garcia has 4,213 votes for 21.63%. Both advanced to the general election.
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