42nd District state House trending blue after first results are posted in Whatcom County
Democrats were leading for the 42nd Legislative District’s two open House seats after initial election returns were posted Tuesday night, Nov. 3, in Whatcom County’s most hotly contested race.
An updated count was scheduled for late Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 4.
Turnout was 85% through Wednesday morning, second only to the record 88% who voted in 2008.
Blaine Councilwoman Alicia Rule, a Democrat, led Rep. Luanne Van Werven, R-Lynden, for House position 1 by 51% to 48%.
“I’m still a little bit in disbelief,” said Rule, who was running in her first state race.
“I’m just thrilled that the voters showed up for a candidate that’s able to represent all of us,” she told The Bellingham Herald. “The voters came out clearly for working together. That’s what the voters told me.”
Van Werven, who has held the 42nd’s position 1 seat since 2014, said she was hoping that Wednesday’s updated ballot count would show different results.
“It’s not over. There are still a lot of votes to be counted. We’re still hopeful,” Van Werven told The Herald.
“We did not leave anything on the table,” she said. “We had to adjust our campaigning in the age of COVID. I’m satisfied that we’ve done everything we could.”
State Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, led Jennifer Sefzik, a Custer Republican, for House position 2 by 52% to 48%.
“It’s a solid lead, but I want to wait until all the votes are counted,” Shewmake told The Herald on Tuesday night.
“We have a lot of work to do at the state level, especially with the virus and getting our economy back to work,” said Shewmake, who won her seat in 2018 from Republican Vincent Buys.
Sefzik told The Herald on Wednesday morning, Nov. 4, that she was grateful for those who volunteered on her campaign and was staying optimistic and awaiting Wednesday’s second batch of results.
“It was a great experience because of all the people I’ve met across Whatcom County,” Sefzik said. “You feel like you really know the district when you’ve been on thousands of doorsteps.”
Washington’s 42nd District race was the second most expensive in the state, with $1,465,476 in contributions through Monday, Nov. 2, according to data from the state Pubic Disclosure Commission.
Both Shewmake and Van Werven said both 42nd District campaigns were marked by attack ads paid for by interests outside Whatcom County.
“The independent expenditures on both sides got nasty. But I’m glad the voters saw through that,” Shewmake said.
“I’ve never seen such an onslaught of negative ads,” Van Werven said. “I think that hit their target much more than I thought they would.”
Both 42nd District Democratic candidates trailed their Republican opponents in the August primary.
Turnout high
Nearly 85 percent of Whatcom County voters returned their ballots through Wednesday in Washington state’s vote-by-mail election, with turnout this year expected to match or surpass that of a typical presidential election.
An estimated 5,125 ballots remained to be counted countrywide after initial results were posted about 8 p.m. Tuesday, with more ballots due in Wednesday’s mail and pickups from ballot boxes that were locked at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Those ballots will be counted as long as they were postmarked or in ballot dropboxes by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
A steady stream of voters headed to the Whatcom County Courthouse amid breezy winds and persistent rain to cast their ballots in person early Tuesday.
Voters early Tuesday told The Bellingham Herald that they had moved recently and wanted to vote in a different legislative district, that they didn’t trust the mail, or that they just wanted the experience of voting in person this year.
“It’s a pretty important election, very decisive,” said John Brooks of Bellingham as he got a ballot and prepared to vote at one of several privacy booths in the courthouse rotunda.
Ballots were mailed to all of the county’s record 158,758 registered voters on Oct. 14, and voters had until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, to get them postmarked — not just mailed — or place them in nearly two dozen official dropboxes around Whatcom County.
Whatcom County officials and Secretary of State Kim Wyman took extra steps to ensure security, access to the polls, and an accurate count of ballots.
Washington state’s all-mail election system is praised as among the best in the nation.
In results released at 8 p.m. Tuesday:
1st Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Kirkland Democrat, was leading Jeffrey Beeler Sr., a Republican from Sultan, in the 1st Congressional District race.
DelBene had 61% of the vote and Beeler had 39%.
“The next Congress has immediate work to do,” DelBene said in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic is gaining strength across the country, families are worried about being able to stay in their homes and put food on the table, and our economy is hurting. The federal government must take bold steps to protect those most at risk during this difficult time.”
That district covers most of Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish counties, plus almost one-third of King County.
2nd Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, an Everett Democrat, was leading Timothy S. Hazelo, a Republican from Oak Harbor, in the 2nd Congressional District.
Larsen had 65% of the vote and Hazelo had 34%.
“My first priority is to get another round of COVID-19 relief,” Larsen told The Herald.
“There’s still families hurting and people facing evictions or foreclosure and small business owners hurting,” he said. “Now that the election is over we’ll get past the hijinks.”
Larsen said he was confident that Biden will win the presidency and he was eager to work toward greater access to health care, a pair of highway transportation packages to create jobs, and vaccine that will end the pandemic.
“It will help to have a Democratic president who thinks of someone other than himself, who has these values,” Larsen said.
That district covers Bellingham and southwest Whatcom County, plus Island and San Juan counties and western Skagit and Snohomish counties.
40th Legislative District
Washington’s 40th Legislative District covers San Juan County, southern and eastern Bellingham neighborhoods and southern Whatcom County, and northwest Skagit County.
▪ For position 1, incumbent state Rep. Debra Lekanoff, a Democrat from Bow, was unopposed and had 97% of the vote and write-in candidates had 3%.
▪ Incumbent position 2 state Rep. Alex Ramel, a Democrat from Bellingham, was leading Russ Dzialo, a Republican from Bellingham, by 73% to 27%.
Ramel was appointed in January to finish the term of Jeff Morris, who resigned to take a job in the private sector.
▪ Incumbent state Sen. Liz Lovelett, a Democrat from Anacortes, was leading Charles Carrell, a Republican from Burlington, by 74% to 26%.
Lovelett is seeking her first full four-year term as a state senator. She was appointed in February 2019 to finish the term of Kevin Ranker and won a confirmation election in November 2019.
Whatcom County Superior Court
▪ For position 2, Evan Jones was leading James Erb, 51% to 49%.
▪ For position 4, David E. Freeman was leading Jim Nelson, 79% to 21%.
Public Utility District 1
Christine Grant was leading incumbent James McClure, 59% to 41%.
Grant, a policy consultant and Western Washington University instructor, will be the first woman elected to the board, according to Steve Jilk, PUD general manager.
Bellingham Transportation Fund
Bellingham voters were approving renewal of the two-tenths of 1% sales tax by 83% to 17%.
Ferndale schools
Ferndale voters were approving a second attempt at a levy to replace an expiring levy by 62% to 38%.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 8:47 PM.
