Port of Bellingham race tightens as new Whatcom County ballot tallies posted
Port of Bellingham Commissioner Ken Bell remained in a tight race for Port District 2, losing his slim Election Night lead against businesswoman Carly James after a second ballot count was released Wednesday afternoon.
Bell and James were in a statistical dead heat of 50% each, but James led by a margin of 28,255 to 28,159 — difference of 96 votes.
Bell was ahead by 751 votes after the first ballot count was released after the polls closed Tuesday night.
Port of Bellingham District 2 includes the northern part of Bellingham and rural Whatcom County including Lynden, Everson, Nooksack and Sumas.
No other major changes developed Wednesday.
Ballot totals in Washington state, which votes entirely by mail, are traditionally released after 8 p.m. Election night and around 5 p.m. the next several days afterward. Close races can sometimes take several days to decide as more ballots arrive.
Wednesday’s totals include ballots from drop boxes around Whatcom County and ballots with valid postmarks that arrived Wednesday.
A third tally of votes is scheduled by 5 p.m. Thursday.
In other major Whatcom County races, three Bellingham City Council incumbents retained wide leads over their challengers.
Two more women will be joining the Whatcom County Council, filling three seats on the seven-member panel. They’ll also be part of a new 5-2 liberal supermajority.
Off-year elections focus on the Whatcom County Council, city councils in Bellingham and other cities, and courts, school boards and local commissions such as fire districts and cemetery officials.
Ballots were due at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Washington’s vote-by-mail elections. Ballots must have been postmarked by that time, or place in an official ballot box.
Whatcom County has 169,232 active registered voters, according to the Auditor’s Office, which conducts elections. A total of 61,011 ballots had been counted through the second tabulation at 4:48 p.m. Wednesday.
Turnout was 36%, according to the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office.
This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 5:28 PM.
