These Whatcom County candidates have filed to run in the August primary election
Four candidates are seeking to fill an open seat in the Washington State Senate representing northern Whatcom County, four people are competing to succeed Prosecutor Eric Richey, and Port of Bellingham races in two newly created districts are wide open as candidates filed this week to run in the Aug. 4 primary election.
Voting will be by mail, as with all elections in Washington. Ballots are scheduled to be mailed July 15, and ballot drop boxes also open on that date.
Primary elections are open to candidates of all political stripes because voters in Washington don’t register by party. The two candidates with the most votes in each race will advance to the Nov. 3 general election, regardless of party affiliation.
On the ballot for the August primary are the 2nd District U.S. House seat, along with five seats on the state Supreme Court and seats in the state Legislature, Whatcom County prosecuting attorney and the two recently created Port seats. Two Whatcom County judge positions are open but won’t be on the primary ballot because only one candidate filed for office and both candidates advance to the general election.
In the 40th Legislative District, which includes the southern part of Bellingham and southern Whatcom County, only the two House seats are up for election. In the 42nd Legislative District, which includes northern Bellingham and northern Whatcom County, the state Senate seat and both House seats are on the ballot.
Ballots are must be placed in ballot drop boxes by 8 p.m. Aug. 4. Ballots that are returned by mail must have a postmark before 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case that could affect whether mailed ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. on Election Day can be counted. Currently, late-arriving ballots will be counted if they are postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
2nd District U.S. House
U.S. Rep Rick Larsen is facing four challengers in his bid for a 14th straight term in the House.
The overwhelmingly Democratic 2nd District covers all of Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan counties and the western part of Snohomish County. A Republican last won the seat in 1998, and Larsen has held the position since 2000.
- Edwin H. Feller of Lynden is running as a Republican. He didn’t immediately respond to a Herald request for information.
- Devin Hermanson is an activist and nonprofit consultant who founded DefundMusk.com and is a graduate of Boston University’s MBA program with an emphasis in public and nonprofit management. According to his website, he has worked at World Vision and other nonprofits for 15 years. He is running as a Democrat.
- Rick Larsen, D-Everett, is the ranking Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and also serves on the Armed Services Committee. He is a member of the New Democrat Coalition of center-left House members who are considered socially liberal and fiscally conservative, according to his website.
- Raymond Pelletti of Blaine is a real estate broker and appraiser. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a member and former president of the Whatcom County Association of Realtors. He is also a former board member of the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center and the state Make-A-Wish Foundation. He is running as a Republican.
- Tomas Scheel of Ferndale is a software developer who served seven years in the U.S. Air Force, leaving the military as a staff sergeant. In the Air Force, he was an avionics technician, working on cargo aircraft. He took courses toward an undergraduate electrical engineering and earned an associate of applied science degree in the Air Force. He has been a volunteer firefighter, and he provides Spanish and English assistance to community groups, and taught English to Ukrainians. He is running as a Democrat.
40th District state House position 1
State Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Anacortes, is running for a fifth straight two-year term for House position 1 against Cindy Carter of Eastsound. The 40th District includes southern Whatcom County, San Juan County and part of Skagit County. It has been solidly Democratic for two decades.
- Cindy Carter of Eastsound is running as a Republican. She worked for five years in the chemistry lab at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. She has served as a precinct committee officer and as chair of the San Juan Republican Party, was well as serving as a state committee woman for the San Juan Republican Party and as founding member and previous chair of the Orcas Island Eagle Forum.
- Debra Lekanoff, an Alaska Native, spent 20 years as governmental affairs director for the Swinomish Tribe before she was elected to the House in 2018. In the Legislature, Lekanoff is vice chair of the Health Care and Wellness Committee and a member of the House’s Housing, Rules and Appropriations committees. She is also on the joint Pacific Fisheries Legislative Task Force, Governor’s Indian Health Advisory Council, Joint Legislative Committee on Water Supply During Drought and the Legislative Committee on Economic Development & International Relations.
40th District state House position 2
Rep. Alex Ramel, D-Bellingham, has held the seat since January 2020, when he was appointed to fill a vacancy. He is seeking his fourth full term in the Legislature. The 40th District includes southern Whatcom County, San Juan County and part of Skagit County. It has been solidly Democratic for two decades.
- Monte Jay Mahan of Bellingham is running as an independent. He is a board-certified hearing instrument specialist with his own business in Bellingham. He completed four years of a pre-med bachelor of science degree program at the University of Florida-Gainesville, with additional studies in natural resources and forestry.
- Rep. Alex Ramel is the House Democratic whip. He serves on the joint Energy Strategy Advisory Committee and joint State Building Code Council. He is on the House Environment and Energy, Transportation, Finance and Rules committees. Ramel is climate policy adviser for the environmental organization Stand.Earth and has a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy and planning from Western Washington University.
- Salomon Rodrigue Mbouombouo of Burlington filed to run for the office just two hours before the week-long registration window closed, so information about him wasn’t immediately available. He is running as an independent.
- Joseph Segault of Eastsound states no party preference. He didn’t immediately respond to a Herald request for biographical information.
42nd District state House position 1
State Rep. Alicia Rule, D-Blaine, is seeking a fourth straight two-year term for the 42nd Legislative District House Position 1, one of two House seats in the 42nd District.
The 42nd District includes the northern neighborhoods of Bellingham and the northern part of Whatcom County. In 2022, voters in the 42nd District elected three Democrats to the Legislature, taking control of a district that had been represented by Republicans for more than a decade.
- Misty Flowers, an anti-vaccine activist and head of the Whatcom County Republican Party, filed to run for the office just two hours before the week-long registration window closed.
- State Rep. Alicia Rule has served in the state House since 2020, is a social worker and a therapist in private practice. She’s also a former member of the Blaine City Council and founder and former head of the Blaine Downtown Development Association. Her family has lived in Whatcom County for five generations, and she has been instrumental in getting state flood relief for residents affected by the 2021 and 2025 Nooksack River floods. In the Legislature, Rule is vice chair of the Health Care & Wellness Committee and a member of the joint Washington Economic Development Finance Authority, the joint School Safety Summit and the joint Work Group to Address Needs of Students in Foster Care, Homelessness and Juvenile Rehab. She also serves on the House Education and Capital Budget committees.
42nd District state House position 2
Two people are running for the 42nd District House position 2 seat. The district includes the northern neighborhoods of Bellingham and the northern part of Whatcom County. In 2022, voters in the 42nd District elected three Democrats to the Legislature, taking control of a district that had been represented by Republicans for more than a decade.
- Justin Pike of Ferndale is a detective with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, where he also served as a patrol deputy. He is running as a Republican. Pike also served with the Ferndale Police Department, both as a patrol officer and as a detective, and with the Lummi Nation Police Department. He served as a cavalry scout with armored units in the U.S. Army from 2002 to 2006, rising to the rank of sergeant. He was stationed in South Korea, Colorado and served a tour in Iraq. He has continued serving in the Washington Army National Guard and is now a master sergeant, where he has performed various duties. In addition, Pike runs a small business, Ferndale Laundry.
- State Rep. Joe Timmons of Bellingham is running for a third straight term as a Democrat. Before his election to the state House in 2022, Timmons served as Gov. Jay Inslee’s regional representative in Northwest Washington. He has degrees from Western Washington University and the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. In the most recent legislative session, Timmons advocated for state funding for Whatcom County, including projects supporting housing, behavioral health and child care. In the House, Timmons is the assistant speaker pro tem, and he serves on the Washington Marine Resources Advisory Council, Washington State Leadership Board, and the House Postsecondary Education and Workforce, Rules, Housing and Transportation committees.
42nd District state Senate
Four people are running for the state Senate seat being vacated by state Sen. Sharon Shewmake, a Western Washington University economics professor who decided not to seek a second four-year term.
The 42nd District includes the northern neighborhoods of Bellingham and the northern part of Whatcom County. In 2022, voters in the 42nd District elected three Democrats to the Legislature, taking control of a district that had been represented by Republicans for more than a decade.
- Ryan Bowman of Bellingham is a full-time caregiver who runs an online business. He has been active in local politics but has never held public office. He has no party preference.
- Eamonn Collins is a high school science teacher at Lummi Nation School and the vice president of the Kulshan Community Land Trust. He was elected to the 2025 Whatcom County Charter Review Commission and is the most recent past head of the Whatcom County Democratic Party. He has served as a policy adviser for U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and the Democratic Staff House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from the University of Wisconsin, a master’s degree in education policy from Marquette University, and a master’s degree in science education from Western Governors University.
- Erika Creydt is a clinical psychologist working in youth mental health and a member of the Blaine School Board. She is running as a member of the Republican Party.
- Michael Alvarez Shepard is a Port of Bellingham commissioner, representing southern Whatcom County, who was elected in 2025 to a third straight four-year term. He is a professor in the Anthropology Department at Western Washington University. He is running as a member of the Democratic Party.
Port of Bellingham Commission
In 2025, Whatcom County voters approved a measure to increase the number of Port of Bellingham commissioners from three to five. This election is for the two new commissioners. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes will have a three-year term and the other commissioner a one-year term, according to the Port of Bellingham website. From now on, two new commissioners will be elected in odd-numbered years. The five Port Commission districts have the same boundaries as the five Whatcom County Council districts.
Commission District 4 encompasses rural Whatcom County north of Bellingham, including the Marietta area, unincorporated areas east of Ferndale and the city of Lynden. Six people are running in the August primary:
- Dean Berkeley of Blaine didn’t immediately respond to a Herald request for biographical information.
- Paul Burrill of Lynden didn’t immediately respond to a Herald request for biographical information.
- Tim Chartier of Lynden is a firefighter.
- Samantha Cruz-Mendoza of Ferndale has degrees in criminology and political science from Washington State University and is studying law at the Seattle University School of Law. She has worked for the Washington State Legislature since 2022.
- Tor Benson of Bellingham is a certified financial planner with Streamline Advisory. He graduated summa cum laude from Oregon State University with a double bachelor’s degree in biology and education, minoring in chemistry. He ran commercial fishing boats in Alaska for 15 years and now coordinates the tankers that come into Puget Sound refineries. He served on the Petersburg, Alaska Planning and Zoning Committee for four years and was appointed on the Southeast Alaska Power Agency board, which manages two hydroelectric dams that serve three communities in Southeast Alaska.
- Jaden McConnell of Blaine filed to run less than 24 hours before filing week ended and didn’t immediately respond to a Herald inquiry for biographical information.
Commission District 5 includes rural Whatcom County north and west of Bellingham, including Lummi Nation, Ferndale and Blaine. Six people are running in the August primary:
- Jerry Burns of Maple Falls filed for office just before the filing period closed at 5 p.m. Friday. No information about him was immediately available.
- Chris Elder didn’t immediately respond to a Herald request for biographical information.
- Shawn Ensley didn’t immediately respond to a Herald request for biographical information.
- Todd Lagestee, a U.S. Navy veteran and retired Bellingham firefighter, recently served as an interim Whatcom Public Utility District commissioner. He is on the board of directors for North Coast Credit Union and also serves on the Whatcom County Board of Equalization, deciding property assessment appeals.
- Spenser R. New of Deming didn’t immediately respond to a Herald request for biographical information.
- Randall Wood of Everson couldn’t be contacted immediately.
Whatcom County prosecuting attorney
Whatcom County Prosecutor Eric Richey is not running for re-election after serving two four-year terms. Unlike other elected offices in Whatcom County government, the prosecuting attorney is a partisan position.
- Dona Bracke is a prosecutor in the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office, having served there for more than 20 years. She is running as a Democrat.
- Jesse Corkern is senior deputy prosecutor in the Civil Division of the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office. Previously, he prosecuted misdemeanors and serious felonies. He is running as a Democrat. He is a 20-year litigator who has also had his own private practice. He graduated from Willamette University College of Law with awards for excellence in trial advocacy.
- Erik Sigmar heads the Felony Division as chief criminal deputy prosecutor. He helped to get the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program started, and was co-counsel in the cold case murder trial in the killing of Mandy Stavik.
- Ryan Swinburnson is a defense lawyer and president of the Blaine School Board. He lists no party preference.
Whatcom County District Court judge position 1
Judge Angela Anderson is running unopposed for re-election.
Whatcom County District Court judge position 2
Judge Jonathan Rands is running unopposed for re-election.
Public Utility District No. 1 commissioner District 1
Public Utility District No. 1 has countywide authority to supply electric and water services. It is governed by an elected board of three nonpartisan commissioners from different districts. Both candidates advanced to the general election:
- Eddy Ury is the incumbent District 1 commissioner, elected in 2024 to serve the rest of a term through Dec. 31.
- Frank Imhof owns IMCO General Construction Inc.
This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 6:18 PM.
