Smith on Politics: it's Dem vs. Dem in Both 46th District Legislative Races

Two Democrats to meet for Kenney’s seat

Both House seats in the 46th Legislative District will match democrat against democrat.

One is the contest between appointed democratic incumbent Gerry Pollet and his only primary challenger, fellow democrat Sylvester Cann.

The other is the race to replace retiring democratic State Rep. Phyllis Kenney. Democrats Jessyn Farrell and Sarajane Siegfriedt lead two other democrats, a republican and an independent for the two positions on the November ballot.

The Monday vote count showed votes scattered among the candidates, with 30 percent for Farrell, 22 percent for Siegfriedt, 18 for republican Scott Hodges, 16 percent for Democrat Shelly Crocker, 12 percent for Democrat Dusty Hoerler and 2 percent for independent Stan Lippmann.

The 46th District also has a State senate seat, with democratic incumbent David Frockt unopposed. The district includes Lake Forest Park, Kenmore and northeast Seattle.

Democrats hold big lead over Republicans in 32nd

Both 32nd Legislative District House seats will match incumbent democrats against Republican challengers in November, but both incumbent democrats start the campaign with big advantages.

Both State Rep. Ruth Kagi and Rep. Cindy Ryu hold more than 70 percent of the primary votes, Ryu against her November republican opponent, Randy Hayden, and Kagi against her November republican opponent, Robert Reedy, and republican Eric Alvey, who apparently has been eliminated in the primary.

The District includes Shoreline, part of northwest Seattle, Woodway, south Edmonds, unincorporated areas of southwest Snohomish County, Lynnwood and part of Edmonds.  

Republican Bemis wins right to face McDermott

Incumbent Democratic 7th District Congressman Jim McDermott will face republican Ron Bemis in the November general election.

That’s a surprise because democrat Andrew Hughes had expected to be McDermott’s November challenger after the top-two primary, but the results through Monday show Bemis with more than 15 percent of the primary vote to less than 6 percent for Hughes, with both running far behind McDermott’s 71 percent.

Bemis notes that he qualified for the general election despite Hughes’s having outspent him 15-1 and having started running more than a year before he did.

He said Monday that the 29 percent of the primary voters who voted for someone other than McDermott was the highest in many years and that he can appeal to the many people who didn’t vote in the primary.

He said that he would appeal to voters who want an independent congressman who would work with across party lines to fix financial problems.

Both Bemis and McDermott said Monday that they would continue to introduce themselves to voters in the new parts of the district – Shoreline, the part of Lake Forest Park that wasn’t already in the district, Edmonds, Woodway and nearby unincorporated areas of Snohomish County.

The District also includes most of Seattle and some southwest suburbs,

Bemis has challenged McDermott to a series of televised debates.

A spokesman for Hughes said that Hughes was surprised by the results and still trying to decide on their meaning.

Why no PCO elections on most ballots

Most ballots in Shoreline, Lake Forest Park and around the State had no election for precinct committee officer.

That’s because of a new State law that requires PCO elections only in precincts that have at least two candidates running in one of the major parties. In King County, only about 10 percent of precincts had contested PCO elections.

Not having to design ballots for the other 90 percent of the precincts saves a lot of money. Previously, every precinct in Shoreline had a separate ballot design. Now, all but the few with contested PCO elections have the same ballot.   

About this column: Journalist and Shoreline resident Evan Smith has covered local issues for nearly two decades. His politics column appears on Patch every other week.