Several strong leads and some very close counts in primary election for Adams County voters

RITZVILLE - The first count of Adams County ballots in the August 4 primary election show several candidates with strong leads in this early stage of the race.

Ballots counted so far include those received in the Auditors office by Friday, July 31, according to Adams County Elections Administrator Jacque Laird. Total Adams County ballots in the 8 p.m. Aug. 4 count were 1520.

Dan Newhouse has a strong lead to keep his seat as U.S. Representative, Congressional District 4, with 991 votes. Douglas McKinley had 229, and Tracy "Justice" Wright pulled slightly ahead of Sarena Sloot with 85 votes to her 80.

Loren Culp has the lead in the governor's race so far, with 470 votes; followed closely by Raul Garcia with 447. Jay Inslee came in third with 261, followed by Tim Eyman with 83.

Marty McClendon has the current lead in the race for Lieutenant Governor at 296 votes, followed by Ann Davison Sattler with 265. Joseph Brumbles is in third place with 207 votes, followed by Richard (Dick) Muri with 167.

Kim Wyman has a solid lead on maintaining her seat as Secretary of State, with 1147 votes. Gael Tarleton came in second with 237, followed by Ed Minger with 53.

Duane Davidson is the favorite so far for State Treasurer, with 1,152 votes. Mike Pellicciotti garnered 291 votes, and there were three write-in votes.

Chris Leyba has the lead for State Auditor at 1108, followed by Pat (Patrice) McCarthy with 246, and Joshua Casey with 81. There were three write-in votes.

A close race for Attorney General sees Brett Rodgers in the lead at 460, trailed closely by Matt Larkin at 458. Incumbent Bob Ferguson pulled 316, and Mike Vaska came in at 176. There was one write-in vote.

Cameron Whitney is in the lead for Commissioner of Public Lands with 357 votes, followed by Sue Kuehl Pederson with 323 votes. Tying for third place with incumbent Hilary Franz is Steve Sharon. Both of them got 272 votes.

Superintendent of Public Instruction sees Maia Espinoza in the lead at 373 votes, followed by Ron Higgins with 326. Incumbent Chris Reykdal got 298 votes, and Dennis Wick came in with 101.

Chirayu Avinash Patel took a strong lead in the race for Insurance Commissioner at 893 votes. Mike Kreidler pulled 351, and Anthony Welti came in with 137.

Mark G. Schoesler maintains his seat so far as State Senator, with 1182 votes compared to Jenn Goulet with 276.

Mary Dye also maintains her seat as State Representative, Position 1, at this count, with 1220 votes over Brett Borden with 172. There were 11 write-in votes.

In the State Representative, Position 2 position, Joe Schmick took 1162 votes, and there were 33 write-in votes.

Dan Blankenship is in the lead for County Commissioner, District 1, with 509 votes. Incumbent John Marshall garnered 204, and Glen R. Stockwell came in with 153. There were eight write-in votes.

For County Commissioner, District 2, John R. Weise has a lead with 200 votes over Ken Johnson with 86. There were seven write-in votes.

The Park and Recreation District No. 3 is at a close call with 84 voters approving it, over 72 rejecting it.

The Park and Recreation District No. 4 saw 250 voters approving it, with 232 rejecting it.

Cemetery District No. 1 saw 35 votes for approval and 24 for rejection.

Phillip Peterson garnered 35 votes for Precinct Committee Officer Partisan Office, Ritzville Rural SE, over John E. Faure with 13 votes.

Laird said she has a lot more ballots to process, and expects to have a second count Friday afternoon, Aug. 7.

Adams County Commissioner Terrance J. Thompson, who serves on the canvassing board with Randy Flyckt, supervised the count.

Assisting Laird at the election center was Julie Templin.