Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Sprague race decided by one vote
From left to right, commissioner Scott Hutsell, auditor Chandra Schumacher, prosecuting attorney Adam Walser and elections deputy Norm Caley work to certify the 2023 Primary Election.
DAVENPORT - The 2023 Lincoln County primary election was officially certified during a canvassing board meeting including elections deputy Norm Caley, prosecuting attorney Adam Walser, auditor Chandra Schumacher and commissioner Scott Hutsell Tuesday, Aug. 15.
And barring a petition for a recount, the certification confirmed that the race for Jeffrey Smith's opponent for Sprague city councilmember No. 5 during the November general election was decided by a single vote.
RonDel Krauter received 27 votes, and incumbent Trace De Garmo received 26 votes. Smith had a race-leading 46 votes to comfortably advance to the general election, where the top two vote-getters in the primary land.
Caley said an automatic recount is only triggered when candidates are separated by half a percentage point or less. Krauter received 26.47% of the vote, while De Garmo received 25.49%. Any request for a recount would cost the petitioner a fee, and even then, the elections department agreeing to a recount isn't guaranteed, Caley said.
In other primary election races confirmed Tuesday, incumbent Bill Crossley received 216 votes in the race for Odessa mayor. He'll be challenged by Jeremy Smith, who received 54 votes, while Ed Hayden was eliminated with 32 votes.
Another Odessa incumbent, Marlene Kramer, advanced to the general with 153 votes in the race for councilmember No. 5. Her challenger will be Laura Caler, who received 105 votes, while Michael Igo was eliminated with 42 votes.
In Harrington, Gavin Wagner (58 votes) and Kelly Foreman (31 votes) advanced to the general election in a race for councilmember No. 5. Steven Wright was eliminated with 21 votes.
Incumbent, unchallenged commissioner Jo Gilchrist received 730 votes, while 31 voters preferred a write-in candidate.
850 ballots were counted amongst 2,523 registered voters in the primary election, good for a 33.69% voter turnout.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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