Cowlitz voter turnout surges but changes no major local outcomes
Joe Kent gains ground but still trails in his second attempt to beat Marie Glusenkamp Perez for Southwest Washington congressional seat
Voter turnout statewide and in Cowlitz County surged as election workers tallied a flood of last-day ballots submitted in Tuesday’s primary election.
Further counting Wednesday did not materially alter projected outcomes in marquee Cowlitz County races, although conservative Clark County Republican Joe Kent made some gains in his campaign for Congress.
The Washington Secretary of State’s office is projecting that statewide turnout
will hit about 40%. That’s still seven points lower than the state average for the presidential election year primaries of 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020, said spokesman Derrick Nunnelly.
As of Wednesday evening, Cowlitz election workers had processed 22,999 votes, for a turnout of 30.27%. An estimated 7,000 ballots remain to be counted, which would bring the total turnout to an estimated 40.25%, according to state projections. That’s a good deal weaker than the county’s 55.6% turnout in 2020. But it’s stronger than the countywide turnout in both 2016 (32.36%) and 2012 (34.8%) and nearly on par with the turnout in 2008(42.51% ).
The “top two” primary determines which two candidates in each race move on to the general election.
Wednesday’s count slightly increased the margin of victory for Kalama Republican Steve Rader, who is seeking to replace outgoing county commissioner Arne Mortensen in commissioner District 1.
Rader had 41.42% of the vote Wednesday and appears headed for a November general election showdown with second place finisher Mike Reuter. Reuter, the mayor of Kalama, lost a tad of his earlier lead over Kelso councilman Keenan Harvey but still leads with 30.59% to Harvey’s 25.33%.
In the race for commissioner district 2, Longview Democrat Amy Norquist contines to easily lead a six-candidate field with 42.04% of the vote. That’s down a point and a half over Tuesday but still well ahead of the pack seeking to replace incumbent Commissioner Dennis Weber. Norquist will face Republican Steve Ferrell in the November general election. Ferrell ‘s percentage of the vote — 26.81% — was nearly unchanged from Tuesday’s tally.
In the race for the Southwest Washington congressional seat, Republican Joe Kent pulled ahead of incumbent Democrat Marie Glusenkamp Perez in Wednesday’s count for Cowlitz County. Trailing narrowly here on Tuesday, Kent had 44.56% of the Cowlitz vote after Wednesday’s count and pulled ahead of MGP, who had 41.58%. However, the Skamania County Democrat still leads across the district, with a 46.01% share of the vote to Kent’s 39.23%.
Glusenkamp Perez still held a majority (51%) of the vote in Clark County, which by far has the largest share of the 3rd District electorate. MGP and Kent are headed for a general election rematch of their closely contested 2022 race.
Camas City Councilwoman Leslie Lewallen was eliminated from the congressional race, capturing only 12.36% of the districtwide vote.
A MGP/Kent II rematch has long been anticipated, and the primary is a measure of their support headed into the general election.
I appreciate the update on the primary results. It is hopeful that the number of voters submitting ballots surged late.
On Monday, I took a tour of the Cowlitz County election process and was very impressed by the careful way the ballots are processed and tabulated. Every step is documented and monitored via security cameras. The computers that help tally the final results are isolated from the internet and each step is double checked and logged. Carolyn Fundingsland has established a highly secure and reliable process for determining election results! Brava!!