Primary election results: Reichert moves on to showdown with Ferguson | Even as this article is being written, there are still a few more ballots to count, but there are enough in to allow some comments. To start out, 62 of 67 candidates endorsed by AGC’s BUILD PAC will move on to the general election, a 92.5% success rate!
At the top of the statewide ticket, there will be what is sure to be an epic battle between BUILD PAC-endorsed candidate, former King County Sherriff and Congressman Dave Reichert (R), and Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D). The primary vote totals suggest an advantage for Ferguson (45%-28%), but that is misleading – it was a multiple candidate field and the two candidates — but particularly Reichert — can be expected to pick up votes in the general election from the unsuccessful primary candidates, such as Semi Bird (R) and his 11% tally. Bottom line is that no candidate reached the 50% threshold in the primary.
On the legislative front, there are many key races, but the most key races involve four Senate races that figure to decide whether or not Democrats will have a “super majority.” If seats held by Republicans in the 10th, 14th, 17th and 18th Districts are flipped by Democrats, that super majority may be at hand. The good news is that the top vote-getter in three of these races (Ron Muzzall in the 10th, former AGC member Curtis King in the 14th and Paul Harris in the 17th) were the BUILD PAC-endorsed candidates…but all are expected to be very close in the general election. In the 18th, the top vote-getter was Democrat Adrian Cortes, but the combined totals of the two Republicans (Greg Cheney and Brad Benton, who will move on to the general) comes to about 54%. Again, it’ll be a close general election.
Among the unfortunate outcomes is the fact that two moderate Democrats endorsed by AGC’s BUILD PAC (Jason Ritche in the 5th and John Gibbons in the 23rd) will not move on to the general election, as they were beaten by more progressive Democrats.
AGC’s BUILD PAC will likely be making new endorsements in the near future. We will keep members apprised and will update our Endorsements page as things develop (and once all the primary votes are in, we’ll take down the unsuccessful candidates). AGC members are invited to click the links to candidates and consider making additional contributions.
