Candidates draw write-in opponents

Four Wahkiakum County incumbent office holders entered Tuesday's primary election with no apparent opposition and emerged with write-in opponents.

Under Washington election law, a person receiving 1 percent of the vote in a primary election is eligible to appear on the general election ballot as a candidate.

Primary vote tallies were:

County assessor--Bill Coons, incumbent, 757; Sam Valdez 43; Valdez qualified for the general election.

County Commissioner, District 3--Blair Brady, incumbent, 207; Eugene Strong, 8; Strong qualified for the general election. Strong is a retired Wahkiakum County sheriff who has expressed interest in the commissioner's job in the past.

Prosecuting Attorney--Dan Bigelow, incumbent, 769; Heidi Heywood, 16; Heywood qualified for the general election.

Sheriff--Mark Howie, incumbent, 819; Mike Balch 43. Balch qualified to run as a write-in in last year's election, and he decided to be a candidate for the office. Howie defeated him 1,025-813 in the general election.

Vote tallies for other races were:

County Auditor--Diane Tischer, incumbent, 843.

Clerk--Kay Holland, incumbent, 840.

Treasurer--Tammy Peterson, incumbent, 827.

County Emergency Services Levy--783 yes, 239 no; 76.61 percent; measure passed.

US Representative: Bob Dingenthal 399; Jaime Herrera Beutler, incumbent, 495; Michael Delavar 126. Dingenthal and Herrera Beutler face off in the general election. Across the district, Herrera Beutler received 48.37 percent of the vote; Dingenthal had 38.76 percent, and Delavar 12.87 percent.

State Representative, Dist. 19, Position 1--Dean Takko, incumbent, 683; David A. Steenson 292.

State Representative, Dist. 19, Position 2--Brian Blake, incumbent, 597; Hugh Fleet 355; James O'Hagan, 78. Blake and Fleet face off in the general election. Across the district, Blake received 60.37 percent of the vote; Fleet had 30.21 percent, and O'Hagan had 9.42 percent.

In Washington's top-two primary; the two candidates with the highest totals advance to the general election.

Auditor Diane Tischer said 150 ballots arrived too late to be counted on Tuesday; they'll be counted today (Thursday), 1 p.m.