Gluesenkamp Perez, Bigelow claim victory

Election results are in and certified.

Wahkiakum County Prosecutor Dan Bigelow held on to his seat, winning a close race against challenger Holly McKeen by a 75 vote margin, 1,278 to 1,203.

In the Wahkiakum County Commissioner Distict 3 race, incumbent Gene Strong widened the gap with a 1,574 to 708 win over challenger Blair Brady, a former commissioner.

The Wahkiakum Emergency Communications Systems and Facilities Sales and Use Tax was approved by a vote of 1,635 for to 898 against.

Results remained the same in other local races as well. Wahkiakum County had the fourth highest turnout of voters in the state, at 74.5 percent, with 2,600 of 3,488 registered voters casting a ballot.

While Joe Kent won Wahkiakum County in the race for the District 3 U.S, Representative position 1,416 to 1,125, against Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Gluesenkamp Perez would go on to win the district in the close race, with 50.14 percent of the vote, or with 160,277 votes to Kent’s 157,632.

In the past week, the Kent campaign has begun soliciting donations to pay for a recount.

Ross Lofstrom, the outgoing elections officer in the Wahkiakum County Auditor’s Office, said 65 votes were initially challenged. Voters were notified and had until Monday to cure their ballots.

While 45 of the votes were ultimately cured, the other 20 were not because they were unsigned or because signatures did not match, a matter that was not decided by one person but agreed upon by multiple people.

Six ballots were not counted because they were postmarked too late.