Controversial County Councilor David Madore is in danger of losing his seat, finishing third in the first release of primary election results.
Tuesday night results show Republican Madore trailing with 22.55 percent of the votes, compared with Democrat Tanisha Harris with 46.06 percent and Republican John Blom with 31.24 percent. Only the top two finishers will advance to the November general election.
In the race to succeed Republican County Councilor Tom Mielke, Democrat Roman Battan was leading conservative Republican Eileen Quiring. Battan led with 37.35 percent of the first votes and Quiring, who has been backed by Madore and Mielke, had 35.99 percent. Republican Jennifer McDaniel of Washougal was trailing with 26.52 percent.
Under the county charter, councilors are elected by districts. Only residents of District 3, which includes east Vancouver, can vote in Madore’s race. Residents of District 4, which covers north Clark County can vote in the Battan-Quiring race. This is a change from the old county commissioner days, when candidates were elected by district in the primary and countywide in the general election.
In the 17th Legislative District, Democrat Tim Probst was slightly ahead of Republican Lynda Wilson for an open Senate seat. Both will advance to the general. In the House races, it looks like Vicki Kraft and Sam Kim will vie for one seat and Paul Harris and Martin Hash will compete for the other.
In the 18th District, incumbent Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, took a comfortable lead over Eric Holt. In the House, Democrat Justin Oberg bested Independent Democrat Lisa Anderson for a chance to challenge incumbent Rep. Brandon Vick, R-Felida, and Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, led a field of three challengers, with Vancouver school board member Kathy Gillespie in second place.
In the 49th District Senate race, incumbent Annette Cleveland and Lewis Gerhardt will advance to November, and incumbent Rep. Sharon Wylie polled 72 percent against two opponents. For an open 49th District House seat, Democrat Monica Stonier had 37 percent of the vote, followed by Democrat Alishia Topper with 28 percent. Republican Carolyn Crain was third.
Parts of Clark County fall in the 14th or 20th legislative districts, where all candidates on Tuesday’s primary ballot advance to the general election.
In the 3rd Congressional District, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, appears likely to face Democratic state Rep. Jim Moeller of Vancouver in November. Herrera Beutler had about 54 percent of the district-wide vote in early returns; Moeller polled 26 percent. Democrat David McDevitt, a supporter of Bernie Sanders, had slightly less than 9 percent.
Clark Public Utilities Commissioner Nancy Barnes, seeking a fifth term, earned a trip to the general election with 47.56 percent of the vote, as did challenger Mike Lyons, who had 29.91 percent. That race could tighten in November: In 2010, Barnes beat Lyons by less than 1 percentage point in the general election.
Also on the primary ballot were three fire district measures. In Fire District 6, which serves Hazel Dell, Felida and Salmon Creek, voters favored extending an emergency medical services levy for six years. In Fire District 3, which serves Hockinson, Battle Ground and surrounding areas, a levy was trailing. If approved it would go toward hiring two new firefighter/paramedics and offset other costs. In the third measure, voters in Fire District 2 were favoring a merger with Clark County Fire & Rescue, which serves Ridgefield, La Center, Woodland and the surrounding areas. The fire agencies have been operated jointly for several years.
The next ballot count is expected late Wednesday afternoon. On its website, the elections office reported it had 55,751 ballots on hand Tuesday morning, of 260,803 sent to voters, a turnout of 21.4 percent. This total does not include ballots received in Tuesday’s mail or dropped off at ballot boxes. County Auditor Greg Kimsey said Tuesday evening that ballot returns have been strong in the past few days, and he forecasts a total voter turnout of 30 or 31 percent by the time all the ballots are received.
Statewide, returns Tuesday were 23.6 percent, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
This year’s general election is Nov. 8, and ballots are expected to be available to voters on Oct. 21.
For detailed information on all of tonight’s local races, as well as statewide races, check back frequently at www.columbian.com and read Wednesday’s print edition.