Initial returns from the August 17th primary election are in and the results are mixed for education voters. Of the seven supplemental school levies on the ballot, only the Edmonds School District levy is passing with a wide margin. Four other levies are too close to call. We are hopeful that later returns will help these levies stay above the needed 50 percent approval to pass. Below are the initial counts from yesterday.
- Edmonds SD – 54.1%
- Everett SD – 49.5%
- Granite Falls SD – 43.9%
- Marysville SD – 39.9%
- Northshore – 50.9%
- Ocean Beach – 50.1%
- Riverview – 50.1%
Kris Lytton
LEV’s political director, George Scarola, is “very heartened that voters seized on this opportunity to support strong, new candidates who made education a top priority in their campaigns. We are excited about the prospect of working with them in Olympia to improve Washington’s schools.”
For incumbents in swing districts, it was a mixed bag, especially for our education champions in the state senate. Education voters will need to work hard to ensure these state senators are re-elected: Chris Marr (D-Spokane), Randy Gordon (D-Mercer Island), Eric Oemig (D-Kirkland), Steve Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens), Claudia Kauffman (D-Kent) and Rodney Tom (D-Bellevue).
Sen. Claudia Kauffman
In the House, two of our endorsed candidates are trailing their challengers: Kelli Linville (D-Bellingham) and Tim Probst (D-Vancouver). Another strong advocate for early learning, Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) is leading by 120 votes.
With nearly 240,000 estimated ballots yet to be counted, a lot of these close races could change when additional tallies are released this afternoon, and later in the week for rural counties. Regardless, the primary election is only an indication for how candidates will perform in the general election in November. All of these candidates are hard working and strong legislators, we expect to see them back.
