Government

No positions change after Wednesday vote count

No position changes occurred in local races as the result of ballots counted Wednesday, Aug. 7, and none appear likely as tallying continues until certification of the primary election on Aug. 20. The top two finishers in each race advance to the Nov. 5 general election.

State reps

Democrat Adison Richards leads Republican Jesse Young in the race for the 26th Legislative District’s Position 1 that’s being vacated by Republican Spencer Hutchins, 49.4% to 34.8%. Third-place Jim Henderson, with 15.6%, trails Young by 5,879 votes.

For Position 2, incumbent Michelle Caldier, R-Gig Harbor, holds a 34.7%-30% margin on Democrat Tiffiny Mitchell. Republican Rachel Harter, with 17.5%, is a distant third, 3,816 votes behind Mitchell.

Superintendent of Public Schools

Peninsula School Board Director David Olson remains second in the contest for state superintendent of public instruction with 31% of the vote. He lags incumbent Chris Reykdal at 40%. Olson is being chased by Reid Saaris with 25.6%, 76,119 off the pace to move on.

Congress District 6

Democrat Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, continues to lead Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, in the race to replace Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, representing the 6th District in Congress, 33.8% to 30.6%. Both are state senators, Randall in the 26th District and MacEwen in the 35th. Kilmer announced in November he would not seek reelection. Democrat Hilary Franz, the state Lands Commissioner, is third at 25.3%, 6,897 votes off MacEwen’s pace.

Gig Harbor sales tax

The city of Gig Harbor’s safety sales tax proposal, passing with 69.6% “yes” votes on election night, dipped slightly to 68.7%. It needs a simple majority to pass.