Aug 21, 2024 - Politics

Public lands race in Washington state goes to a hand recount

Melissa Santos

Side-by-side of Sue Kuehl Pederson (R), Dave Upthegrove (D) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R). — Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson (left), Democrat Dave Upthegrove and Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler got the most votes in the primary. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photos: Courtesy of campaigns

The race for Washington's commissioner of public lands is headed to a recount, with only 51 votes separating the second- and third-place finishers in results from the Aug. 6 primary.

Why it matters: The recount will decide whether a Democrat will squeak through to the general election or two Republicans will face off in November.

Under Washington's top-two primary system, the two candidates who win the most votes advance, regardless of their party, making a Republican vs. Republican matchup possible.

By the numbers: Democrat Dave Upthegrove and Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson are now battling for second place. Upthegrove was ahead by 51 votes as of Tuesday, the day county election offices certified their results.

Upthegrove, a King County Council member, had 396,300 votes in all, while Pederson, a real estate investor and retired utility analyst, had 396,249.

The two candidates are fighting for the chance to compete against former U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican, on the November ballot.

In the seven-candidate race, Herrera Beutler led with just over 22% of the primary vote, while Pederson and Upthegrove each had 20.82%.
The rest of the vote was split among four other Democrats.

Context: The state commissioner of public lands oversees the Department of Natural Resources, which manages state forests and is the state's largest wildland firefighting agency.

The position is open because the current officeholder, Democrat Hilary Franz, unsuccessfully ran for Congress instead of seeking re-election.

What's next: Under state law, a hand recount is mandatory when two statewide candidates are separated by fewer than 1,000 votes and less than 0.25 percentage points.

A recount won't be officially ordered until after the Washington secretary of state's office certifies the counties' results, which must happen no later than Friday under state law.
Stuart Holmes, elections director in the secretary of state's office, hopes the recounting of votes will happen around Sept. 3 and Sept. 4, the Seattle Times reported.

What they're saying: "Sue still feels that she is still right in the pocket of victory to make up the votes in a recount," Pederson's campaign said in a statement Tuesday night.

Upthegrove, meanwhile, posted on X that his campaign is "moving full speed ahead toward November."

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Public lands race in Washington state goes to a hand recount

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