7th Dist Primary: Smith leads Dansel, Brunson
Early returns put State Sen. John Smith of Colville firmly in first place in the primary for the 7th District Senate seat.
Smith has 51 percent of the vote and Ferry County Commissioner Brian Dansel is second with about 28 percent of the vote. Mike Brunson of Springdale is third, with about 20 percent of the vote.
The top two finishers will go on to the November general election to fill out the term of Bob Morton, who retired at the beginning of this year.
Four of the district's five counties have reported results. Stevens County is still out as of 8:30 p.m.