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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Ahern: Race against Snyder not over yet

Former state Rep. John Ahern, who lost his race against incumbent Councilman Jon Snyder by a nearly 2-to-1 margin is questioning how he could have performed so poorly.

Ahern is requesting a partial recount in the race just to "double-check" the accuracy of the ballot counting.

“I doorbelled a little over 10,000 homes,” Ahern said. “I got a very good reception from just about everybody.”

Asked if there could be enough counting errors or fraud found in a recount to make up the deficit, Ahern said: “You never can tell.

“It’s worth at least a try.”

Spokane County Republican Party Chairman Ben Oakley said he was unaware that Ahern would make a recount request until after Ahern submitted it. He said the party is not involved and will not finance the recount. With such a large margin of victory for Snyder, Oakley said it’s highly unlikely that any recount could make a difference in the race.



The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.