Hailey likely to win 9th District primary

OLYMPIA – After a race that at one point Friday was separated by just 22 votes, it appears that Mesa rancher and farmer Steve Hailey has won the Republican primary in the state’s 9th Legislative District.

With the district’s counties reporting new vote tallies Friday evening, Hailey led Colfax farmer and businessman Joe Schmick by 277 votes out of 12,000 Republican ballots cast.

Hailey, 61, ran on a platform of protecting water and property rights, improving the business climate, reducing the cost of health care and promoting local economic development.

“My objectives in Olympia are clear: to address the needs of my neighbors and fellow citizens here in the 9th District,” he said in a press release.

To win the seat, Hailey must still beat Democrat Caitlin Ross in November. But Ross faces very tough odds: The 9th District hasn’t elected a Democrat to the House since 1937. Hailey is fairly well-known, having run unsuccessfully for a House seat two years ago.

The sprawling district – the state’s second-largest – includes all or part of six counties: Adams, Asotin, Franklin, Garfield, Spokane and Whitman.

Hailey ran against three other Republicans in the primary. Here’s how they stacked up after Friday’s tally:

Steve Hailey: 33 percent

Joe Schmick: 31 percent

Tedd Nealey: 24 percent

Glen Stockwell: 13 percent

Whoever wins in November will replace retiring state Rep. Don Cox, R-Colfax. Cox helped recruit Hailey, Schmick and Nealey to run for the open seat.

Schmick’s vending business won him support from the small-business community, Cox said. And being a cattleman and irrigated-crop farmer helped Hailey with those groups.

Both men would be an excellent lawmaker, Cox said. Hailey is widely respected throughout the district; Schmick is thoughtful, soft-spoken and deliberative.

“I’m going to be disappointed for the one who loses,” said Cox. “I know how much goes into it.”

Reached at home Friday night, Schmick said that if he loses the primary, he’s not yet sure whether he’d run again. But he said he’s deeply grateful to the dozens of volunteers who put up signs, knocked on doors and organized events for him.

“I could not have done all the work necessary on a campaign of this magnitude without their help,” he said.