Two years after ousting an incumbent to claim a seat in the state House of Representatives, Rep. Don Barlow finds himself on the opposite end of the equation. After an expensive, close race, Barlow, D-Spokane, has lost to Republican challenger Kevin Parker.

A second race in the same western-Spokane district, meanwhile, remains too close to call.

State Rep. John Ahern, D-Spokane, trails Democratic challenger John Driscoll by 373 votes out of more than 60,000 cast. Driscoll has a 50.3 percent lead to Ahern's 49.7 percent. The tight race could end in an automatic recount.

Thousands of ballots still remain to be counted. But Parker has a 52 percent to 48 percent lead over Barlow. And recent ballot counts have trended more toward Parker.

Reached at home this morning, Barlow conceded that he's likely lost.

“I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I'm not going to be reelected,” he said.

He said he expected the later ballots to trend Republican, but had hoped for a larger cushion of initial Democratic votes.

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