Primary results show tight races for open seats in state Legislature

Voters in central Spokane were closely split Tuesday in their choices to replace retiring Rep. Timm Ormsby in the state Legislature, according to primary election results released Tuesday evening.

The initial tally released by the Spokane County Auditor’s Office shows that Republican Natalie Poulson is leading the pack with 33.7% of the vote.

With fewer than 400 votes separating Luc Jasmin III, who currently serves as Gov. Bob Ferguson’s liaison for Eastern Washington, and Pam Kohlmeier, an adjunct professor and risk manager who previously worked as an emergency room physician, much of the attention in the coming days may be on who finishes in second place in the reliably Democratic district.

If elected, Poulson said she wanted to either repeal or lower the state’s business excise tax and cut other bureaucratic red tape she said was hurting small businesses. Poulson worked as a teacher in Spokane Public Schools before she was fired for refusing to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Poulson said in a brief interview Tuesday evening that she had put “everything on hold” amid the ongoing wildfires in the region, and that the focus should remain on those impacted. While she said she was “realistic” about the number of Democrats in the district, she was optimistic about pulling votes from the two Democrats in the race.

“I think it shows that we definitely want a change in LD-3,” Poulson said.

Kohlmeier, who ran for the state Legislature two years ago, told The Spokesman-Review ahead of the election that she was running for the same reason: to support mental health services throughout the state.

Jasmin, who ran for Spokane School Board in 2019 and Spokane City Council in 2021, has garnered support from the state’s Democratic establishment and cited his experience in state government in helping fill the void left by the departures of Ormsby and former Democratic Majority Leader Sen. Andy Billig.

Jasmin said Tuesday his campaign “ran through the tape, and left everything on the field.”

“There are still a lot of votes out there, and we hope it breaks our way,” Jasmin said. “To all our supporters, keep the faith, and let’s watch the results as they come in.”

The race is one of four open seats in the Washington Legislature on the primary ballot in Spokane County.

The district’s other representative in the state House, Democrat Natasha Hill, is leading with 63.4% of the vote. She’ll face Republican Tony Kiepe, who had 31% of the vote.

Here’s a look at how other candidates in Spokane County fared in their bids on Tuesday night to serve in the state Legislature:

District 4

Just 156 votes, separate the top two candidates running to replace outgoing Rep. Suzanne Schmidt, who is running unopposed to serve on the Spokane County Board of Commissioners.

However, it’s guaranteed that the seat will be filled by another Republican.

First-time candidate and Air Force veteran Hillary Pham is leading the pack with 30.2% of the vote. She’ll face cidery operator Trent Maier, also a first-time candidate, who was in second place at 29.3% of the vote.

Debra Long, an accounting manager who previously served for two decades as school board member in the Central Valley School District, is in third place at 20.5%. And George Wagner, who spent 21 years as a Navy recruiter, is in fourth place at 16.2%.

Incumbent Republican Rob Chase is narrowly leading challenger, Rob Tupper with 42.4% of the vote. Tupper, a Democrat, is in second place with 41.2% of the vote against the two-term Representative and former Spokane County Treasurer. Bob Curtis, a fellow Republican who is challenging Chase, is in third place with 15.8% of the vote.

District 6

After both incumbent members of the House of Representatives declined to seek re-election – with Rep. Jenny Graham retiring from office and Mike Volz running to retain his seat as Spokane County Treasurer – the district will see two new representatives come the new year.

Former Spokane City Council Member Jonathan Bingle is comfortably ahead in his bid to replace Graham in the state House with 51.2% of the vote. Bingle, who lost his re-election bid for the council in November, will advance to the general election.

The intrigue comes in seeing who his opponent in the general election will be.

Democrat Julia Payne, a first-time candidate, is in second place with 25.6% of the vote. Independent Aaron Croft, another first-time candidate who initially launched a bit for Congress, is in third place at 22.9%. Just 537 votes separate Payne and Croft for second place.

Democrat Michaela Kelso will move to the November election, winning 29.7% of the vote. She likely will face Republican Alan Nolan, who was in second place with 26%. Isaiah Paine, a Republican, is in third place at 19.1%, while Nicolette Ocheltree, a Democrat, finished well behind with 12.1%.

District 7

Republican state Sen. Shelly Short, who has served in the state Legislature since 2009 and the state Senate since 2017, has earned 57.9% of the vote in her bid for another term. Independent Ronald McCoy, the former mayor of Chewelah, will advance to the general election with 27.7% of the vote.

Neither of the district’s two representatives – Reps. Andrew Engell and Hunter Abell – faced challengers in the election.

District 9

Incumbent state Rep. Joe Schmick, a Republican, earned 61.6% of the vote, while his Democratic challenger Karina Wallace earned 38.1% of the vote.

Schmick’s seatmate, Rep. Mary Dye, ran unopposed and earned 94.6% of the vote.