Aug. 2 primary results affecting Sammamish; Valderrama loses big to Goodman

Here are the election night returns for the Aug. 2 primary for those legislative races involving Sammamish.

Sammamish is covered by parts of the 5th LD (the Klahanie area); the 41st LD (basically south of SE 8th St.); and the 45th (basically north of SE 8th St.).

Election night returns typically are within a point or two of the final returns, which are reported about three weeks later to allow for absentees and overseas (military) votes to be returned. The primary whittles down those races where more than two candidates appear on the ballot. In state races, even when there are only two candidates on the ballot, the race is run in the primary.

The primary outcome is a good indicator of the November election results.

5th LD

Position 1

Jay Rodne (R, Incumbent (I)): 55.71%

Jason Ritchie (D): 44.15%

This results means that unless Rodne really screws up, he will almost certainly win the November election.

Position 2:

Open Seat

Darcy Burner (D) 36.12%

Paul Graves (R) 47.13%

Matt Larson, 16.68%

Burner and Graves will advance to the November election. In all likelihood, Graves will win in this Republican-leaning district.

State Senate

Mark Mullet (D, I), 50.09%

Chad Magendanz (R) 49.8%

Too close to call in the primary; too close to call in the general. Magendanz gave up his House seat to challenge Mullet. The district leans Republican. This will be a race to watch.

41st LD

Position 1

Tana Senn (D, I) 63.22%

John Pass (R) 36.66%

Senn will be reelected in the fall.

Position 2

45th LD

Position 1

Ramiro Valderrama (R) 37.91%

Roger Goodman (D, I) 61.89%

Valderrama, the Deputy Mayor of Sammamish who won reelection in November with 83% of the vote, got his rear end kicked by the five-term Goodman. Valderrama did far worse than Joel Hussey, who ran against Goodman twice and lost in the general by eight points and 10 points.

Valderrama said he would hold onto his Sammamish city council seat if elected to the House, a dubious pledge. This won’t be an issue. There’s no way Sammamish Comment sees Valderrama overcoming a 24 point deficit, short of Goodman being caught in some destructive scandal.

Position 2

Incumbent Democrat Larry Spring was unopposed.

The Senate seat is not up for election this year.

Governor’s race

In a highly splintered field, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) took 49% of the vote on election night to 37% for Republican Bill Bryant. While 49% is hardly a vote of confidence for the first-term governor, it appears the Boeing labor unions–unhappy with Inslee’s support of Boeing in a highly controversial contract vote for the 777X–haven’t abandoned him after all. Inslee took way more than 60% of the vote in King County.

Bryant has dodged whether he supports GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump (as has Valderrama).

Dave Reichert, the incumbent Republican who was redistricted into a safe GOP seat, is headed back to Washington (DC). Tony Ventrella (D) dropped out of the race and still pulled a distant second. Alida Skold and Santiago Ramos don’t even live in the 8th.