Nine Votes Separate Democrats as Senate Race Nears Recount

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Updated Whatcom County election results narrowed the second-place margin in the 42nd Legislative District state Senate primary to just 9 votes Monday, a gap thin enough to trigger a mandatory hand recount if it holds through certification.

Republican Erika Creydt remained first with 21,986 votes, or 44.60%. Democrat Michael Alvarez Shepard held second with 13,023 votes, or 26.42%, while fellow Democrat Eamonn Collins trailed him by just 9 votes with 13,014, or 26.40%.

Ryan Bowman, who states no party preference, received 1,234 votes, or 2.50%.

All 121 precincts in the district have reported at least some results, though Whatcom County continues processing additional ballots ahead of certification. The margin between Alvarez Shepard and Collins could still shift before the count becomes official.

Senate Race Nears Recount Territory

Washington’s top-two primary system sends the two highest vote-getters to the November general election regardless of party. Creydt has already secured one of those two spots. The contest between Alvarez Shepard and Collins will decide who joins her on the ballot.

State law requires a machine recount when the certified margin between two candidates is fewer than 2,000 votes and less than 0.5% of their combined vote. A mandatory hand recount kicks in for legislative and local races when the margin drops below 150 votes and below 0.25% of the combined vote.

Monday’s 9-vote margin represents roughly 0.03% of the 26,037 combined votes cast for Alvarez Shepard and Collins, well inside both recount thresholds. If the gap holds anywhere near this size through certification, Whatcom County would be required to conduct a hand recount to determine the second general election candidate.

The threshold applies to the certified result, not an in-progress count. Ballots postmarked by Election Day can still arrive, and election workers must resolve any outstanding signature issues before the county finalizes its numbers.

Turnout Climbs to 42%

Whatcom County reported 72,309 ballots cast out of 170,159 registered voters as of Monday, pushing turnout to 42%. The county has accepted 72,454 ballots and received 73,616 total, with the remainder still working through signature verification.

Turnout stood at 34% a week ago, with 58,077 ballots cast. Monday’s update added 14,232 more ballots to the county’s total.

Swinburnson Holds Prosecutor Lead as Corkern-Bracke Race Tightens

Ryan Swinburnson, who states no party preference, continued to lead the four-candidate race for Whatcom County prosecuting attorney with 26,685 votes, or 38.33%.

Democrat Jesse Corkern held second with 15,121 votes, or 21.72%. Dona Bracke narrowed the gap to 523 votes, receiving 14,598, or 20.97%. Erik Sigmar followed with 13,106 votes, or 18.83%.

Corkern’s lead over Bracke has shrunk from 659 votes a week ago to 523 votes Monday. Corkern, Bracke and Sigmar combined for nearly 61.5% of the vote, a reminder that Swinburnson’s individual lead does not guarantee an easy path in November if Democratic-leaning voters consolidate behind whichever candidate advances.

Larsen Widens Districtwide Lead in 2nd Congressional District

Within Whatcom County, Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen’s local lead over Republican Edwin Feller narrowed slightly to 648 votes, with Larsen at 25,832, or 36.08%, and Feller at 25,184, or 35.17%. Larsen led by 1,140 votes locally a week ago.

Democrats Tomas Scheel and Devin Hermanson added 12,638 and 7,894 votes in Whatcom County, respectively.

Districtwide, combining Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan and Snohomish counties, Larsen led with 87,790 votes, or 42.45%. Feller followed with 67,671 votes, or 32.72%, a lead of more than 20,000 votes. Scheel and Hermanson combined for roughly 25% of the districtwide vote, leaving Feller as the only Republican advancing to November.

Rule and Timmons Extend Leads in 42nd District House Races

Democratic state Rep. Alicia Rule extended her lead over Republican Misty Flowers in the 42nd District Position 1 race. Rule received 27,710 votes, or 56.18%, while Flowers received 21,515, or 43.62%. Rule’s margin grew to 6,195 votes, up from 5,046 a week ago.

In the Position 2 race, Democratic state Rep. Joe Timmons received 26,588 votes, or 53.81%, while Republican Justin Pike received 22,761, or 46.07%. Timmons’ lead grew to 3,827 votes, up from 3,268 a week ago.

Both races feature only two candidates, so the primary result offers an early read on each contest’s shape heading into November.

Lekanoff and Ramel Maintain Commanding Leads in 40th District

Democratic incumbents Debra Lekanoff and Alex Ramel remained far ahead in both 40th Legislative District House races, which draw from Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan counties.

Lekanoff led Republican Cindy Carter 72.80% to 27.07% districtwide. Both will advance to November since they were the only two candidates in the race.

Ramel led the four-candidate Position 2 primary with 67.92% districtwide. Joseph Segault, who states no party preference, held second with 12.92%. Independents Salomon Rodrigue Mbouombouo and Monte Jay Mahan divided most of the remaining vote.

Port of Bellingham Races Remain Unsettled

Paul Burrill remained first in the Port of Bellingham Commissioner District 4 primary with 4,059 votes, or 30.23%. Tor Benson held second with 3,244 votes, or 24.16%, leading Samantha Cruz-Mendoza by 585 votes. Cruz-Mendoza received 2,659 votes, or 19.81%.

In District 5, Chris Elder led with 5,414 votes, or 41.39%. Shawn Ensley held second with 2,799 votes, or 21.40%, leading Todd Lagestee by 500 votes. Lagestee received 2,299 votes, or 17.58%.

Both second-place margins widened slightly from a week ago, but thousands of ballots remain to be processed before either race is settled.

Supreme Court Contests Take Shape

Colleen Melody continued to lead the Position 1 Supreme Court race both in Whatcom County, with 55.68%, and statewide, with 53.23% across all 39 counties.

The Position 3 race tightened locally, with David Stevens leading Jaime Michelle Hawk by just 130 votes in Whatcom County, 35.78% to 35.59%. Statewide, Stevens led Hawk by a wider margin, 34.89% to 33.36%, with Mike Diaz close behind at 31.45%.

In Position 5, Theo Angelis led both locally and statewide, followed by Dave Larson in second. Statewide, Angelis held 36.14% to Larson’s 31.90%.

Justice Debra L. Stephens led Position 7 comfortably in both counts, with 54.69% statewide, well ahead of second-place Todd A. Bloom’s 26.87%.

Fire Levy Results

Whatcom County Fire Protection District 1’s property tax levy lid lift remained behind, with 1,738 rejection votes, or 51.85%, compared with 1,614 approval votes, or 48.15%.

Glacier Fire and Rescue’s levy continued to pass comfortably, now at 70.30% yes to 29.70% no.

Fire Protection District 21’s levy also continued to pass, with 6,170 yes votes, or 52.16%, compared with 5,660 no votes, or 47.84%.

What Happens Next

Whatcom County continues to describe the count as unofficial. Washington allows properly postmarked ballots to arrive after Election Day, and election workers must still resolve any signature issues before certification.

The Whatcom County Canvassing Board is scheduled to certify the primary election results Aug. 18. If the Senate race margin remains within recount thresholds at that point, the county would proceed with a hand recount before the race is finalized for November.

Previously: Whatcom County Primary Races Tighten as 11,000 Ballots Remain and Whatcom County Primary Election Results 2026

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