Early Election Results: Local GOP Maintains Power; Some Races Tight

Vancouver, WA — According to early election results, local Republicans will maintain power with wins in many key races, from the 3rd Congressional district to state and local seats. The race for Clark County Council Chair, however, is led by Democrat Eric K. Holt, who currently holds a 1,200 lead over Republican Eileen Quiring.

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, with 52.2 percent, is likely to win her relection bid against Carolyn Long. Herrera Beutler spoke to supporters and volunteers in Vancouver following election returns. Long outspent Herrera Beutler by more than $1 million.

“People know truth when they see it,” said Herrera Beutler. “Just let me say thank you, thank you, we have an awesome team heading to the State Legislature. We have a daunting task ahead but I look forward to this fight and many others alongside you for the people of this region and this country. Thank you so much and God bless.”

Asked what the national results say about the mood of the nation, Herrera Beutler said: “I do feel like folks here in SW Washington want a representative who’s a local representative who focuses on local issues.”

Political newcomer, Larry Hoff, a Republican, is embarking on his second career following 35 years working for credit unions. He will likely serve in the LD 18, Pos. 2 seat which is currently being vacated by Representative Liz Pike.

“I feel great, I’m one-for-one,” said Hoff. “It feels great. It’s a reflection on all the work we did, and all the volunteers. We’re ready to get to work. I’m excited to go to work and be part of solutions, common sense solutions. I learned that you cannot do this alone, and I’m excited about the fact that we had a wonderful team.”

His opponent, Kathy Gillespie, a Democrat, is losing her second bid for this seat. It was a tough night for her.

“I feel grateful to all of our supporters and the people who worked for the campaign these past 15 minutes who demonstrated their support,” said Gillespie. “I think sometimes progress comes slower than we want to see it come. Certainly, I would have preferred to see a different vote total tonight, but we’re proud of the work that we’ve done.”

State Representative Brandon Vick, LD 18, Pos. 1, a Republican, handily won his seat and said he looks forward to working on the next budget.

”We have a lot of work to do on McCleary,” said Vick. “And we promised voters we’d lower their property taxes.”

Eric K. Holt holds a 1,200 point lead, and he was cautiously optimistic at the Democrat event.

”What this is telling me is that we’re still really a divided country and that we need to do a lot of healing,” said Holt. “I will bring us back together as a county, as a country so we can work together as Americans.”

Temple Lentz, a Democrat, is handily winning her race for Clark County Council.

State Rep. Vicki Kraft, 17th LD holds a slight lead over Tanisha Harris. Clark County Assessor, Peter Van Nortwick, handily won his reelection, as did State Rep. Paul Harris, also a Republican.

“I feel grateful we’re in the winning position,” said Kraft. “We are up by 500 votes, which is exactly where we were in 2016, and we just continued to trend up, so I’m really thankful for the support …”

Stay tuned for updates on these close races.