OLYMPIA—After a mandatory manual recount of all votes statewide in the Commissioner of Public Lands race, King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove (D) is confirmed to have secured the second slot by the Office of the Secretary of State to advance to the November 5 General Election.
With only a 53-vote margin, Upthegrove (D), narrowly edged out Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson with the second-most votes in the closest statewide race in the history of Washington’s primary, exceeding the 1960 superintendent of public instruction primary where A. T. Van Devanter and Harold L. Anderson were separated by 252 votes.
Upthegrove will face former Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican and the race’s top vote-getter. Democrats are confident that Upthegrove will win the seat in November.
“Despite a close open primary, five Democratic candidates captured approximately 57% of the vote, while the two Republican candidates combined for approximately 43%, a promising indicator that Upthegrove will win in November,” WA State Democrats released in a statement.
Each of Washington’s 39 county canvassing boards were directed by the Secretary of State’s Office on August 22 to conduct a mandatory recount for the Public Lands race. Counties reviewed all ballots for the race, including overvotes, undervotes, and write-ins.
After counties completed their recounts, the Secretary of State’s Office certified the official results on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. The state will reimburse each county for all costs associated with this mandatory recount under RCW 29A.64.081.
Manual recounts, otherwise known as hand recounts, of statewide races are required when the difference between the candidates is less than one-quarter of 1% of the total votes cast for both candidates and also less than 1,000 votes.
In the 2024 Commissioner of Public Lands primary race, Upthegrove was originally 51 votes (or 0.0064%) ahead of Pederson for second place—396,300 votes to 396,249.
Upthegrove, a self-proclaimed environmental and social justice leader, is running to preserve “our quality of life, combating climate change, and protecting our natural environment,” according to his website.
Herrera Beutler told the Lynnwood Times in an interview earlier this year that she is running to ensure that the state’s forests are well managed by removing dead and diseased trees, to prevent uncontrolled wildfires. According to her website, she has advanced legislation “to curb the threat of wildfires” and “protect endangered salmon runs.”
Ballots for the November 5 General Election will be mailed to eligible voters by October 18. The deadline for online and mail registrations to be received is October 28. You can register to vote or update your registration in person any time before 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 5.
