Snoqualmie Mayor’s bid for State Legislature ends, Tight Primary for Magendanz, Mullet

With a good chunk of the August 2nd Primary Election Ballots counted, it appears Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson’s bid for the Washington State Legislature has ended.

Larson received roughly 17% of votes for 5th District State Representative Position 2, finishing third in the primary. Fall City resident Paul Graves (R) pulled in the most votes so far, with nearly 47% and Carnation resident Darcy Burner (D) received 36.5%.

Mayor Larson commented:

“While I am very disappointed with the results, I do relish the idea of refocusing my energies back on my family and on serving the citizens and City of Snoqualmie, which I love. I knew this would be a very challenging race. It is hard to win a primary when running from the center during a very polarizing election year. I am deeply grateful to all who supported my efforts. Thank you!”

Graves and Burner will move on to the November General Election. They are vying for the  seat vacated by Chad Magendanz (R), who chose to challenge fellow Issaquah resident and incumbent, Mark Mullet (D), for his 5th District State Senate seat. Mullet currently leads Magendanz by a slim 200 votes – or by 1%.

5th District State Representative Position 1 incumbent and Snoqualmie resident Ray Rodne (R) is leading challenger Jason Ritchie (D) 55% to 44%.

The top two finishers in each race move on to the November General Election. King County Elections will continue counting ballots until the election is certified on August 16th. According to Secretary of State website, voter turnout for the August Primary should be around 30%.