Whatcom County voters delivered a strong showing for Democrats in Tuesday night’s early election returns, with Democratic candidates leading every partisan race on the ballot, including a decisive advantage in the closely watched 42nd Legislative District.
Democrat Michael Alvarez Shepard led Republican Erika Creydt in the race for the 42nd District Senate seat, 56% to 44%. Democratic Reps. Alicia Rule and Joe Timmons also held commanding leads, with 59% and 56% of the vote, respectively.
In the 40th Legislative District, Democratic incumbents Debra Lekanoff and Alex Ramel were cruising toward re-election, each capturing more than 80% of the Whatcom County vote. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, led Republican Edwin Feller with 66%.
The Democratic advantage extended to the county courthouse, where Jesse Corkern led Ryan Swinburnson in the race for prosecuting attorney, 58% to 42%.
But as in neighboring Skagit County, voters sent a more complicated message on statewide initiatives. Whatcom voters overwhelmingly rejected repealing Washington’s income tax on millionaires, with 63% voting no, and opposed rolling back changes to the state’s parental rights law, with 57% voting no.
An initiative restricting transgender girls’ participation in school sports was virtually tied, with 51% voting yes and 49% opposed — a margin of just 1,002 votes.
Local ballot measures revealed another divide. Bellingham voters overwhelmingly supported prohibiting algorithmic price-fixing in the rental market, with 87% voting yes. Meanwhile, Lynden voters rejected a property tax increase for public safety and essential services, with 64% opposed. A property tax levy increase for Fire District 1 was also trailing.
In races for the Port of Bellingham Commission, Tor Benson and Chris Elder held substantial leads, while Eddy Ury led the Public Utility District commissioner race with 71% of the vote.
Turnout stood at 53%, with 90,027 ballots cast out of 170,523 registered voters as of 8:12 p.m. Tuesday.
All results are unofficial, with the next count expected at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, after The Northern Light goes to press.
