Most Kent-area incumbents easily advance from primary races

Published 10:51 pm Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Most of the Kent-area Aug. 4 primary ballot results show the incumbents pretty easily ahead except for the 47th District state representative race between Kent Democrat Debra Entenman and challenger Auburn Liberterian Cobi Clark.

Entenman has received 38.54% of the vote and Clark 30.12% as each appear to be headed to a Nov. 3 general election showdown for the Legislature’s 47th District Position No. 1 in Olympia, according to results released Tuesday, Aug. 4 by King County Elections.

The two candidates with the most votes in each race advance to the general election. Enteman and Clark were ahead of SeaTac Democrat Jasnoor Kaur Hans at 19.01% and Kent Democrat Logan Evans at 10.80%.

Voters first elected Entenman in 2018 when she defeated incumbent Covington Republican Mark Hargrove. She defeated Republican Kyle Lyebyedyev in 2024 with 56% of the vote. Clark lost a Auburn City Council race to Lisa Sturgus in November 2025, but decided to seek a state office.

Here’s a look at other Kent-area races, as the 47th District includes parts of Kent, Auburn and all of Covington. The 33rd District includes parts of Kent, Renton, Burien and Tukwila and all of Des Moines, SeaTac and Normandy Park. The 8th and 9th District U.S. Representative Congressional races include parts of Kent:

State representatives

• 47th District, Position No. 2

Incumbent Chris Stearns, D-Auburn, has one challenger in Covington Republican Ted Cooke, a rematch of the 2024 election, so each will move on to the Nov. 3 ballot.

Stearns has received 59.61% of the vote compared to Cooke at 40.19%.

Voters first elected Stearns in 2022 over fellow Democrat Shukri Olow. Voters reelected Stearns in 2024 over Cooke with 55% of the vote. Cooke lost to Stearns and Olow in the 2022 primary. Cooke also lost to incumbent Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, in 2020 and 2018 for the same 47th District seat.

• 33rd District, Position No. 1

Incumbent Edwin Obras, D-SeaTac, has received 69.50% of the vote. It’s a close race for who will face Obras in November with Des Moines Republican Chris Martinez at 15.52% and Kent Republican Darryl Jones at 14.69%.

Voters elected Obras over Kevin Schilling, D-Burien, in a special election in November 2025 to finish out the term of Tina Orwall, who moved to state senator from state representative. Jones ran in the August 2025 special primary to replace Orwall but finished third to Obras and Schilling and didn’t advance to the general election. Martinez is a political newcomer.

• 33rd District, Position No. 2

Incumbent Mia Su-Ling Gregerson, D-SeaTac has received 52.17% of the vote. It’s a tight race to see who will challenge her in November with SeaTac Republican Yuri Marinchik at 25.50% and Burien Democrat Alex Andrade at 22.13%.

Gregerson has held the position for 13 years. She defeated Casey Esmond, who had no preferred party, with 71% of the vote in 2024. Marinchik is a political newcomer. Andrade is a Burien City Council member.

State senators

• 33rd District

State Sen. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, is running unopposed.

• 47th District

Kent Democratic incumbent Claudia Kauffman has received received 58.72% of the vote and Covington Republican Kristina Soltys 41.10% in a preview of the November election as they were the only two on the ballot.

Kauffman seeks reelection to a second consecutive four-year term. She defeated Kent Republican Bill Boyce in 2022. Soltys is a member of the Covington City Council.

Congress

• 8th District

Incumbent Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, has received 54% of the vote to secure a spot on the November ballot, according to results released Aug. 4 by the Washington Secretary of State Office. She will face one of three Republicans as Spencer Meline, of Cashmere, received 14.75%; Trinh Ha, of Issaquah, 14.74%; and Bob Hagglund, of Duvall, 11.76%.

Voters first elected Schrier in 2018 and have reelected her three times. Schrier defeated Auburn Republican Carmen Goers in November 2024 with 54% of the vote.

• 9th District

Incumbent Adam Smith, D-Bellevue, will apparently once again go up against Kent Republican Doug Basler. Smith has 50.94% of the vote followed by Basler at 23.79%, Independent Kshama Sawant at 12.56% and Democrat Melissa Chaudhy at 11.42%.

Smith, first elected by voters in 1996, defeated Basler in 2020 and 2022. Smith defeated Chaudhry in November 2024 election with 65.4% of the vote. Sawant was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2023.