It’s official, Kent Democrat Claudia Kauffman will clash with Kent Republican Bill Boyce in the Legislative 47th District Senate race on the Nov. 8 ballot.
A recount by King County Elections, certified on Aug. 31, showed no changes in the Aug. 2 primary results. Boyce won with 45.54% (13,734 votes). Kauffman earned the other spot in the general election with 27.26% (8,222 votes) as she defeated Kent Democrat Satwinder Kaur by 65 votes. Kaur had 27.05% (8,157 votes). There were 46 write-in votes for others beside Boyce, Kauffman or Kaur.
“Thank you to everyone for helping my campaign advance to the general election,” Kauffman posted on Facebook Aug. 19 after results of the recount were released. “The results in the 47th Legislative District have been the closest in the state. The recount is finished and we have made it to the general election. I’m looking forward to proving to the voters of the 47th District that I am the best choice to represent them and their values as their senator in Olympia.”
Washington state law requires a machine recount when there is a difference of less than 2,000 votes and also less than 0.50% of the total number of votes for both candidates, according to King County Elections. The King County Canvassing Board certified the results.
Boyce is president of the Kent City Council. Kauffman held the 47th District Senate seat from 2007 to 2010 before losing to Joe Fain, R-Auburn. Sen. Mona Das, D-Kent, currently holds the seat, but decided not to seek a second four-year term. Das narrowly defeated Fain in 2018. Kaur also is a member of the Kent City Council.
Kauffman supports teachers’s strike
Meanwhile, as a Senate candidate, Kauffman commented on Facebook Aug. 25 when Kent School District teachers began their strike for a better contract.
“I stand in solidarity with the Kent Education Association,” she said. “Support our teachers.”
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