With only a 51-vote lead for second place in the state lands commissioner race, Des Moines Democrat Dave Upthegrove is headed for a recount against Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson.
Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler won the Aug. 6 primary for Commissioner of Public Lands and will advance to the Nov. 5 general election. Either Upthegrove or Kuehl Pederson also will advance as only the two candidates with the most votes move on.
Upthegrove is a King County Council member whose District 5 includes part of Kent. He has been on the council since 2014.
Despite the recount, Upthegrove remains confident his lead will hold.
“Now that every county has certified the election results, I am excited to finish in second place and begin my general election campaign,” Upthegrove said in a statement. “The 51-vote margin of victory will trigger an automatic statewide hand recount, but our campaign is moving full speed ahead toward November.”
Herrera Beuthler received 22.03% of the vote (419,297 votes); Upthegrove 20.82% (396,300 votes) and Kuehl Pederson 20.82% (396,249 votes), according to results released Tuesday, Aug. 20 by the Office of the Secretary of State.
Four other Democratic candidates also were in the race and received 37% of the vote. Upthegrove’s votes upped that number to 57% Just two Republicans ran for the position and received 43% of the vote.
“County canvassing boards are certifying elections today (Tuesday, Aug. 20),” according to an email from a spokesperson with the Office of the Secretary of State. “They will send their results to the Office of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State will certify the primary election on the morning of Friday, Aug. 23, after which counties will begin their recount process.”
Upthegrove moved into second place from third place a few days after the Aug. 6 primary initial count and stayed in that spot before falling into third briefly on Tuesday, Aug. 20. Upthegrove trailed Kuehl Pederson by about 10,000 votes in the earlier counts and later led by more than 5,000 votes before that lead disappeared.
“I am incredibly thankful for the hundreds of volunteers who worked with our campaign this past week to help voters fix issues with their ballots so that their votes would count,” Upthegrove said. “This heroic “ballot curing” effort made the difference.”
Herrera Beutler, of Camas, a former U.S. representative, lost her 3rd District (Southwest Washington) Congressional seat in 2022. Kuehl Pederson, of Lakewood, lost to current lands commissioner Hillary Franz, a Democrat, in 2020.
The lands commissioner leads the state’s wildfire fighting force and manages nearly 6 million acres of public lands – from coastal waters and aquatic reserves, to working forests and farms, commercial developments and recreation areas.
Upthegrove looks forward to the November race.
“I’ve spent more than 20 years getting big things done for our environment and am ready to use my experience to advance a common sense agenda for our public lands,” Upthegrove said. “My experience as a suburban legislator working across the aisle to balance interests and find solutions should serve me well in this complex role as I address the needs of people in every part of our state.
“Democrats are energized up and down the ticket and I’m full of joy and gratitude as we move on to the general election.”
Upthegrove ran unsuccessfully for lands commissioner in 2016. He placed third in the primary election behind Republican Steve McLaughlin and Franz. Franz won the general election.
Upthegrove was a state representative in the 33rd District, which includes part of Kent, from 2001 to 2013 before voters elected him to the King County Council.
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