Des Moines Democrat Dave Upthegrove has moved into second place for state Commissioner of Public Lands in a tight, three-way race for the top two spots against two Republican candidates.
The two candidates with the most votes in the Aug. 6 primary move on to the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
After trailing in third place on primary night and the following couple of days, Upthegrove moved into second on Friday, Aug. 9, according to the Secretary of State results. Upthegrove is a King County Council member whose District 5 includes part of Kent.
Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler leads with 21.93% (361,877 votes) followed by Upthegrove at 21.09% (347,968 votes) and Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson at 20.54% (338,962 votes).
Upthegrove trailed Kuehl Pederson by about 10,000 votes in the earlier counts and now leads her by about 9,000 votes.
Upthegrove, who has represented District 5 on the King County Council since 2014, was one of seven candidates on the ballot.
Herrera Beutler, a former U.S. representative, lost her 3rd District Congressional seat in 2022. Kuehl Pederson lost to current lands commissioner Hillary Franz in 2020.
Ballots will continue to be counted over the next couple of weeks until the Secretary of State certifies the results Aug. 23.
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 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.
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