Change was the theme of the election, yet in some areas the political players will stay the same.
As the general election results rolled in Tuesday night, Nov. 2, it became clear there will be some shifts in the political winds locally and nationally.
47th District
The early returns indicated two Republicans will be heading to Olympia from the 47th, replacing Democrats, which follows a national trend that saw Republicans take control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Republican Joe Fain is leading incumbent Sen. Claudia Kauffman, Democrat, who was seeking her second term for the 47th state Senate seat.
The results as of Wednesday had Fain up by 56 percent with 15,276 to Kauffman at 44 percent and 12,156 votes.
The second hot race in the 47th was between Republican Mark Hargrove and 10-year incumbent Rep. Geoff Simpson, D-Covington, for Position No. 1 in the state House. Hargrove was on top with 58 percent and 15,629 to Simpson’s 42 percent and 11,544 votes.
Simpson has been plagued with legal problems since July when he was charged by the Seattle City Attorney with gross misdemeanor assault for an alleged domestic violence incident that occurred at Seattle Children’s Hospital May 22. Charging documents stated Simpson pushed his ex-wife out of the hospital room where his 12-year-old daughter was recovering from surgery.
His trial is scheduled for Nov. 30 at Seattle Municipal Courtroom 1001.
Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, was the lone incumbent from the 47th who held a lead and looked like he would be returning to the Legislature in Position No. 2. Sullivan was up with 56 percent and 14,982 votes over Republican newcomer Rodrigo Yanez with 45 percent and 11,939 votes.
When the results rolled in Tuesday at the Republican gathering in the Truitt Building in Auburn, cheers filled the room for Fain and Hargrove.
“There is a lot of change sweeping across Washington state and the nation tonight,” Fain said. “We need to recognize what the voters are trying to tell us. They are not looking for bickering and partisanship. I want to be part of the solution. They will look for people who will work hard and respect them.”
Hargrove thanked his family, friends and the volunteers who worked on his campaign and stated, “I’m ready to go to work.”
Becky Edwards said she thought Hargrove won because of “his integrity and I think God had a great deal to do with it.”
Fain’s father, Dick Fain Sr., said he knew he was raising “a conservative young man, but I never thought he would go into politics. He’s a lawyer that doesn’t want to practice law; he wants to make the law.”
Joe Duffie, Tukwila City Councilman, was all smiles at the Republican victory party stating, “I’m proud to see the younger generation come alive. It’s about time.”
The next step for Fain before heading to Olympia is exchanging marriage vows Dec. 11 with Steffanie Moxon.
Moxon said she was both excited and glad the election was over.
“I really didn’t have any doubts,” Moxon said. “We worked really hard, every weekend and every night, and there were tons of volunteers who helped.”
While helping Fain on the campaign trail, Moxon managed to pass the bar exam after graduating this year cum laude from Seattle University Law School.
5th District
For state House Position No. 1 in the 5th Legislative District incumbent Rep. Jay Rodne, a Republican, had a solid lead over challenger Democrat Gregory Hoover, tallying 62 percent of the votes with 23,068 ballots cast for the incumbent. Hoover had 38 percent with 14,221 votes.
In the race for Position No. 2 in the 5th, Republican Glenn Anderson was fending off David Spring, who was taking the incumbent on again for the second time. Anderson had picked up about 60 percent of votes cast, or 22,163 ballots to 40 percent for Spring and 14,899 votes.
31st District
A hotly contested race for the state Senate seat in the 31st between two Republicans had incumbent Pam Roach from Auburn with a commanding lead over Matt Richardson. Roach had 67 percent and 18,683 votes to Richardson at 33 percent and 9,082 votes.
The race for state House Position No. 1 also featured two Republican candidates. Cathy Dahlquist, from Enumclaw, was leading with 53 percent and 14,718 votes to Shawn Bunney, Lake Tapps, with 47 percent and 12,969.
For Position No. 2 incumbent Chris Hurst, running as an Independent Democrat, was cruising with 57 percent and 17,008 votes to Patrick Reed, Republican, at 43 percent and 12,787 votes.
U.S. Senate
The race between incumbent Democrat Patty Murray and Republican challenger Dino Rossi for the U.S. Senate continued to be very close following Wednesday’s results.
Murray was leading with about 51 percent and 765, 279 votes and Rossi has 49 percent with 735,694 votes
8th Congressional District
Rep. Dave Reichert will be heading back to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Republican congressman had 54 percent with 100,589 votes to Democrat Suzan DelBene’s 45 percent and 85,458 votes. DelBene conceded to Reichert Tuesday.
District judge
In the Position No. 6 race for district judge Matt Williams held a slim edge with 50 percent and 29,911 votes to David Tracy’s 49 percent and 29,468 votes.
Initiatives and propositions
King County Proposition No. 1, which was asking voters to approve a 0.2 percent increase in the sales tax for criminal justice, fire protection and other government purposes, was failing with 56 percent voting no and 44 percent yes.
The two statewide initiatives concerning liquor sales, 1100 and 1105, were failing although 1100 remains closer.
The state income tax measure, 1098, failed.
Tim Eyman’s latest initiative, 1053, requiring a two-thirds legislative majority to raise taxes was passing and the 1107 measure reversing the sales tax imposed by the legislature on candy and some beverages was passing.
Complete results are posted daily at about 4:30 p.m. Log on to the King County website, your.kingcounty.gov/elections/elections/201011/results.aspx
