Dent early leader for 13th District House seat

MOSES LAKE - While Tom Dent and Dani Bolyard will advance to the Nov. 4 general election for the Position 1 state House seat in the 13th District, the primary election offered insight on where they stand with voters' support.

Dent, a Moses Lake business owner in his first campaign for an elective office, received 11,030 votes as of Tuesday night, nearly two-thirds of the votes across the district.

Bolyard, currently a freelance journalist and library volunteer, received 6,091 votes, or about 36 percent, according to the Secretary of State's Office. Bolyard, of Coulee City, said she was not surprised by the early results.

"It's about where I expected to be in this race," she said Wednesday. "We still have three months to go. Running a doorbell campaign is very different than running a money campaign."

Her campaign so far includes knocking on every single door in 18 towns across the district, and still counting.

"It's energizing," she said. "You get to hear people's opinions and thoughts on different issues and talk about the things that matter to the voters. That's a far different way of running a campaign than simply going out and asking for donations."

Dent, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, did issue a statement on his campaign website saying he was humbled by the voters' support.

"You know my heart and my passion," he stated. "The Columbia Basin, our lives, our families, the water, the land. I grew up here. It is part of who I am. I will speak for you. I will be your voice."

Dent's list of endorsements continues to grow, with both the Association of Washington Business and the Gun Owners Action League of Washington, which contributes to causes, issues and individual candidates supporting the right to bear arms, recently endorsed Dent.

Dent and Bolyard are running to fill the vacated House seat currently held by Rep. Judy Warnick, who is on November's ballot running for the 13th District state Senate seat. Warnick, R-Moses Lake, received overwhelming support in Tuesday's election against her opponent Democrat Mohammad Said, an Ephrata physician. Warnick received 16,953 votes, or nearly 87 percent, compared to 2,636 votes for Said, or about 13 percent.