Incumbents trailing in Adams, Grant county commission races

EPHRATA — An incumbent Grant County commissioner and an incumbent Adams County commissioner are running behind challengers in updated vote totals from the primary election Aug. 4.

As of Aug. 10, challenger Dan Blankenship, Ritzville, has a substantial lead over incumbent John Marshall, Ritzville, in the race for Adams County Commissioner. Blankenship, a retired dryland farmer and former business owner, has 1,016 votes to 418 votes for Marshall. Marshall is running for a third term on the commission.

A third candidate in the race, Glen Stockwell, of Ritzville, has 338 votes. The top two candidates will advance to the general election in November.

Incumbent Tom Taylor, Moses Lake, is trailing challenger Rob Jones, Moses Lake, in the race for Grant County Commissioner. Jones has 2,578 votes to 2,429 votes for Taylor.

Two Othello residents are running for an open seat on the Adams County Commission. Incumbent Roger Hartwig did not file for reelection.

Jay Weise, Adams County emergency management director, has 452 votes to 248 votes for Othello business owner Ken Johnson.

Danny Stone, Hartline-area wheat farmer, is leading two other candidates in the race for an open seat on the Grant County Commission. Stone has 2,906 votes to 2,356 votes for Earl Romig, a former Grant County Sheriff’s deputy. Ephrata City Council member Mark Wanke has 1,499 votes.

Incumbent Richard Stevens did not file for reelection.

Incumbent Mark Schoesler, Ritzville, has a comfortable lead over challenger Jenn Goulet, Pasco, in the race for the Ninth District seat in the Washington Senate. In Adams County, Schoesler, a Republican, has 2,532 votes to 635 votes for Goulet, a Democrat.

In updated totals for the Ninth District, Schoesler has 24,709 votes to 11,891 votes for Goulet.

The incumbent also has a substantial lead in the race for Ninth District, Washington House of Representatives, Position No. 1, in Adams County and in the district. Mary Dye, Pomeroy, has 2,636 votes to 406 votes for Brett Borden, Pullman, in Adams County. In the Ninth District, Dye, a Republican, has 26,938 votes to 7,361 votes for Borden, a Libertarian.

Incumbent Tom Dent, Moses Lake, has a substantial lead over two challengers in the race for the 13th District, House of Representatives, Position No. 1. In Grant County, Dent has 12,374 votes to 2,921 votes for Eduardo Castaneda-Diaz, Quincy, and 497 votes for John “the man” Malan, also of Quincy.

District-wide, Dent has 27,608 votes to 8,585 for Castaneda-Diaz and 1,029 for Malan.

The incumbent also has a substantial lead in the race for the 12th District, House of Representatives, Position No. 1. In Grant County, incumbent Keith Goehner, Republican from Dryden, has 1,429 votes to 521 votes for challenger Adrianne Moore, Democrat from Twisp. In the 12th District as a whole, Goehner has 27,361 votes to 14,759 votes for Moore.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.