Grant County certified election results

MOSES LAKE – According to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, nearly three-quarters of registered voters in Grant County participated in the Nov. 5 General Election with 36,600 of the county’s 50,488 casting ballots – or 72.55%.  

Several races between those seeking to retain or gain an elected position were on the ballot, as well as levy measures and state and federal offices. The election results were certified locally Nov. 25 and were certified by the Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday.

Local officials 

Grant County will see one new face on its board of commissioners starting in the spring. Republican candidate Kevin Burgess defeated fellow Republican Amador Castro in the seat which will be vacated by Commissioner Danny Stone after Stone opted not to run for another four-year term. Burgess received 60.75% of the vote to Castro’s 38.43%. Burgess will be sworn in at the beginning of the year.  

Commissioner Rob Jones, also a Republican, was reelected in the race against Republican candidate David Henderson. Jones received 59.16% of the vote to Henderson's 39.92%.  

Grant County Public Utility District Commissioner Judy Wilson ran unopposed to retain her seat on the commission. She obtained 98.5% of the vote with 1.42% voting for write-in candidates and some not voting in the race. Wilson will serve a second six-year term after that, which starts in January and will end in December 2031. She serves the PUD’s first district which includes the Eastern and Northern portions of the county. 

Joining Wilson on the PUD board will be Board President Tom Flint who beat Robert Allen in the race for the at-large board position. Flint earned 63.3% of the votes in the race to Allen’s 36.32%.  

State Legislature 

State Reps. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, and Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, both ran unopposed for reelection and took in more than 98% of the vote in their respective races. They will each serve another two years in the Washington House of Representatives. Both serve Washington’s 13th Legislative District. The next Washington Legislative Session begins Jan. 13, 2025.  

In opposed races, state Rep. Mark Klicker, R-Walla Walla, won reelection overall with 64.49% of the districtwide vote against Democrat challenger Linda Gunshefski who pulled in 35.46% of the districtwide vote. In Grant County, Klicker received 79.5% of the vote to Gunshefski’s 20.5%. Only a few hundred voters in Grant County are located in District 16.  

Another seat in the 16th is that of Rep. Skyler Rude, R-Walla Walla, who also earned his bid for reelection with 65.83% of the districtwide vote to Democrat Craig Woodard’s 34.11%. In Grant County, Rude received 78.5% to Woodard’s 21.5% of the local vote.  

Rep. Perry Dozier, R-Walla Walla, earned reelection to the 16th District as well, earning 63.36% of the districtwide vote to Democrat Kari Isaacson’s 36.56%. In Grant County, Dozier took 79.8% of the vote to Isaacson’s 20.2%.  

State execs 

At the state level, voters tended to choose Democrats for office, though the local vote in Grant County leaned generally to the right in favor of Republicans.  

Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, won his bid for the Governor’s Mansion against Republican opponent Dave Reichert. Statewide, Ferguson earned 55.51% of the vote to Reichert’s 44.28%. Locally, Grant County voters favored Reichert with 70.57% to Ferguson’s 29.28% of the vote.  

Lt. Governor Denny Heck, a Democrat, won his bid for reelection with 55.2% of the vote statewide to Republican opponent Dan Matthews 44.16% of the vote. However, locally, Grant County voters favored Matthews by 72.14% to Heck’s 27.79%.  

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, beat Dale Whitaker, a Republican, to retain his seat in Olympia. Statewide, Hobbs held onto 59.2% of the vote to Whitaker’s 40.7%; however, in Grant County, Whitaker received 69.21% of the vote to Hobbs’s 30.73%. 

Democrat Patrice McCarthy held onto the State Auditor’s Office with 57.99% of the statewide vote to Republican opponent Matt Hawkins’ 41.92%. The Grant County results favored Hawkins with 69.74% to McCarthy’s 30.22%.  

With Ferguson running for governor, the state will see a new attorney general with Democrat Nick Brown obtaining the win with 55.58% of the vote to Republican Pete Serrano’s 44.33%. Locally, Brown trailed his opponent with 27.96% of the vote to Serrano’s 71.97% in Grant County.  

Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Hillary Franz, a Democrat, opted to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Franz lost in that race, but supported Emily Randall to represent Washington’s sixth district. Randall won that election to represent the West side of the state. Taking over at DNR will be Democrat Dave UptheGrove with 52.62% of the vote to Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler’s 47.15%. In Grant County, Herrera Beutler had the most support with 73.23% of the vote to Upthegrove’s 26.56%.  

Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal won his bid for reelection against challenger David Olson. Reykdal took home 52.77% of the statewide vote to Olson’s 46.63%. Grant County voters would have preferred Olson, with 67.12% of the vote to Reykdal’s 32.43% of the local vote.  

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler did not run for reelection and Patty Kuderer, a Democrat, will take over the office in 2025. Kuderer defeated Republican Phil Fortunato 46.62% to 43.26%, respectively. In Grant County, Fortunato took 70.12% of the vote to Kuderer’s 29.82%.