It’s a tight race for first or second for Dave Upthegrove, a King County Council member whose District 5 includes part of Kent, for state Commissioner of Public Lands
Upthegrove, a Des Moines Democrat, sits in third place with 19.85% of the vote, according to results released Tuesday, Aug. 6 by the state Secretary of State. Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler leads with 22.64% followed by Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson with 20.26%. Democrat Patrick DePoe is in fourth place with 13.22% of the vote.
The two candidates with the most votes on the Aug. 6 ballot will move on to the Nov. 5 general election. Ballots will continue to be counted over the next couple of weeks until the Secretary of State certifies the results Aug. 23.
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.
The winner in November will replace Franz, a Democrat, who is running for Congress.
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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