Local voters are backing a levy lid lift for Olympic Medical Center and narrowing down key local and regional races in the Aug. 6 Primary Election, with results released Tuesday evening.

The Clallam County Elections office reports 13,483 ballots were tallied — about 23.4% of the 57,614 registered voters — with an estimated 9,000 ballots left to count.

The next update of Primary Election totals will be released at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, officials said.

The election will be certified Aug. 20.

The general election will take place Nov. 5.

See updated Clallam County election results at clallamcountywa.gov/1808/2024-August-Primary.

OMC getting a lift

Voters approved a levy lid lift for Olympic Medical Center health care services, a measure that will allow the hospital district to collect 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

In initial returns Tuesday night, there were 7,141 ballots, or 59.3%, to approve the levy and 4,894, or 40.7%, to reject it.

The levy will generate about $12 million a year, nearly double the amount OMC currently collects. Its current levy rate at 31 cents per $1,000 will increase to the maximum allowed under state law.

OMC has said the increase is necessary to protect 24-7 crucial operations such as labor and delivery, emergency services and trauma care. It also will keep care local and support the local workforce.

OMC is the county’s largest employer, with more than 1,500 employees. Its tax levy rate was last adjusted in 2008.

Bernard, Simpson advance

Challenger Ken Simpson and board appointee Phyllis Bernard will advance to the November general election for a seat on the Clallam County Public Utility District board.

Simpson and Bernard were neck-and-neck when initial returns were released Tuesday night. Simpson garnered 770 votes, or 37.2 percent, and Bernard had 766 votes, or 37 percent.

A third candidate for the District 3 seat was Kenneth Reandeau, who had 521 votes, or 25.2 percent.

Simpson is the son of former Clallam PUD commissioner Ted Simpson.

Bernard was appointed by the PUD board in April after the death of former PUD commissioner Jim Waddell. She also serves as an at-large commissioner for the Olympic Medical Center board.

Both Simpson and Reandeau were candidates for the seat this spring when the two other PUD board members selected Bernard to fill out the remainder of Waddell’s unexpired term.

24th Legislative races

Adam Bernbaum and Matthew Roberson will face off for one of the 24th Legislative District’s state House positions, and incumbent Steve Tharinger will face challenger Terry Roberts for the district’s other seat in Olympia.

Tharinger has a big lead on his way to the General Election in his efforts to retain his Legislative District 24 State Rep. Position 2 seat. The Port Townsend Democrat garnered 15,704 votes, or 60.1%, of the ballots cast district-wide. He’ll face off against Roberts, a Republican who collected 6,695 votes (25.6%) of ballots cast; Hickory Grant, a Republican, placed third with 3,699 votes (14.2%).

Tharinger also collected the lion’s share of votes in Clallam County, with 7,661 votes (58.4%), well ahead of Roberts (3,433 votes, 26.2%) and Grant (2,006 votes, 15.3%).

In the race for State Rep. Pos. 1, Bernbaum, a Democrat, and Roberson, a Republican, appear headed to the General election. Bernbaum received 7,469 votes, good for 28.9% of ballots cast, while Roberson garnered 7,025 votes, or 27.2%. Democrat Eric Pickens, a Port Angeles educator and Sequim School District board president, is third in the race with 4,462 votes (17.3%). Democrat Nate Tyler is fourth (3,554 votes, 13.8%) and Republican JR Streifel was fifth (3,292 votes, 12.8%).

Clallam County voters preferred Roberson with 3,909 votes (30%), followed by Bernbaum (3,203 votes, 24.8%) and Pickens (2,580 votes, 19.9%).

In the race for the district’s State Senator seat left open by Kevin Van De Wege, Democrat Mike Chapman — who ceded his State Rep. Pos. 1 seat to run for the Senate — leads Republican Marcia Kelbon by a sizable margin after Tuesday’s ballot count. Chapman has 14,304 ballots, or 54.6%, to Kelbon’s 10,493 votes (40%) district-wide. James Russell, a Democrat, was third with 1,394 votes, or 5.3%.

In Clallam County, Chapman had 7,157 votes, or 54.4%, and Kelbon had 5,422 votes, or 41.2%.

Johnson, Decker headed to General

Incumbent Randy Johnson and challenger Kate Dexter will face off in November for a Clallam County commissioner seat.

Johnson, an Independent, was the top vote-getter when initial returns were released Tuesday night, earning 2,271 votes, or 54.9%.

Dexter, a Democrat, was in the second place with 1,711 votes, or 41.3%.

Anders Tron-Haukebo, a third candidate in the race, received 139 votes, or 3.4%.

The race is for the District 2 position, one of three Clallam County commissioners. It is the only seat up for election this year.

Republican pair lead Public Lands race

Two Republicans, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Sue Kuehl Pederson, lead a pack of seven candidates for state Commissioner of Public Lands.

Herrera Beutler, a former Congresswoman from Southwest Washington, totaled 221,678 votes, or 22.6%, statewide in initial returns Tuesday night. She held a slight lead on Pederson, who garnered 198,343 votes, or 20.3%.

The two appeared to have enough votes to advance to the Nov. 5 general election.

Dave Upthegrove, a Democrat, was the next-closest candidate with 194,412 votes, or 19.9%.

He was followed by Patrick DePoe, a Democrat (129,467 votes, 13.2%); Allen Lebovitz, a Democrat (105,696, 10.8%); Kevin Van De Wege, a Democrat (80,189, 8.2%); and Jeralee Anderson, a Democrat (48,521, 5%).

Van De Wege, the former 24th Legislative District state senator who lives at Lake Sutherland, had the most votes out of the group of candidates in Clallam County with 3,527, or 26.9%. He also carried Jefferson County with 1,641 votes, or 24.8%.

The state Commissioner of Public Lands leads the Department of Natural Resources.

Randall, MacEwen lead in 6th

Emily Randall and Drew MacEwen edged out three other competitors to advance to the November general election in the race for the 6th Congressional District.

Randall, a Democrat who is currently a state senator in the 26th Legislative District, had 37,441 votes, or 33.3%.

MacEwen, a Republican who is serving as the state senator in the 35th Legislative District, had 34,309 votes, or 30.5%.

The two will face off Nov. 5 to replace U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, who chose not to run for re-election.

A close third place was Hilary Franz, a Democrat who is currently the state Commissioner of Public Lands. Franz had 28,873 votes, or 25.7%.

Janis Clark, a Republican, had 8,706 votes, or 7.7%, and J. Graham Ralston, an Independent from Port Angeles, had 3,109 votes, or 2.8%.

In Clallam County, Randall and MacEwen were neck-and-neck, with Randall getting 3,854 votes, or 29.4%, and MacEwen 3,832 votes, or 29.2%. Franz had 3,567 votes, or 27.2%.

In Jefferson County, Randall and Franz were the top two vote-getters, with Randall getting 2,517 votes, or 37.7%, and Franz picking up 2,409 votes, or 36.1%.

Fire District 2 measures failing

Voters are rejecting two measures for Clallam County Fire District 2 (Port Angeles).

In initial returns Tuesday night, a levy lid lift for fire protection and emergency medical services was failing, 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent. There were 777 votes to reject the measure and 743 votes to approve it.

In addition, a 10-year levy for emergency medical services was failing because it needs a 60% supermajority to pass.

The EMS levy had 790 yes votes, or 51.9%, to 733 no votes, or 48.1%.

The levy lid lift, which needs a simple majority to pass, aims to increase the levy from 96 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to $1.50 per $1,000, a 54-cent increase. That would increase costs for a homeowner by $162 a year for a home valued at $300,000.

The levy brings in just more than $2 million for the fire district annually.

Under state law, the fire district’s levy can only increase by 1% each year; greater increases require voter approval.

The EMS levy would implement a rate of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. It would cost a homeowner $150 a year for a home valued at $300,000.

Federal, state races

Maria Cantwell looks to keep her seat after a strong showing in the Primary, collecting 578,629 (57.8%) of ballots cast statewide. She’ll likely face Republican Raul Garcia, who earned 212,349 votes (21.2%). In Clallam County, voters preferred Cantwell with 7,523 votes (56.9%), with Garcia second (2,719 votes, 20.6%).

In the 28-candidate race for Governor, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson chalked up 459,407 votes (45.5%), with Republican Dave Reichert in second with 281,993 votes (27.9%) and Republican Semi Bird in a distant third (94,938 votes, 9.4%). In Clallam County, Ferguson led with 6,215 votes (46.8%), Reichert in second (3,464 votes, 26.1%) and Bird in third (1,442 votes, 10.9%).

Democrat Denny Heck and Republican Dan Matthews lead in both statewide and Clallam Primary ballot counts for Lieutenant Governor, while Democrat Steve Hobbs and Republican Dale Whitaker are doing the same in the race for Secretary of State.

See full statewide Primary Election results at sos.wa.gov/elections.

Photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group / Clallam County election worker Janet Parris of Port Angeles sorts through incoming primary ballots at the Clallam County Courthouse on Aug. 6.