WA Election Roundup: Murray, Schrier Extend Leads In 2nd Ballot Drop

WASHINGTON — After more ballots were counted Wednesday, Sen. Patty Murray built on a double-digit lead over Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley, and Rep. Kim Schrier put more distance between her and Matt Larkin in Washington's 8th District. Both races were closely watched in the leadup to the midterms as Democrats and Republicans battled for control of both chambers of Congress.

The contest between Murray and Smiley proved to be Washington's most expensive senate race in more than four decades. The five-term incumbent had a 14-point lead on election night and slightly widened the gap Wednesday. Murray held onto strong leads in the state's three most populous counties, along with nine others west of the Cascades.

The Associated Press called the race for Murray on election night.

Schrier also tacked on some votes to her lead Wednesday, leading by about six points, but the race was still too close to call. The same was true in the Secretary of State race, where appointed Democratic incumbent Steve Hobbs nudged a little further ahead of nonpartisan Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson Wednesday.

King County voters were overwhelmingly in favor of Hobbs, at 65 percent, while nearly 55 percent of Pierce County voters favored Anderson.

Election night returns included results from roughly 1.7 million ballots, and the updated tallies Wednesday added more than 114,000 across the state. An estimated 705,000 ballots dropped off or mailed in the final days of voting still need to be counted.

In King County, the first competitive race for King County Prosecuting Attorney in years saw Leesa Manion, the office's current chief of staff, hold onto an 11-point lead over Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell. In Seattle, updated totals continued to show voters almost evenly split over whether to overhaul the voting system for city-level offices.

In Pierce County, Democratic Rep. Derek Kilmer had a nearly 30-point lead for reelection to Congress, and Rep. Marilyn Strickland had about seven points on her opponent.

To the south, Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez held a five-point edge on Republican Joe Kent in the 3rd District, and in Eastern Washington, Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers was almost 20 points ahead in her race to keep the 5th District.

Here are where some key races stood around Washington after the second round of results:

Secretary of State

• Steve Hobbs (D): 50.04%
• Julie Anderson (NP): 46.65%
• Write-Ins: 3.31%

U.S. Senate

• Patty Murray (D): 57.11%
• Tiffany Smiley (R): 42.7%

U.S. House

District 6

• Derek Kilmer (D): 61.69%
• Elizabeth Kreiselmaier (R): 38.22%

District 7

• Pramila Jayapal (D): 84.5%
• Cliff Moon (R): 15.05%

District 8

• Kim Schrier (D): 52.69%
• Matt Larkin (R): 47%

District 10

• Marilyn Strickland (D): 56.52%
• Keith R. Swank (R): 43.33%

Find the latest results on all races via the Secretary of State's Office.