Heck Leads Liias in 2020 Lt. Governor Election

SEATTLE, WA — Denny Heck has taken a lead over Marko Liias in the race to be Washington's next lieutenant governor, as of the last batch of of votes released Tuesday night.

In March, Washington's current Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib announced that he would not seek re-election, and that he was instead quitting politics to become a Jesuit priest.

With Habib out of the running, 11 new candidates stepped up to replace him, now narrowed down to just two candidates through the August Primary election: Denny Heck and Marko Liias.

Heck currently serves in Congress as the Representative for Washington's 10th district. Liias is the current State Senate Majority Floor Leader.

The battle between Heck and Liias has been an interesting one, largely in part because of the actions of the current Lt. Governor Habib who, it was discovered earlier this month, had essentially abandoned the position to begin his Jesuit training early, leaving it unfilled for five months and causing some to question how necessary the position is at all. That said, if the Governor were to leave office, the Lt. Governor is next in line to take control, meaning at the very least the election results will determine who is the back-up figurehead for Washington state.

As of 8 p.m. polls have closed in Washington and the first ballot drop for the November 2020 General Election has arrived.

In Washington, ballots are tabulated each day following the election, and percentages will continue to change in the days ahead. Results are final upon certification by the Secretary of State's office, due by Tuesday, Nov. 24.

This year, several of the state's top offices are also on the ballot, including the governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

2020 Primary Election Night Statewide Results: Lt. Governor
[includes ballots reported as of 9:00 p.m. Tuesday. This total will fluctuate as more counties report results.]

• Denny Heck: 47.18 percent
• Marko Liias: 33.7 percent

In a surprising turn of events, write in candidates have garnered the remaining 19.11 percent of the vote. Among those candidates is Joshua Freed, who ran a campaign as a conservative alternative to the two democratic candidate on ballot.

Patch will update with the latest results as they come in.

View all statewide results, or narrow by county:

• Statewide results
• King County
• Pierce County
• Snohomish County

More November General Election Coverage on Patch:

Election Day In Washington: Live Updates