2022 Primary Election Results: Washington ballot includes U.S. Senate, House races

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington voters will narrow the field of candidates in dozens of races in the state’s primary Tuesday.

Washington is a vote-by-mail state, and ballots were sent to nearly 4.8 million registered voters weeks ago. Results often take days to come in as the ballots arrive in elections offices throughout that week.

Under the state’s primary system, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election in November, regardless of party.

Here’s a look at the top races voters will be weighing in on:

U.S. SENATE

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray faces more than a dozen primary candidates as she seeks a sixth term, but is expected to advance with Republican Tiffany Smiley, a first-time political candidate. Washington voters haven’t elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1994. Smiley, a former nurse from Pasco, has highlighted her past advocacy for her husband, a military veteran who was blinded in an explosion while serving in Iraq. Murray, a member of Democratic leadership, has risen to chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

AP has called this race for Senator, saying both Murray and Smiley are set to advance to the November ballot. 

CONGRESS

All 10 Congressional seats are on the ballot but only three races are competitive. Three Republican challengers have mounted campaigns in an effort to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier in Washington’s 8th Congressional District: Army veteran Jesse Jensen, who ran unsuccessfully against Schrier in 2020; King County Council Member Reagan Dunn, a former federal prosecutor whose mother once held the seat; and former state attorney general candidate Matt Larkin. The seat is a key target of GOP efforts to retake control of the House. Two other Republican members — Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler in the 3rd Congressional District and Rep. Dan Newhouse in the 4th Congressional District — are being targeted by some within their own party over their vote to impeach former President Donald Trump. Herrera Beutler faces several Republican opponents as she seeks a seventh term — including Joe Kent, a former Green Beret endorsed by Trump — and Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Newhouse, a four-term congressman, has also drawn a Trump-endorsed challenger. Loren Culp, a former small town police chief who lost the 2020 governor’s race to Democrat Jay Inslee but refused to concede, won Trump’s endorsement in February, but has lagged in fundraising. Jerrod Sessler, a Navy veteran and former NASCAR driver who has raised the most money among the challengers, followed by Democrat Doug White.

Larkin will face Schrier on the ballot after Dunn conceded. 

"I appreciate each and every one of you who got out and voted for me in this primary. The overwhelming support from the people of the 8th district is so meaningful, and I am grateful to have earned your votes yet again," said Rep. Schrier. "While I wait to learn who I will be facing in the general election in November, one thing is true regardless of who makes it through: every Republican in the race is extreme and out of touch with the people of the 8th district. I will continue to fight with everything I’ve got to bring down costs for working families, secure a better future for our children, and protect a woman’s right to choose," Shrier said in a statement on primary night. 

SECRETARY OF STATE

Washington’s Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee last November to replace former Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who left to take a key election position in the Biden Administration. Hobbs faces several challengers – including a long-serving elections official from Pierce County who is running as a non-partisan -- as he attempts to hang on to the office for the remaining two years of Wyman’s term. There are multiple Republicans in the race, but the challenger who has raised the most money is Pierce County auditor Julie Anderson, who says she would push for a change to state law to make the office nonpartisan. Among the Republicans in the race, former Sen. Mark Miloscia — who is now head of the conservative Family Policy Institute — has raised the most among the Republican candidates. Republican Sen. Keith Wagoner has been endorsed by former Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed. Tamborine Borrelli – an "America First" candidate — was fined by the state Supreme Court in June for making legally meritless claims alleging widespread voter fraud.

LEGISLATIVE RACES

All 98 seats in the House are up for election, as are 25 of the 49 in the Senate. Of the 123 total legislative races, there are 29 incumbents running unopposed. In 42 seats, there’s only two candidates running, all of whom will automatically advance to the November ballot. Democrats currently hold a 28-21 advantage in the Senate, and a 57-41 advantage in the House. The most expensive legislative race is the 26th District in the Senate, where Democratic incumbent Sen. Emily Randall is facing a challenge from Republican Rep. Jesse Young. Combined, they have raised more than $814,000 to date, with spending topping $455,000 heading into the primary.