Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect new numbers tallied from the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office. Last updated 8/6/26 5:20 p.m. For more information on race results in Washington state, visit the Secretary of State’s website.

 

WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Preliminary results in the 2026 Primary election are making strong showing for conservatives, incumbents and independents as the ballot boxes close this Tuesday, Aug. 4.

The Whatcom County Auditor’s Office is reporting a 42% voter turnout for this year’s primary, up from 34% Wednesday after roughly 11,000 ballots were tabulated. Some ballots may still be arriving as results are not fully certified until two weeks after the election.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen is currently maintaining his reelection campaign as preliminary results place him in first place for Tuesday’s primary with approaching 43% of the vote.

Republican challenger Edwin Feller is close behind at approaching 32.5% while progressive Democrats Tomas Scheel and Devin Hermanson trail with approximately 14% and approaching 11% respectively.

42nd District sees a Republican lead as Dems battle for number two

The Republican in the race for state senate in District 42 is ahead.

Erika Creydt received exactly 44.5% of the vote.

Two Democrats in the race, Port of Bellingham Commissioner Michael Shepard and Planning Commission member Eamonn Collins, are neck and neck at 26.39% and 26.38% respectively. The gap narrowed since Tuesday’s initial tally, with just two votes separating Collins from matching Shepard.

This gap narrowed since initial tallies Tuesday night. Whomever wins between the two Dems will face Creydt this November.

Ryan Bowman, who doesn’t declare a party preference, has nearly 2.5%.

This is an open seat following Senator Sharon Shewmake’s decision to not seek re-election.

Meanwhile, Democrats are ahead in the beauty contests for state house seats in the 42nd District.

Position 1 incumbent Democrat Alicia Rule is ahead of Republican challenger Misty Flowers over 56% to over 43.5%.

For Position 2, incumbent Democrat Joe Timmons leads with approaching 54% over Republican Justin Pike’s over 46%.

40th District results show incumbent security

Further south, the 40th district is looking like it may keep its current representation.

Representative Position 1 incumbent Democrat Debra Lekanoff enjoys a wide lead over her Republican challenger Cindy Carter.

Lekanoff is preferred by over 79% of voters versus 20.5% for Carter.

For Position 2, incumbent state Rep. Democrat Alex Ramel faced challenges from three candidates this primary, though he is currently blowing them out of the water with over 73.5% of the vote.

His closest challenger, Joseph Segault who has no party preference, captured roughly 10.5% of the vote in preliminary tally numbers.

Independent Salomon Rodrigue Mbouombouo received approximately 9% of the vote followed by fellow Independent Monte Jay Mahan at just over 6.5%.

The 40th District covers parts of Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan counties.

Whatcom County Prosecutor race implies change is in the air

The race for Whatcom County Prosecutor is still up to be decided, but Ryan Swinburnson, who has no party preference, is currently leading the race for the seat at approaching 38.5% of the vote. Swinburnson does not currently work for the prosecutor’s office unlike his competitors.

Democrats Jesse Corkern, Dona Bracke and Erik Sigmar were neck-and-neck in initial ballot counts Tuesday. However, Bracke has made up some space on Corkern, currently behind by 472 votes as of 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6.

New Port Commission seats

Seat 4 represents the north, inland region of Whatcom County, encompassing Lynden but stopping at where SR 9 intersects with E Badger Road. This race is currently led by Paul Burrill with just over 30% of the vote.

Tor Benson with over 24% takes second place behind Burrill, followed by Samantha Cruz-Mendoza at over 19.5%.

Seat 5 for the newly-expanded port commission takes the east part of Whatcom County, including Lake Whatcom and the Chuckanuts in addition to Maple Falls and Deming.

Chris Elder captured nearly 41.5% of the vote for seat 5 on the commission following in poll results.

Shawn Ensley with approaching 21.5% of the vote has placed second in early results with Todd Lagestee at over 17.5% for third place.

Incumbent WA Supreme Court justices fend off opponents

Preliminary results are rolling in for roles on the state Supreme Court.

Four non-partisan positions on the state’s highest court were up for grabs in Tuesday’s primary.

Debra L. Stephens and Colleen Melody are both well ahead of their respective challengers in positions 1 and 7.

David Stevens currently has a nearly 30,000 vote lead for position 3, with Jaime Michelle Hawk coming in second place based on latest tallies.

Theo Angelis sits about 47,000 votes ahead of his closest competitor Dave Larson for position 5.

Local fire levies are showing range of success, failure

It’s a mixed bag for fire district tax levies in Whatcom County.

Glacier Fire and Rescue’s measure is passing with just over 70% of the vote.

Fire District 21’s levy is slightly ahead at just over 52% approval while Fire District 1’s proposal is being rejected by just under 52% of the voters.

 

More results will be released as ballots are tallied. Next update from the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office is at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7.