Coker re-elected; Senate race close

(SEE FULL ELECTION GRID ON PAGE A3 IN THE WEEKLY PAPER SECTION)

Whitman County Auditor Eunice Coker won a third term in office while Dino Rossi topped incumbent Patty Murray in local results for the U.S. Senate after the first count of Tuesday’s general election.

Tuesday night’s count in Whitman County included 7,953 of the 19,128 ballots sent out to active voters, good for a 43 percent turnout. Ballots received on election day and ballots mailed on election day have yet to be counted.

Coker booked an overwhelming 75 percent of the first count, a lead that all but assures her re-election over challenger Esther Wilson.

“I’ve been feeling pretty good about it this whole time, but to see it in this kind of turnout is, honest to God, overwhelming,” said Coker. “You know, all the negativity and the lies and the misinformation that has been sent out with no chance to respond has caused me a lot of discomfort. To see the voters didn’t fall for it... I feel very grateful.”

Coker, 54, said she saw the vote as a validation of her decision this summer to take some of the control over the county’s finances away from county commissioners.

“I stuck my neck out with the whole finance thing,” she said. “But this proves what I knew all along. You don’t back down. You stand up and you feel good about yourself and your actions and your morals.”

In the local count for U.S. Senator, Republican challenger Dino Rossi collected 4,436 votes for 57 percent to incumbent Democrat Patty Murray’s 3,273 votes, which accounted for 42 percent.

Statewide the race was too close to call.

Murray held a thin 50.5 percent lead after she took 722,396 election night votes. Rossi polled 708,391 votes.

Secretary of State Sam Reed’s office estimated 528,225 ballots are left to be counted across the state. Election night counts across the state accounted for 40.5 percent turnout.

Ninth District State Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, was all but assured a win over challenger Glenn Stockwell, R-Ritzville, when he polled 82 percent of the vote.

Schmick also cruised to victory in returns from across the district by claiming 15,373 tallies for 78 percent of the vote compared to Stockwell’s 4,244 ballots, which accounted for 21 percent.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, R-Spokane, grabbed 4,933 Whitman County votes to post a 64 percent showing over challenger Daryl Romeyn, D-Spokane Valley, a former television weatherman.

McMorris-Rodgers easily booked a fourth term representing eastern Washington’s fifth disteict in Congress by taking 65 percent of the vote across the Fifth Congressional District. Voters cast 88,161 ballots for the incumbent, compared to 48,506 to Romeyn.

Romeyn’s challenge was hampered by minimal support from local Democrats after he topped the party’s handpicked candidate in the August primary.

Among local funding measures, only the Oakesdale Cemetery levy and the Colton school levy did not garner enough election night votes to pass.

The cemetery levy received 128 votes for 58 percent approval, just shy of the 60 percent required for funding.

Oakesdale’s Park and Rec levy was passing by one vote after election night, with 148 yes votes and 98 no votes.

On the statewide initiatives and referenda, Whitman County voters went against privatized liquor sales, for the removal of the candy and soda tax and overwhelmingly in favor of denying bail for perpetually violent offenders.

Just shy of two-thirds of the county’s voters opted against instituting a state income tax on state residents who earn more than $200,000 per year.

They also voted two-to-one to reinstate the mandate that the Legislature give a two-thirds vote to approve tax increases.

The county’s votes on the measures mirrored state returns for all but SJR 8225, which allows the state to discount federal interest payments from its constitutional debt limit. State returns showed 51 percent approval, while the county rejected the measure with a 53 percent vote.

Only ballots received through Monday made it into Tuesday night’s count. Ballots received after Monday will be included in the county elections office’s next count, which is slated for Friday.

Schmick also cruised to victory in returns from across the district by claiming 15,373 tallies for 78 percent of the vote compared to Stockwell's 4,244 ballots, which accounted for 21 percent.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, R-Spokane, grabbed 4,933 Whitman County votes to post a 64 percent showing over challenger Daryl Romeyn, D-Spokane Valley, a former television weatherman.

McMorris-Rodgers easily booked a fourth term representing eastern Washington's fifth disteict in Congress by taking 65 percent of the vote across the Fifth Congressional District. Voters cast 88,161 ballots for the incumbent, compared to 48,506 to Romeyn.

Romeyn's challenge was hampered by minimal support from local Democrats after he topped the party's handpicked candidate in the August primary.

Among local funding measures, only the Oakesdale Cemetery levy and the Colton school levy did not garner enough election night votes to pass.

The cemetery levy received 128 votes for 58 percent approval, just shy of the 60 percent required for funding.

Oakesdale's Park and Rec levy was passing by one vote after election night, with 148 yes votes and 98 no votes.

On the statewide initiatives and referenda, Whitman County voters went against privatized liquor sales, for the removal of the candy and soda tax and overwhelmingly in favor of denying bail for perpetually violent offenders.

Just shy of two-thirds of the county's voters opted against instituting a state income tax on state residents who earn more than $200,000 per year.

They also voted two-to-one to reinstate the mandate that the Legislature give a two-thirds vote to approve tax increases.

The county's votes on the measures mirrored state returns for all but SJR 8225, which allows the state to discount federal interest payments from its constitutional debt limit. State returns showed 51 percent approval, while the county rejected the measure with a 53 percent vote.

Only ballots received through Monday made it into Tuesday night's count. Ballots received after Monday will be included in the county elections office's next count, which is slated for Friday.