Initial results show Perez with a lead of 11,123 votes in the race for U.S. Representative

Republican Joe Kent is going to have to make another comeback if he is going to earn a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The former Green Beret trails Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez by 11,123 votes in the first results of the Third Congressional District race provided by the Secretary of State’s office. Perez has 52.62 percent (100,564) of the votes and Kent has 46.68 percent (89,441).

In the August primary election, Kent trailed current Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler by 4,707 votes. In the days that followed, Kent overcame that deficit to earn a spot on the November general election against Perez, a small business owner who lives in Skamania County.

The Third Congressional District includes six counties – Clark, Skamania, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific and Wahkiakum – and part of Thurston County. In Clark County, Tuesday’s initial results included the ballots of 36.37 percent (118,933) of the 327,049 registered voters. Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey estimated the total turnout could be as high as 65 percent once all the ballots are counted. 

Clark County results

In the race for Clark County Sheriff, John Horch has a substantial lead in the first set of results provided by the Clark County Elections Department. Horch, currently the chief criminal deputy of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, has 59.62 percent (65,627) of the votes. Rey Reynolds, a veteran of the Vancouver Police Department, has 40.38 percent (44,435) of the votes. In the August primary election, just 1.7 percent separated the two candidates.

Three of the five positions on the Clark County Council were on the general election ballot. In District 1, Glen Yung has 59.32 percent (9,839) of the votes and Hector Hinojosa has 40.68 percent (6,748). In the race for the District 2 seat, Michelle Belkot has 53.58 percent (11,381) of the votes and Chartisha Roberts has 46.42 percent (9,860). In District 5, Sue Marshall has 56.85 percent (14,900) and Don Benton has 43.15 percent (11,311).

In the race for auditor, current Auditor Greg Kimsey has 71.94 percent (76,537) and challenger Brett Simpson has 28.06 percent (29,856).

Washington State Legislature

In the races for state representative, the races in the 17th and 18th Legislative Districts appear to be too close to call Tuesday night.

In the 17th Legislative District position 1 race, Democrat Terri Niles has a small lead over Republican Kevin Waters. Niles has 50.87 percent (18,697) and Waters has 49.13 percent (18,057). In the race for position 2, Republican incumbent Paul Harris has a small lead over Democrat Joe Kear. Harris has 51.82 percent (19,069) and Kear has 48.18 percent (17,727).

In the 18th Legislative District position 1 race, Democrat John Zingale has a small lead over Republican Stephanie McClintock. Zingale has 50.73 percent (19,157) and McClintock has 49.27 percent (18,608). In the position 2 race, Republican Greg Cheney has 51.60 percent (19,519) and Democrat Duncan Camacho has 48.40 percent (18,309).

In the 49th District, the incumbent Democrats have sizable leads in both races. In the position 1 race, Sharon Wylie has 64.28 percent (18,711) and Republican Park Llafet has 35.72 percent (10,398). In the race for position 2, Monica Stonier has 63.32 percent (10,398) and Republican Jeremy Baker has 36.68 percent (10,727).

Updated election results
Clark County Today will continue to report on updated election results. For updated results in Clark County, go to ClarkVotes.com. For Washington statewide election results, including federal races, go to VoteWA.gov. For state of Oregon results, go to OregonVotes.gov.