Primary election results reveal Republicans have work to do in 17th and 18th District legislative races

GOP incumbents in the 17th and 18th districts trail their Democrat challengers by margins ranging from 3 to nearly 10 points in Tuesday's primary. — GOP incumbents in the 17th and 18th districts trail their Democrat challengers by margins ranging from 3 to nearly 10 points in Tuesday’s primary. File photo

🎧 Clark County GOP Trails in 17th and 18th District Primaries

Representatives in both districts were outdistanced by their Democrat opponents in Tuesday’s primary election

Jerry Cornfield and Jake Goldstein-Street
Washington State Standard

Clark County Democrats are attempting to cause havoc for the Republican Party.

Rep. John Ley

Rep. Stephanie McClintock

Rep. Kevin Waters

Rep. David Stuebe

Republican Reps. Stephanie McClintock and John Ley got seriously stung by their Democrat opponents in the 18th District, much like their GOP colleagues, Kevin Waters and David Stuebe, did in the neighboring 17th District.

Democrat Deken Letinich, a union leader, leads Ley by a comfortable margin of 53.2% to 46.7%. Ley, who narrowly won the seat in 2024, has established himself as a steady critic of the project to build a new bridge on Interstate 5 across the Columbia River.

Democrat Randi Knott, a first-time candidate, leads McClintock, who is seeking a third term, 51.6% to 48.2%.

In both contests, these candidates will advance to November.

If the four GOP lawmakers from the 17th and 18th districts are ousted this fall, it will push Democrats closer to a supermajority in the House and will likely compel Republican leaders to take a hard look at the GOP operations in southwest Washington.

17th Legislative District

Incumbent Republican state lawmakers seem to be in trouble in southwest Washington’s 17th Legislative District, as Democrats hope to gain a wider majority in the House.

In Position 1, Republican Rep. Kevin Waters trails Democrat Ben Christly, a Navy veteran, with 44% to Christly’s 52.7%. Thomas Everett Haynes, a self-described “pro gun liberal” earned 3.2%.

Waters joined the Legislature in 2023. In a sign of the changing tide in the district, just two years ago, he easily won reelection unopposed.

Rep. David Stuebe faces a similar predicament running for the district’s other seat. Stuebe, who is also Washougal’s mayor, trails Vancouver City Council Member Diana Perez by nearly 10%. They’re the only two candidates, so both automatically move on to November. But Stuebe will need to make up a lot of ground to keep the seat he won by 1% in 2024.

These reports were first published by the Washington State Standard.