Opinion: Were Republican voters just sleeping during the August primary election?

CCRP Chairman Matt Bumala says 60% of primary no-shows in the 17th and 18th districts were Republicans.

🎧 Were Clark County Republicans Sleeping in the Primary?

CCRP Chairman Matt Bumala addresses Republicans’ poor performance in recent primary election

Ken Vance, editor
Clark County Today

I’m guessing I wasn’t the only conservative in Clark County who found the results of the Aug. 4 primary election to be more than a bit underwhelming. Clark County Today has published several stories on the work that the Republicans have cut out for them prior to the November general election.

Ken Vance

Earlier this week, in a video posted on Facebook, Clark County Republican Party Chairman Matt Bumala shared takeaways from a recent Washington State Republican Party quarterly meeting in Bothell that focused on voter turnout, legislative races, statewide initiatives, and Supreme Court contests.

Bumala said party data showed that among voters who sat out the primary in the 17th and 18th legislative districts, 60 percent were Republicans. He argued that stronger Republican turnout in the general election could significantly change the outcome of those races and he highlighted Sarah Mittelman’s campaign in the 49th Legislative District.

“If we’ve learned anything from the primaries, I think we can know that the primaries really don’t show how things are gonna go in the general election,’’ Bumala said. “We’ve got data to show the people that sat out, and what percentage were Republicans and what percentage were Democrats that were left over, that did not vote in the primaries. Sixty percent in both the 17th and 18th Legislative Districts, 60 percent were Republicans. So, that should be encouraging. Why? Because if Republicans actually show up and vote in the general, we’ll win in a landslide.’’

Whether or not that is overly optimistic, time will only tell. Here is an illustration of how that absence of Republican voters in the August primary:

In the 17th Legislative District, Position 1 Republican incumbent Rep. Kevin Waters was outdistanced by opponent Ben Christy by more than 13 percent in Clark County and Position 2 Republican incumbent Rep. David Stuebe was topped by opponent Diana Perez, also by over 13 percent. (Note: The 17th District includes voters in Skamania County.)
In the 18th Legislative District, Position 1 Republican incumbent Rep. Stephanie McClintock was outdueled by opponent Randi Knott by more than 4 percent and Position 2 Republican incumbent Rep. John Ley by challenger Deken Letinich by about 7 percent.
In the 49th Legislative District, traditionally dominated by the Democrats, Republican Sarah Mittelman trailed Kim Harless by 24 percent in the Position 1 race. In the Position 2 race, incumbent Monica Stonier outdistanced Republican challenger Derek Thompson by 45 percent.

“So, wake up, get out and vote Republicans because the wins are right there in the 17th and in the 18th Legislative Districts, along with some races that are happening in the 49th,’’ Bumala said. “We have Sarah Mittelman that’s putting up a really, really good fight and good numbers. She made it through the primary to the general, and she has our full support, and we want to rally and make sure all hands are on deck on that.’’

It should also be pointed out that considerably more voters traditionally turn out for the general election, as opposed to the primary election. Four years ago, which was our last mid-term elections, 43.67 percent of registered voters in Clark County voted in the August primary and 63.42 percent turned out for the November general election, an increase of more than 65 thousand voters. Turnout for the Aug. 4 (2026) primary was about 38 percent.

Bumala was accompanied to the quarterly meeting by Committeewoman Anne O’Neill and Committeeman Dick Rylander.

O’Neill said Let’s Go Washington had produced flyers and talking points related to ballot initiatives and urged supporters to remember to “vote yes, yes, yes” on the initiatives.

Rylander said the party would provide additional meeting notes and materials in the coming week. He also discussed Washington Supreme Court races, saying Republicans were targeting three or four of five openings in an effort to move the court from liberal toward neutral or conservative. Rylander also said a Republican had advanced to the November election in all 10 congressional district races and referenced a WAGOP text messaging system that counties had used during the primaries to boost turnout.

Bumala closed the video by expressing optimism about the general election and emphasizing the importance of getting Republican voters who skipped the primary to participate in November.

“So, overall, we have a lot to hope for in the general election, seeing how many Republicans actually are just sleeping or not,’’ Bumala said.