WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The results of the Aug. 6 primary election have been certified, but one key race is too close to call.
The Office of the Secretary of State says the race for Commissioner of Public Lands is the closest statewide race in the history of Washington’s primary.
The preliminary count showed Democrat Dave Upthegrove defeating Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson for second place by just 51 votes, making it less than a hundredth of a percentage-point difference.
A manual recount of ballots is expected to take seven business days to complete. Those recounts are required for any statewide race where the difference between candidates is less than one-quarter of 1% and less than 1,000 votes.
Here in Whatcom County, Upthegrove and Pederson finished in the top two, above Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler who received the most votes in the statewide race.
The candidate who wins the recount will join Herrera Beutler on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
