By Erica C. Barnett
Sandeep and I went on KUOW’s Seattle Now last week to talk about the latest election news, which—as of Friday, when the show ran—included the news that King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove had just squeaked past the second of two Republican candidates in the race for Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands. Upthegrove’s 51-vote margin of victory is going to be subject to a hand recount, but barring extraordinary circumstances (like when the discovery of hundreds of improperly disqualified ballots led to Christine Gregoire’s gubernatorial victory in 2004), he will move forward, along with former Republican congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler.
Upthegrove’s narrow second-place finish highlights one of the potential consequences of Washington state’s top-two primary, in which the leading two candidates move forward to the general election regardless of party: In the absence of party discipline, a large number of candidates from a single party can fragment the vote so much that even if a majority of voters support that party, two candidates from the less popular party can move forward.
PubliCola is supported entirely by readers like you.
CLICK BELOW to become a one-time or monthly contributor.
In the election for lands commissioner, Beutler and another Republican, Sue Kuehl Pedersen, took a combined total of less than 43 percent of the vote, while five Democrats split the other 57 percent. Often in partisan races, the top-two primary results in two members of the prevailing party in a geographical area moving through to the general election (Republicans in Republican districts, Democrats in Democratic ones), but the lands commissioner results show how the system can lead to unanticipated, sometimes nail-biting results.
Also last week, I went on Crystal Fincher’s Hacks and Wonks podcast, where (in addition to the lands commissioner results) we discussed the city of Seattle’s upcoming budget process, which could include brutal cuts; Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore’s proposal to reinstate old-school policies empowering police to crack down on sex work on Aurora; Moore’s plans to repeal protections for renters passed over the past several years; and more. Listen below, or wherever you get your podcasts, and read the Hacks and Wonks show notes here.
“…but the lands commissioner results show how the system can lead to unanticipated, sometimes nail-biting results.”
Not unanticipated at all — in fact, highly predictable. That’s why I opposed the change.
I am glad you mentioned this: “In the absence of party discipline…”. Because when the Washington State Democrats had strong Party leadership, it was rare to have so many Democratic candidates in one race. Those Chairs would sit the potential and actual candidates in the same room and make it clear that the outcome wasn’t going to include that many of them going forward. It didn’t always work (see the 2016 race for Washington State Treasurer, when none of the three Democrats would budge, leading to two Republicans moving forward), but it usually did.