Most incumbent Washington state legislators who represent parts of Thurston County have secured early leads in their bids to hold onto their seats.
However, one Republican incumbent in Legislative District 35, Sen. Drew C. MacEwen trailed behind his Democratic challenger on election night.
The initial batch of counted ballots held 48.36%, representing 20,996 votes, for MacEwen, a Republican from Shelton, and 51.54%, 22,379 votes for Carolina Mejia, a Democrat from Olympia.
MacEwen first took office in the Washington State Senate in January 2023. He previously served in the Washington House of Representatives from 2013 to 2022.
Mejia currently serves on the Thurston County Board of Commissioners. Her current term on that board expires in 2028.
Rep. Dan Griffey, a Republican from Allyn, narrowly led Democratic challenger Jim Pierson, of East Olympia, 50.18% to 49.70% on election night.
Fellow Legislative District 35 Rep. Travis Couture, also a Republican, held a stronger lead of 55.08% to 44.74% over his Democratic challenger, Maria Littlesun, as of initial election night tallies.
The 35th Legislative District represents all of Mason County along with a small chunk of Kitsap County and portions of southeast Thurston County.
In Legislative District 22, which includes Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater in Thurston County, incumbent Reps. Beth Doglio and Lisa Parshley retained their seats by a landslide.
Doglio, D-Olympia, had 25,877 votes, 73.43%, as of initial election night tallies.
Her opponent, Don Hewett, a Republican, had 26.30%, 9,268 votes, as of initial election night counts.
Parshley, D-Olympia, had 22,387 votes, 70.13%, as of initial election night tallies.
Her opponent, Jamie Keenan-deVargas, a Republican, had 8,671 votes, 27.16%, as of initial election night counts.
In Legislative District 2, incumbent Rep. Matt Marshall, R-Eatonville, led challenger Angela Taylor, a Democrat, 57.08% to 42.81% on election night.
Also in Legislative District 2, Incumbent Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, led challenger William Dehnel, a self-declared Labor Democrat 57.81% to 42.03% on election night
The state's 2nd Legislative District includes part of southeastern Thurston County and a large chunk of southern Pierce County, stopping along its southern border with Lewis County.
