It’s good to be an incumbent if you’re a state legislator in the Spokane area. Incumbents in the Third, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Districts all advanced beyond Tuesday’s primary election to the November general election.
That also extends to the Fourth District Senate race, where the longtime incumbent, Republican Mike Padden, won a strong majority in a three-way race.
“It was a good showing. I was hoping to get over 55% and I ended up just under 57. We’ll see what the rest brings.”
What it brings is a race against Democrat John Roskelley, a former Spokane County Commissioner, world-renowned mountain climber and author. He won about 38% of the vote and said, with Covid, it’s been a much different race than he’s run in the past, with fewer chances to talk in person with voters.
The one outlier among incumbents is also in the Fourth District, where Rep. Bob McCaslin finished second in a four-person race. Democrat Lori Feagan leads that race by four percentage points (40-36).
Votes will still be counted as they trickle in with the mail over the next several days.