Primary Election 2026: Races nearly set for November

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Races remain largely unchanged for Clallam County and Sequim area voters following initial tallies for the Aug. 4 primary election. Turnout rose from an initial 20% of registered voters on election night to 33% (19,785 of 59,842) as of Aug. 7.

The top two vote-getters advance to the Nov. 3 general election with results scheduled to be certified on Aug. 18.

The next tally was expected to be updated after the Gazette’s print deadline.

Bernbaum, Pratt lead House race No. 1

Adam Bernbaum and Eric W. Pratt remain the leading candidates for a state House of Representatives position.

Bernbaum, a Democrat who currently holds the 24th Legislative District seat, was leading with 62.1% of the vote (26,501 votes) while Pratt, a Republican, has 21.1% (8,984 votes). Both will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

The Position 1 seat is contested in Clallam, Jefferson and Grays Harbor counties.

Bernbaum was leading in all three counties, including 76.5% in Jefferson County.

Aiden I.R. Hamilton, a Republican, has 10.3% (4,408 votes) and Ted Bowen has 6.4% (2,742 votes).

Kelbon, Kuehn poised for general election

In the Position 2 seat, Marcia Kelbon and Kaylee Kuehn are the top two vote-getters, with Patrick DePoe sitting in a close third place.

Kelbon, an Independent, has 36.5% of the vote (15,136 votes) while Kuehn, a Democrat, has 27.0% (11,206 votes) and DePoe, also a Democrat, has 24.6% (10,184 votes).

Candidates seek a bid to replace the retiring state Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend.

Mark Hodgson, a Democrat, has 7.01% (2,907 votes) and Bradley Nemo Callaway, a Democrat, has 4.4% (1,837 votes).

Kelbon leads all candidates in Clallam and Jefferson counties, and DePoe leads candidates in Jefferson County.

Randall, Fox advance in congress race

Incumbent Emily Randall and Teresa Fox, R-Bremerton, will advance to the Nov. 3 general election in the 6th Congressional District race.

Randall, a Democrat, totaled 60.8% of the vote across portions of six counties (118,499 votes). Fox had 24.4% (47,461 votes).

The district represents Clallam and Jefferson counties as well as Grays Harbor, Kitsap, Mason and Pierce counties.

Also running in the race were Leon Lawson, a Trump Republican who has 9% (17,558 votes), Brian P. O’Gorman, an Independent who had 3.1% percent (6,107 votes) and Macy Jones, who had no party preference and had 2.6% percent (5,103 votes).

In Clallam County, Randall is the top vote-getter with 56.3% (11,033) of the vote and Fox with 27.7% (5,432).

Supreme Court positions set

Sequim voters also voted for candidates of the Supreme Court.

For position No. 1, Colleen Melody with 53.2% (865,676) of the vote and Scott Edwards with 29.2% (474,829) will move on to the primary. For position No. 3, the three candidates are in a close race with David Stevens leading with 34.9% (566,773), followed by Jaime Michelle Hawk with 33.4% (541,652), and Mike Diaz with 31.4% (509,348).

In the position No. 5 race, Theo Angelis and Dave Larson appear to be going to the general election with 36.1% (584,934 votes) and 31.9% (518,107). Sharonda Amamilo is in third with 21.3% (345,932).

For position No. 7, Debra Stephens leads by a large margin with 54.7% (880,671) followed by Todd A. Bloom at 26.9% (433,126).

Other Clallam County races

While Sequim area voters weren’t able to vote for Public Utility District board and Clallam County commissioner seats in the primary, county election officials confirm the races will be available to county voters in the general election.

Rick Paschall and Randy Brackett are the top two candidates for a Clallam County Public Utility District seat.

Paschall, the former District 2 PUD commissioner who resigned in 2023, is leading the District 2 race at 32.9% (2,118 votes), and Brackett, a professional engineer, had 30.7% (1,514 votes). John W. “Jack” Smith is sitting third at 9.7% (478 votes), while Timothy Dalton has 8.7% (429 votes) and Missi Baker has 7.73% (381 votes).

For Clallam County commissioner, Jake Seegers, an Independent, is leading incumbent Democrat Mike French with 52.3% of the vote (2,662 votes). French has 47.5% (2,416 votes). Both will advance to the Nov. 3 general election for the District 3 seat.

Meanwhile, the Clallam County Fire District 2 Proposition 1, which seeks a 10-year emergency medical services levy at a rate of $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, continues to be rejected. In a measure that requires a 60 percent supermajority to pass as a new EMS levy, Proposition 1 had received 54.1% (1,346 votes) to 45.9 percent (1,143 votes).

Two Democratic precinct committee officer positions also are on the primary ballot. Judith M. Morris continues to lead Bradley Nemo Callaway for the Port Angeles 101 position with 62.2% of the vote (122 votes) to 37.8% (74 votes). Brenda S. Carpenter is leading Brian Pruiett for the Blue Mountain 209 position with 78.9% of the vote (105 votes) to 21.1% (28 votes).

A look ahead

For the general election, several other key positions will be on the ballot, including:

Assessor: Lee Hancock of Port Angeles; Antonio Price of Sequim.

Auditor: incumbent Shoona Riggs of Port Angeles; Virginia Shogren of Sequim.

Director of Community Development: incumbent Bruce Emery of Port Angeles (unopposed).

Prosecuting attorney: incumbent Mark Nichols of Port Angeles (unopposed).

Sheriff: incumbent Brian King of Port Angeles (unopposed).

Treasurer: incumbent Jennifer L. White of Port Angeles (unopposed).

Clallam County District Court 1: Patrick David Murphy of Sequim; Alex Schodowski of Sequim.

Clallam County District Court 2: incumbent Bruce Hanify (unopposed).