Early returns show Democrats Cyrus Habib of Kirkland and Ross Hunter of Medina leading in their respective races in the 48th Legislative District, according to the King County Elections website.
As of 8:15 p.m. Tuesday night, Habib holds the lead with 60.45 percent of votes — a total of 20,224 — over Hank Myers of Redmond in the Position 2 race. Myers has received 39.46 percent of votes — a total of 13,202.
“These initial results are a reflection of the hard work put in by hundreds of volunteers who knocked on over 25,000 doors and made tens of thousands of calls to voters in this campaign,” Habib said in a written statement. “I am deeply grateful for the support of my family and friends, the loyalty and tireless efforts of my campaign staff, and the faith and encouragement of all those who supported me in this. I would also like to thank (Redmond City Council member) Hank Myers for a spirited and respectful debate about how best to move our state forward. Above all, thank you to the voters of the 48th District who believe, as I do, that hard work and creative solutions are the key to our shared prosperity.”
Crystal Anguay, Habib’s campaign manager added that they are pleased with Tuesday’s results and “in a swing district like the 48th, these initial numbers demonstrate that (their) focus on education, job growth, and transportation cuts across party lines and resonates with independents.”
Position 1 was easily won by Hunter, who garnered 67.93 percent of the vote against challenger, Republican Bill Hirt of Bellevue, who received 31.97 percent of votes. Hunter collected 22,657 votes to Hirt’s 10,663 in initial returns.
During an election night party at the Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland hosted by Congressional District 1 Democratic candidate Suzan DelBene’s campaign, Hunter watched the preliminary results come in on his iPad.
“That’s about what I got in the primary,” he said, noting he was pleased that voters thought he does a good enough job in the Legislature to send him back.
The 48th District covers parts of Redmond, Kirkland and Bellevue.
“This is a record-setting election for King County,” said Elections Director Sherril Huff in a press release. “Not only have we set a new record for number of voters registered this year, we will also have more ballots counted for tonight’s results report than in any previous election, including the 2008 presidential election when we still had polling places.”
The county’s elections department will update results again Wednesday by 4:30 p.m. and most subsequent weekdays until election certification on Nov. 27.
Reporter Matt Phelps contributed to this story.
