OLYMPIA, Wash. — Jaime Herrera Beutler is leading the primary race for Washington state commissioner of public lands following an initial ballot count on Aug. 6.
Herrera Beutler has 23% of the vote. Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson and Democrat and King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove are nearly tied, with Pederson leading Upthegrove by about 4,000 votes.
These returns are from ballots that were turned in early and tabulated. However, counties will release additional results in the days after the election as more ballots are counted. Additional results are typically released daily.
The top two candidates in a Washington primary election move on to the November general election.
Whoever is elected in November will replace Hilary Franz, who, after dropping out of the race for governor, chose to run for the 6th Congressional District.
The commissioner of public lands heads the Department of Natural Resources, overseeing the management of more than 5 million acres of state land. The commissioner also manages the state's on-call fire department, which works to prevent and fight wildfires on 13 million acres of private, state and tribal-owned land.
The commissioner serves a four-year term.
Herrera Beutler, a former representative who lost her 2022 reelection primary to Republican Joe Kent after being one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach former President Donald Trump, outlined her priorities to include reducing wildfires, habitat conservation and increasing public lands for recreational use.
“We are so fortunate to live in America’s most beautiful state, and all of us have a responsibility to keep it that way,” Herrera Beutler previously said in the statement. "I will work with Tribes, scientists, landowners, sportsmen, the forest industry and conservation groups to make sure Washington’s forests and diverse array of species and habitats thrive and to preserve access to recreational use of public land for its owners – the people of Washington.”