(Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
Democrat Dave Upthegrove advanced to the general election in the Washington state lands commissioner race on Wednesday, following a hand recount in which he clinched the second place spot by just 49 votes out of about 2 million cast.
The tally after the Aug. 6 primary showed Upthegrove, who chairs the King County Council, ahead of the third-place finisher, Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson, by 51 votes. The Washington Secretary of State’s Office certified the recount totals on Wednesday.
“This recount was a significant undertaking that required meticulous attention to detail to ensure every vote was counted fairly and accurately,” Assistant Secretary of State Kevin McMahan said in a statement.
“It demonstrates the accuracy and reliability of Washington’s elections, as the vote counting equipment tabulated votes correctly,” McMahan added, “with the few variances arising from questions about voter intent.”
Upthegrove will face former congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican, in the Nov. 5 election.
By edging out Pederson, Upthegrove prevented a situation where two Republicans would have faced off for statewide office after five Democrats split the party’s vote in the primary.
Both Upthegrove and Pederson in the days after Aug. 6 pressed to get voters to fix – or “cure” – ballots that hadn’t been counted due to problems like signatures that didn’t match those on file. Upthegrove credited this effort for tilting the race in his favor.
“I am so grateful to the hundreds of volunteers in every corner of the state who helped our campaign cure ballots and observe the recount,” he said. “Their efforts made this victory possible.”
The lands commissioner leads the Department of Natural Resources and oversees nearly 6 million acres of state public land, including about 3 million acres of “trust lands” that produce revenue – mostly from logging – for schools, counties and other parts of government.
Lands the agency manages are also open to recreation and some generate revenue from activities like farming, aquaculture, and commercial real estate. The department has about 2,200 employees. And it’s the state’s lead wildland firefighting agency.
This story will be updated.