Schrier leads 8th District primary; race for second separated by seven votes

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier held a commanding lead Tuesday night after the first statewide ballot count in Washington's 8th Congressional District primary, while Republicans Spencer Meline and Trinh Ha were separated by just seven votes in the race for the second spot on the November ballot.

With the first round of results reported from counties across the district, Schrier received 54.00% of the vote, or 59,340 votes.

Meline narrowly held second place with 14.75%, or 16,206 votes, just ahead of Ha, who received 14.74%, or 16,199 votes. Republican Bob Hagglund received 11.76% with 12,923 votes. Republican Andres Valleza received 2.40% with 2,635 votes, while Democrat Keith Arnold received 2.20% with 2,417 votes.

Under Washington's top-two primary system, the two candidates receiving the most votes advance to the Nov. 3 general election regardless of party affiliation.

With only seven votes separating Meline and Ha, the race for second remained too close to call Tuesday night. Additional ballot counts are expected in the coming days as counties continue processing mail ballots.

In Chelan County, Schrier also led the field, receiving 50.26% of the vote with 7,894 votes.

Meline finished second locally with 19.24%, or 3,022 votes, followed by Ha with 14.06%, or 2,209 votes. Hagglund received 12.90% with 2,026 votes. Valleza received 1.76% with 276 votes, and Arnold received 1.71% with 268 votes.

King County, which contains the largest share of voters in the district, strongly favored Schrier. She received 61.56% of the vote with 33,097 votes. Meline also edged Ha in the county, receiving 13.41%, or 7,209 votes, compared with Ha's 11.81%, or 6,351 votes. Hagglund received 8.80% with 4,730 votes, Arnold received 2.23% with 1,201 votes, and Valleza received 2.00% with 1,073 votes.

Meline also held a slight advantage over Ha in the early returns from Chelan, Douglas and Snohomish counties, while Ha's support elsewhere in the district kept the contest virtually even.

Schrier has represented Washington's 8th Congressional District since 2019. The district includes Chelan and Kittitas counties, portions of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, and a small portion of Douglas County.

Election night results remain unofficial until certified. Counties are expected to release additional ballot counts throughout the week as mail ballots continue to be processed.

Ward Media will continue updating this story as new results are reported.