This story will be updated as the primary election night goes on in Whatcom County.

 

WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Preliminary results in the 2026 Primary election are making strong showing for conservatives, incumbents and independents as the ballot boxes close this Tuesday, Aug. 4.

The Whatcom County Auditor’s Office is reporting roughly 25% voter turnout at this point. That number is likely to change as staff for the auditor tally the ballots dropped in the several ballot boxes in the county and the mailed ballots arrive.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen is currently maintaining his reelection campaign as preliminary results place him in first place for Tuesday’s primary with over 38% of the vote.

Republican challenger Edwin Feller is close behind at nearly 37% while progressive Democrats Tomas Scheel and Devin Hermanson trail with over 14% and 10.5% respectively.

42nd District early showings as ballots are tallied

The Republican in the race for state senate in District 42 is ahead.

Erika Creydt received just over 46% of the vote.

Two Democrats in the race, Port of Bellingham Commissioner Michael Shepard and Planning Commission member Eamonn Collins, are neck and neck at 27% and 24% respectively.

Ryan Bowman, who doesn’t declare a party preference, has just over 2%.

This is an open seat following Senator Sharon Shewmake’s decision to not seek re-election.

Meanwhile, Democrats are ahead in the beauty contests for state house seats in the 42nd District.

Position 1 incumbent Democrat Alicia Rule is ahead of Republican challenger Misty Flowers 55% t0 45%.

For Position 2, incumbent Democrat Joe Timmons leads with 52.5% over Republican Justin Pike’s 45.5%.

40th District early results show incumbent security

Further south, the 40th district is looking like it may keep its current representation.

Representative Position 1 incumbent Democrat Debra Lekanoff enjoys a wide lead over her Republican challenger Cindy Carter.

Lekanoff is preferred by over 72% of voters versus almost 28% for Carter.

For Position 2, Incumbent state Rep. Alex Ramel faced challenges from three candidates this primary, though he is currently blowing them out of the water with over 68% of the vote.

His closest challenger, Joseph Segault who has no party preference, captured roughly 13% of the vote in preliminary tally numbers.

Independent Salomon Rodrigue Mbouombouo received nearly 10% of the vote followed by fellow Independent Monte Jay Mahan at nearly 8.5%.

The 40th District covers parts of Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan Counties.

Whatcom County Prosecutor race implies change is in the air

The race for Whatcom County Prosecutor is still up to be decided, but Ryan Swinburnson, who has no party preference, is currently leading the race for the seat at nearly 39.5% of the vote. Swinburnson does not currently work for the prosecutor’s office unlike his competitors.

Democrats Jesse Corkern, Dona Bracke and Erik Sigmar are neck and neck for preliminary second place, with over 21.5% for Corkern, nearly 20% for Bracke and roughly 19% for Sigmar.

New Port Commission seats

Seat 4 represents the north, inland region of Whatcom County, encompassing Lynden but stopping at where SR 9 intersects with E Badger Road. This race is currently led by Paul Burrill with approaching 31% of the vote.

Tor Benson with over 24.5% takes second place behind Burrill, followed by Samantha Cruz-Mendoza at roughly 18% of the early results.

Seat 5 for the newly-expanded port commission takes the east part of Whatcom County, including Lake Whatcom and the Chuckanuts in addition to Maple Falls and Deming.

Chris Elder captured over 40.5% of the vote for seat 5 on the commission following in early poll results.

Shawn Ensley with nearly 22% of the vote has placed second in early results with Todd Lagestee at approaching 18% for third place.

 

More results will be released as ballots are tallied. Next update from the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office is at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5.