Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Smiley leading 28 counties, but still losing
PASCO – Local farm girl turned political newcomer Tiffany Smiley securely has all 20 of Eastern Washington's counties in her corner.
In fact, she won 28 of the state's 39 counties in the Tuesday, Nov. 8, general election. Yet, she still lost to career politician Patty Murray, D-Shoreline.
As of press time, Smiley, a Pasco Republican, was trailing Murray by more than 400,000 votes.
Murray had 1,591,893 votes (57.09%); Smiley had 1,190,279 votes (42.69%).
Smiley was unable to be reached for comment prior to press time.
Late-arriving ballots will continue to be counted until certification Nov. 29.
Adams and Lincoln counties provided the strongest support, percentage-wise, for Smiley. In Adams County, Smiley had 2,990 votes (76.22%). In Lincoln County, she had 4,496 votes (76.83%).
In her home county, Franklin County, Smiley had 14,947 votes (68.49%). Murray had 6,860 votes (31.43%).
But Murray performed best in King County, the state's most populous county. There, Murray received 324,715 votes (74.222%) compared to Smiley's 111,806 votes (25.56%)
Murrays' King County lead of 394,440 votes was similar to her entire lead statewide, which added up to 401,614 votes.
West of the Cascades, Murray led in all of the Puget Sound counties and Clark County, which includes Vancouver. Smiley led in Grays Harbor, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Lewis and Skamania counties.
East of the Cascades, Smiley led in all 20 counties.
Murray's best performance on this side of the state was in Spokane and Whitman Counties, which are home to Eastern Washington, Gonzaga and Washington State universities.
In Spokane County, Smiley had 118,776 votes (54.42%) compared to Murray's 99,042 votes (45.38%).
In Whitman County, Smiley had 6,302, votes (53.51%) and Murray had 5,451 votes (46.29%).
According to the Office of the Secretary of State, only 2,807,419 votes have been counted out of 4,805,688 ballots sent to registered voters.
The election will be certified Nov. 29
Roger Harnack is owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. An award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher who grew up in Eastern Washington, he's one of only two Washington state journalists ever to receive the international Golden Quill for editorial/commentary writing. Roger is committed to preserving local media, and along with it, a local voice for Eastern Washington.
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