Peninsula Daily News news services
OLYMPIA — New batches of mailed-in ballots counted Wednesday showed Republicans are gaining seats in the state House and Senate, but Democrats are confident they will keep control of the Legislature.
Since the initial vote counts from Tuesday’s election, Republicans have been optimistic they can seize the Senate.
After more ballots were tallied Wednesday, Democrats seemed to be headed for defeat in four districts. Another three races remained close.
The GOP needs a net gain of seven seats to take control of the Senate.
Republican Senate leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, said Wednesday night that he expects late ballots to trend conservative.
“In the last two cycles, the late ballots always swung to the conservative side,” Hewitt said. “We don’t think this thing is over yet.”
In the Republican crosshairs are the 44th and 48th districts, in which Democrats hold slim leads.
In the 44th, Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, leads by less than 100 votes over challenger Dave Schmidt. Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina, had a lead of just 300 votes in the 48th.
On Wednesday, Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, vice chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, conceded to Republican challenger Michael Baumgartner, who has a Harvard master’s degree and experience in civilian foreign service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Democrats have held commanding majorities in the state Legislature for the past six years.
Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz said he expects Democrats to hold onto majorities in the Senate and the House. Pelz said he expects late votes to swing Democratic.
“I think we’re up 27-22 (in the Senate), with two close races,” Pelz said. “We’re going to keep the majorities.”
More than a dozen House races remain in the balance.
Republicans appear to have gained six seats after the latest vote counts. The GOP needs a net gain of 13 seats for a House majority.
Pelz’s latest count had Democrats up 56-42, and he said he expects another two districts to fall on his side.
Veteran Democratic lawmaker Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, led his challenger by less than 600 votes.
In the 25th District, Steve Morrell, D-Puyallup, was trailing challenger Hans Zeiger by 24 votes.
Even if Republicans don’t gain the majorities, Hewitt was upbeat about his party’s gains, including voters’ approval of an initiative reinstating a two-thirds majority requirement in both chambers to raise taxes.
“From my standpoint, what this is going to do is bring back the public debate,” Hewitt said. “In the Senate, we’ve been shut out from the table.
“The Democrats are going to have to work with us, and I think that’s good for the public and taxpayers.”
About two-thirds of the expected vote has been counted statewide.
