Joel McEntire talks to citizens during his section of Meet the Candidates Tuesday night at the TransAlta Commons in Centralia College campus.
Brian Blake, D-Longview.
Republican Joel McEntire leads the way in the race for the second state Representative seat for District 19 in the 2020 primary election against incumbent Democrat Brian Blake.
As of Tuesday night, McEntire, of Cathlamet, has 53 percent of the votes in District 19 and 73 percent of the votes in Lewis County and Blake, of Longview, holds 47 percent of the votes in District 19 and 26 percent of the votes in Lewis County with 23,983 votes accounted for.
“Though ballots continue to be counted, we are very pleased with the results thus far,” said McEntire in a prepared statement. “This is a clear message from the voters of the 19th that they desire a more conservative direction for their representation.”
Because Washington uses a top-two primary system, meaning the two candidates with the highest percentage of votes — regardless of party affiliation — advance, Blake and McEntire will both be in the 2020 general election in November.
The 2020 race for District 19’s second State Rep. is a rematch of sorts — Blake and McEntire emerged as the top-two candidates of a three-man primary in 2018, which led to Blake winning his eighth term as State Rep. in the general election that year.
However, in 2018, District 19 voters favored Blake, as he was able to secure 54 percent of the votes in the general election while McEntire received 46 percent of the votes that time around.
McEntire, who is a Marine Corps veteran, told The Chronicle in June that Blake was out of touch with the wants and desires of voters in District 19.
His campaign was initially focused on lowering taxes and government accountability but later shifted his platform when the COVID-19 pandemic struck to getting people who were suffering from the economic repercussions of the virus back to work.
Blake told The Chronicle in June that he felt he was the best candidate for the job because of his advocacy for the natural resource communities in District 19 and because of the track record he has established in the 18 years he has served as a state legislator.
Blake, who says his family lineage in Southwest Washington traces back to the late nineteenth century, was a logger before a logging incident got him out of the trade and into politics.
The County Canvassing Board certifies and transmits results of the 2020 primary election to the Secretary of State’s Office on August 18.
To find more election results in Lewis County, visit: https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20200804/lewis/
