From left, Clint Bryson, D-Montesano, Marianna Everson, D-Montesano, and state Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen.
Republican incumbent Jim Walsh holds an overwhelming lead over his Democratic competitors in the 2020 primary election for District 19’s State Representative Pos. 1 seat, with Marianna Everson in second and Clint Bryson in third.
As of Tuesday night, Walsh, of Aberdeen, holds 57 percent of the votes in District 19 and 75 percent from within Lewis County. Everson, of Montesano, has 23 percent of the votes in District 19 and 14 percent from within Lewis County and Bryson, of Montesano, has 20 percent of the votes in District 19 and 10 percent from with Lewis County with 24,023 votes accounted for.
With Walsh and Everson in the lead as of Tuesday night, they are poised to be the candidates who move on to November’s general election.
Walsh became a state legislator by surprising District 19, a historically Democratic legislative district, in narrow victories for his State Rep. seat in the 2016 and 2018 general elections by vote margins in the hundreds.
Prior to being elected as a state representative, Walsh was elected as the vice chairman for the Washington State Republican Party in 2014.
In June, Walsh told The Chronicle his campaign was focused on restoring “a constitutional balance of power, which is lacking in Olympia.”
Policy-wise, Walsh said he was focused on defending the natural resource industries that are prevalent in District 19.
Behind Walsh in second is Everson, who is a first-timer when it comes to running for elected office and told The Chronicle in June that her life experience as a once-homeless single mother while in nursing school has guided her to advocating for social services and bringing more economic equity to working-class families.
Everson is listed as a Democrat but considers herself a progressive Democrat and is an advocate for a single-payer healthcare system, assisting more Washingtonians who struggle with housing and substantial investments into local infrastructure which she says will create more liveable wage jobs.
Bryson told The Chronicle in June that he is using his 20-plus years of experience working with the local electrical workers union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 76, to be able to effectively listen to both sides of the aisle and find solutions in the middle.
Bryson said his experience in union meetings where there were Republicans on one side and Democrats on the other, and he needed to find solutions that would appease both sides, were ideal for Olympia.
Before running for a state Rep. position in District 19, Bryson was elected to the Montesano City Council in 2017.
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/
