John Hutchings
Olympia City Councilman Jim Cooper will advance to November's ballot in the race to replace retiring Thurston County Commissioner Cathy Wolfe.
But the Democrat's opponent for the District No. 1 seat is still to be determined.
Early results from Tuesday's primary election showed Olympia land use attorney Allen Miller, a former member of the Olympia School Board, with a slight edge over former Tenino Police Chief John Hutchings.
The two other candidates, Jon Pettit and Diane Dondero, trailed in early returns.
"I'm pleased to be in second at the moment, and hopefully we'll get even closer to a confirmed second place and move on to November," said Miller, who ran as a non-partisan candidate.
Hutchings, who ran as an independent, said he was "pumped" about the early results, and felt voters sent a strong message with their ballots.
"They don't want more of the same," he said. "They want change."
Only voters who live in District No. 1 -- which runs through a central slice of the county that includes Tenino, rural Rainier, Olympia and Johnson Point -- were allowed to vote in the primary for the race.
In the Nov. 3 general election, voters from throughout the county will vote for Commissioner District No. 1, as well as Commissioner District No. 2, a position being vacated by Sandra Romero. Both Wolfe and Romero are retiring.
The candidates for Romero's seat, former Thurston County Sheriff Gary Edwards, who is running without a party affiliation, and Democrat Kelsey Hulse automatically advanced to the general election, but were still on the primary ballot. Edwards held a wide lead over Hulse in Tuesday's early returns.
Cooper, 41, is chief executive officer of the United Way of the Pacific Northwest, a trade association of the United Way organizations in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Army veteran has served on the Olympia City Council since 2011, and is chairman of its finance committee.
Cooper said he ran a grassroots campaign, and felt the results demonstrated that Thurston County voters still believe in progressive values.
"It looks like all of our hard work paid off," he said. "And I'm looking forward to taking the race countywide now."
About 15,000 more ballots will be counted Wednesday, according to Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall. The election will be certified on Aug. 16.
