Incumbent state Rep. Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet, seemed to have easily defeated Democratic opponent Cara Cusack 59.43% to 40.45% on Tuesday night in the race for the 19th legislative district representative Position 2.
McEntire is seeking his second term in the state House, having first been elected in 2020. McEntire led by 7,704 ballots with 24,130 votes to Cusack’s 16,426.
McEntire first became involved in politics as a party activist, serving as chair of the Wahkiakum County Republican Party before being encouraged to run by House Republican leadership.
Cusack, the director of operations for Aspiritech, a company that helps children on the autism spectrum find employment, decided to run against McEntire because she felt he wasn’t able to work with Democrats and she believed she could get more done for the district.
The office of state representative has a two-year term.
In an interview with The Chronicle, McEntire said he was pleased with the results.
“For our locality in the 19th District I’m actually pretty happy with our results. Taking the night for what it is, I couldn't have asked for anything more,” McEntire said.
McEntire said he believes the decisive issues of the campaign were rising prices and public safety.
“It’s the high prices of groceries, fuel, people not being able to make their ends meet. Part of that also just goes to the safety and security of the neighborhoods,” McEntire said.
McEntire said he was pleased with the campaign he ran, calling it “fantastic.”
McEntire said he was pleased with what he saw as a very “clean” campaign.
“I think I played it as well as I needed to given who my opponent was. I kind of tempered my speech and rhetoric based on who my opponent is and how much they want to turn up the temperature … I was happy to keep it a good, clean campaign,” McEntire said.
McEntire said he was looking forward to seeing how the vote tallies change in the next few days.
Cusack told The Chronicle she wished she had received more votes but thought she did well for a first-time candidate.
“I was hopeful for more, still waiting for more, but I think for a first time candidate I made a good showing,” Cusack said.
Asked what she thought the decisive issues were of the campaign, Cusack said she believed a significant amount of money was put into the race by the Republicans, allowing them to get their message out to more people.
“I think I ran a good campaign … for someone who’s never been in politics and is new on the scene. I think it shows I’m pretty competitive,” Cusack said, adding the results showed “I just need to work a little harder.”
