Incumbent Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders built on his sizable primary election night lead in the latest ballot count Thursday.
It appears to be the largest margin of victory in any Thurston County sheriff primary election race in the history of the position.
Sanders, an independent, now has about 71 percent of the vote, which includes 45,492 ballots in his favor. Challenger Kevin Burton-Crowe is now at 28.70 percent (18,394 votes).
In the 1998 Thurston County primary election, former Thurston County Sheriff Gary Edwards captured 69.73 percent of the vote, which appears to be the previous record.
Sanders and Burton-Crow, a Democrat, will both move on to the Nov. 3 general election under the state’s top-two primary system.
The primary election will not be certified until Aug. 21, and vote totals are likely to change before then as eligible mail-in ballots — those postmarked by Election Day — are processed.
To follow the updated ballot counts ahead of certification, visit the Washington Secretary of State election results website at https://tinyurl.com/bdfcsrwe
