Democratic County Commissioner Katie Walters held a commanding lead over Republican challenger Kevin Tisdel in early returns Tuesday night in the race for Kitsap County commissioner, District 3.
Walters had 57,932 votes, or 64.4%, to Tisdel’s 31,992, or 35.5%, a margin of 25,940 votes, according to unofficial results posted by the Kitsap County Auditor’s Office at 8:13 p.m. Tuesday.
Countywide, 92,136 ballots had been counted, a turnout of 45.1% of Kitsap County’s 204,242 registered voters.
The Kitsap County Auditor’s Office will keep counting ballots in the coming days, including mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day, and results can change. The county is scheduled to certify the election Nov. 24.
The winner will serve a four-year term.
Walters, first elected in 2022, is seeking a second term. She chairs the Kitsap Transit board and previously led Leadership Kitsap. She has cited work on the Olympic College allied health campus, expanded transit and ferry service and streamlined permitting, and is endorsed by the Kitsap County Democrats and local mayors.
Tisdel, a Republican making his first run for office, is a fourth-generation Kitsap native and business owner with 14 years in civil service at Seattle Public Utilities. He has said he would focus on managing growth and keeping Kitsap affordable.
District 3 covers Central Kitsap, including Silverdale, Tracyton, Illahee, Manette, Seabeck and Holly. Only district voters chose in the primary, where Walters took 59.3% to Tisdel’s 40.5%, but the general election is countywide.
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