Democratic state Rep. Adison Richards held a commanding lead over Republican challenger David Olson districtwide in early returns Tuesday night in the race for state representative, Position 1, in the 26th Legislative District.
Districtwide, Richards had 32,166 votes, or 56.5%, to Olson’s 24,686, or 43.4%, according to the Washington Secretary of State.
Kitsap County voters also favored Richards, 57.7% to 42.2%, or 15,142 votes to 11,085, 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 two-year term.
Richards, a first-term Democrat with a background in housing law, took office in January 2025. A lifelong resident of the Gig Harbor peninsula area, he now lives in South Kitsap.
Olson, a retired Navy officer, has served on the Peninsula School Board since 2013 and ran for state superintendent of public instruction in 2024, receiving 47% of the vote. He has emphasized fiscal responsibility and the effect of unfunded state mandates on schools.
In the Aug. 4 primary, Olson led districtwide with 22,256 votes (43.8%), followed by Richards with 17,012 votes (33.5%); Natalie Bornfleth received 11,467 votes (22.6%). In Kitsap County, Olson had 10,653 votes (42.9%), Richards 7,472 votes (30.1%) and Bornfleth 6,669 votes (26.9%).
The district covers South Kitsap, including Port Orchard and part of Bremerton, plus Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula in Pierce County.
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