Republican state Sen. Drew MacEwen held a narrow districtwide lead over Thurston County Commissioner Carolina Mejia, a Democrat, in early returns Tuesday night in the race for state Senate in the 35th Legislative District.
Districtwide, MacEwen had 13,916 votes, or 50.1%, to Mejia’s 13,854, or 49.8%, according to the Washington Secretary of State.
Kitsap County voters also favored MacEwen, 52.4% to 47.5%, or 6,186 votes to 5,606, 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.
MacEwen, the Senate deputy Republican leader, served a decade in the House before moving to the Senate in 2023. A Navy submarine veteran, he is managing partner of Mountain Lakes Capital. He has called for limiting state spending, reducing the sales tax and capping property taxes.
Mejia has been a Thurston County commissioner since 2021 and chairs the Thurston County Board of Health. She has said cost of living is her top priority. State Democrats made the seat a top target this year.
In the Aug. 4 primary, MacEwen received 25,643 votes (51.0%) districtwide and Mejia 24,574 votes (48.9%). In Kitsap County, MacEwen had 5,772 votes (54.8%) and Mejia 4,746 votes (45.1%).
The 35th District covers all of Mason County and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties.
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