Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens held a commanding lead over challenger Todd A. Bloom, a Tacoma tax attorney, statewide in early returns Tuesday night in the race for Position 7 on the Washington Supreme Court.
Statewide, Stephens had 716,084 votes, or 65.5%, to Bloom’s 373,161, or 34.2%, according to the Washington Secretary of State.
Kitsap County voters also favored Stephens, 63.6% to 36.1%, or 52,984 votes to 30,096, 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 six-year term.
Stephens, 61, the court’s chief justice, has served on the court since 2008. She is endorsed by Gov. Bob Ferguson and Democratic legislative leaders.
Bloom, 63, is a Tacoma tax attorney who previously ran for Congress twice as a Republican and has the state Republican Party’s endorsement. He has questioned the court’s independence, citing the number of justices first appointed by Democratic governors.
In the four-way August primary, Stephens received about 54% statewide to Bloom’s 27%. In Kitsap County, Stephens received about 52% and Bloom about 30%. Washington Supreme Court races are nonpartisan.
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