And then there were two.
In the race for Position 2 in the 10th Legislative District, early statewide returns Tuesday show Republican Rep. Barbara Bailey of Oak Harbor leading her main Democratic rival Patricia Terry by 12,444 votes to 6,042.
Democrat Ann McDonald, who did not have the endorsement of her party, has picked up 4,256 votes.
If the numbers hold, McDonald won’t be on the ballot on Nov. 4, a victim of the first ever top-two primary election in Washington.
In her car on the way to a friend’s house election night, Bailey was cautiously optimistic.
“It seems things are looking pretty good right now,” she said. “I haven’t seen the Island County numbers yet so I don’t want to make any predictions. It’s early days.”
She said the combined Democratic figures — 10,298 — shouldn’t be enough to unseat her in November.
“This is just the first chapter in the race,” she added.
Meanwhile, Terry was also on the road, traveling from campaign stops at the new Oak Harbor headquarters and the Democratic office in Mount Vernon.
“It’s all pretty exciting,” she said. “It seems that I will be moving on. I hope that those Democrats who voted for Ann will join my campaign as we seek to bring new leadership to the district.”
The district includes Camano and Whidbey islands, Stanwood, and the surrounding areas north to Burlington and south toward Marysville.
Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@southwhidbeyrecord.com.
