Thursday, October 1, 2026
The race for the Thurston County Commissioner District No. 5 seat will pit an incumbent against a local city councilman in the Nov. 3 General Election.
Challenger Nicolas Martinez-Dunning was the top voter getter in the Aug. 4 Primary Election race with 5,662 votes (38.36 percent) for the Lacey City Councilman, compared with 5,119 votes (34.68 percent) for Commissioner Emily Clouse. Both candidates advance to the Nov. 3 General Election.
South Sound YMCA Senior Director of Branch Operations Michelle Gipson ended up third with 3,722 votes (25.22 percent), according to official results from the Thurston County Auditor’s Office Elections Division. The results were certified by the Thurston County Canvassing Board on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
In the race for the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office top post, incumbent Derek Sanders received 59,143 votes (70.69 percent), while challenger Kevin Burton-Crow picked up 24,254 votes (28.99 percent) in the two candidate contest.
That difference marked the largest margin of victory in the contested races on the Aug. 4 Primary Election ballot.
In the race for the Thurston County Assessor's role, JJ Olson received 40,570 votes (55.10 percent), while Lynda Nashed Zeman pulled in 30,960 votes (42.05 percent) in the two candidate contest.
In the back and forth race for the Thurston County Clerk's seat, Nicole Miller received 40,864 votes (50.72). Garrett Cady checked in with 39,251 votes (48.72 percent) in the two candidate contest.
The candidates in the sheriff’s office, assessor and clerk races all move on to the Nov. 3 General Election.
Voter turnout weighed in at 40.13 percent in the Aug. 4 Primary Election with 86,435 registered voters casting ballots. There were 215,385 registered voters on the rolls at the time of certification.
Final official Aug. 4 Primary Election results can be found here.
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KatAshe
40.13% voter participation is pathetic. I’ll have to ask my Australian nephew something. In Australia, one is required to vote. I’ll have to ask what the fine is for not voting.
Wednesday, August 19 Report this
JohnGear
Kat, right on!
Citizens should demand that all public elections be run using a “mandatory ballot return” rule — you don’t have to vote if you don’t want to (you are free to return your ballot unvoted) but each voter MUST return the ballot so that the elections office can ensure its voter rolls are fully accurate and to keep them updated.
Given the importance of honest elections and given how much we spend on printing and mailing ballots and election information materials and running the elections offices, we should demand that citizens do their part in ensuring free and fair elections. The government’’s part is to hold the elections and distribute ballots to every eligible voter; the duty of those voters is to ensure the system if functioning properly by returning the ballot every time, voted or not, and update their address as needed.
Wednesday, August 19 Report this
Honestyandrealityguy
Congrats to Sherriff Sanders!
Thursday, August 20 Report this
SteveA
my understanding is that in the mandatroy voting in Australia about 85^ of voters return their ballot.
those who are penalized for not voting are often required to perform community service.
We miss Sen. Sam Hunt's leadership on this issue of citizenship
Thursday, August 20 Report this
Boatyarddog
I'd wager that E. CLOUSE will receive the % needed to prevail in the General. Women will vote for a woman, when a contender for a close race is a woman, this shows trust of the Candidate as a woman and the race is close, this race is very close.
Good luck to E. Clouse, she is the right person for this position.
Thursday, August 20 Report this