Port of Olympia election: 1 candidate widens lead while another gains ground
The Port of Olympia commission races shifted after a second count of ballots on Wednesday.
After the first count of Tuesday night ballots, District 3 candidate Krag Unsoeld was leading candidate Anthony Hemstad while District 2 incumbent Bob Iyall was ahead of challenger Jerry Toompas.
That was still the case on Wednesday. However, Unsoeld had widened his lead over Hemstad, from about 500 votes to around 1,300 votes, the elections data show.
“I feel better and a little more confident than yesterday, but it’s not over until it’s over,” Unsoeld said.
Hemstad called the second count disappointing, but noted there still are ballots to be counted. The county elections office estimates that there are still 32,000 ballots to be counted. The next count is set for 5 p.m. Thursday.
“It needs to turnaround quickly if we’re going to win this thing,” Hemstad said.
In the District 2 race, Iyall previously was leading Toompas by about 400 votes, but after the second count, they were separated by only 164 votes.
“I’m very encouraged by the latest ballot returns,” Toompas said. “The final result will be close, but I’m optimistic that our strong turnout effort this past week will help us pull ahead as the remaining votes are counted.”
The Olympian could not reach Iyall for comment.
Unsoeld and Hemstad are vying to fill the District 3 seat that will be vacated by Commissioner Amy Evans Harding.
Joel Hansen ran unopposed to fill the District 4 seat previously held by Maggie Sanders. Evans Harding and Sanders chose not to run for re-election.
Hansen and Hemstad are Port of Olympia Citizens Advisory Committee members. Unsoeld is a retired Olympia School District educator and Iyall is the former chief executive of Medicine Creek Enterprises Corp, a Nisqually tribe-owned holding company. Toompas is a special education teacher.
Wednesday vote tallies
District 2
- Bob Iyall: 22,955, or 49.97%.
- Jerry Toompas: 22,791, or 49.61%.
District 3
- Krag Unsoeld: 23,402, or 51.2%.
- Anthony Hemstad: 22,120: 48.4%.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.