Port of Olympia District 2 race flips again; District 3 candidate concedes
The Port of Olympia District 2 race has a new leader, while a District 3 candidate conceded the election to his opponent Friday night.
District 2 incumbent Port Commissioner Bob Iyall has again regained the lead over challenger Jerry Toompas, according to updated Thurston County elections data released Friday.
Iyall led his opponent by about 400 votes after a first count of votes on Nov. 4, but Iyall watched as that lead narrowed and then became a deficit as he fell behind by 34 votes on Thursday.
But after Friday’s count — the fourth ballot count since the general election — Iyall had regained the lead by 128 votes. The next count is set for 5 p.m. Monday.
An estimated 5,400 ballots still need to be counted, according to elections data.
Meanwhile, District 3 candidate Anthony Hemstad conceded the election to his opponent Krag Unsoeld Friday night, according to a Facebook post.
“While the vote tally is not what we hoped for, I am incredibly proud of all the people who helped on our ‘Hemstad for Port’ campaign,” he wrote. “Our campaign put forth big ideas on how to improve the port’s performance in challenging times, we also focused on two themes throughout the campaign — competence and unity.”
Unsoeld led Hemstad by about 500 votes on Nov. 4 and that lead only grew wider. After Friday’s count, the gap was 2,615 votes, elections data show.
“The port can and should be a key economic engine for Thurston County,” Hemstad said in his post. “My best wishes to the future port commission for success in meeting its immense potential.”
Friday’s vote tallies
District 2
- Bob Iyall, 36,068 votes, or 49.9%.
- Jerry Toompas, 35,958, or 49.7%.
District 3
- Krag Unsoeld, 37,142 votes, or 51.6%.
- Anthony Hemstad, 34,527 votes, or 47.9%.
This story was originally published November 9, 2025 at 1:16 PM.
