Rep. Kathy Haigh clinging to 110-vote edge over GOP challenger Dan Griffey; recount possible in 35th district

State Rep. Kathy Haigh was holding onto a 110-vote lead Wednesday over Republican Dan Griffey in their 35th Legislative District rematch. The race is one of a handful that could erode Washington state House Democrats’ 55 to 43 majority and leave them with as few as 50 seats.

Haigh, a Democrat and Shelton veterinarian, saw her 223-vote edge on election night shrink to 84 votes after Mason and Kitsap counties counted ballots late Wednesday afternoon. But her lead grew slightly after an early evening count in Thurston County, the only one of three district counties where she was winning.

“It’s better to be on the top than the bottom and waiting,” said Haigh, who said it may be Friday before it’s clear who is moving ahead. “I’m not surprised. It’s tight all over the country. Most of the polling we heard from had me even or even behind by a point or two. We worked really hard, we did a lot of phone banking. We were door-belling on Saturday.”

“My prediction is a recount is on the table,” said Griffey, a firefighter from Allyn. “But I don’t look forward to a recount.’’

The race is within the threshold of an automatic machine recount, because the vote margin is less than one-half percent of the 37,920 ballots cast. An automatic hand recount would be ordered if either candidate’s margin of victory falls below 150 votes and is less than a quarter percent of votes tallied, according to the Office of the Secretary of State.

Democrats appear to have lost one seat outright and were on the verge of losing another. Rep. Dawn Morrell of Puyallup trailed Republican Melanie Stambaugh of Puyallup by more than 2,000 votes in the 25th District. A close race in Vancouver’s 17th District saw Democratic Rep. Monica Stonier trailing Republican Lynda Wilson by more than 500 votes.

Two House races clearly up in the air and still close to recount range were in the 28th where Paul Wagemann, R-Lakewood, trailed by 41 votes behind Christine Kilduff, D-University Place, and in the 26th District where Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, trailed by 232 votes behind Michelle Caldier, R-Port Orchard.

Brad Shannon: 360-753-1688

This story was originally published November 5, 2014 at 6:16 PM with the headline "Rep. Kathy Haigh clinging to 110-vote edge over GOP challenger Dan Griffey; recount possible in 35th district."