Steadman concedes Thurston Commissioner race as Edwards’ lead increases
Michael Steadman conceded the Thurston County Commissioner race Friday after the auditor’s office reported incumbent Gary Edwards had extended his lead by 2,391 votes Thursday.
About 2,000 ballots were left to be counted as of Thursday afternoon, according to data from the auditor’s office.
Steadman, a Democrat, appeared to be in the lead in early election night results for the District 2 seat, but Edwards pulled ahead Saturday after more votes were counted. His lead has increased since.
“It’s over,” Steadman said. “I’m not going to talk sour grapes. … I tried as hard as I could, I fought as hard as I could for the people and sometimes you just come a little bit short. …
“I’m proud of our effort but I’m disappointed that we just came up a little bit shy.”
Edwards, who identifies as an independent, now leads with 77,112 votes or 50.57% versus Steadman’s 74,721 votes, which represent 49%. The next ballot count was to be released Friday afternoon.
Early results suggested the commission may be entirely comprised of Democrats. Now Edwards, a former sheriff, will provide a conservative and independent contrast to newly elected Democrat Carolina Mejia and incumbent Democrat Tye Menser.
Edwards reacted to the growing lead, saying he feels happier and more confident about the results.
“That’s not uncommon for me to be down (election night),” Edwards said. “I think mainly because the core urban area probably gets counted early … and then usually the outlying area of the county has been pretty good to me over the last several elections.”
However, Edwards said he felt this election was different because of the level of voter turnout. He added he believes the county Auditor’s office has done a good job processing mail-in ballots.
Going forward, Steadman said he will run for reelection to the Lacey City Council and make the most of his time there. He said he may consider running for the county commissioner seat again but made no promises.
“It’s not a perfect science this political stuff, but I believe as long as your heart is in the right place and you care about people just as much as you care about yourself, if not a little bit more, then you’ll always be a great community leader,” Steadman said. “I’ll never give up and I’ll never stop the good fight for, for my friends and family and neighbors.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 12:02 PM.
