Kent earns just 1 more vote in Thurston County recount of 3rd Congressional District race
Republican Joe Kent earned one additional Thurston County vote in a recount his campaign requested after his loss in the 3rd Congressional District race.
Kent lost to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez by 2,629 votes, or 0.83% of the votes cast for both candidates in the Nov. 8 election. His campaign requested a machine recount on Dec. 9, two days after Secretary of State Steve Hobbs certified the election results.
Congressional District 3 spans a large portion of southwest Washington state. It includes parts of Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston and Wahkiakum counties.
Prior to the recount, Kent won in Thurston County with 62.3% (8,511) while Gluesenkamp earned 37.4% (5,112). He also won in Cowlitz, Lewis, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties.
However, he lost in Pacific and Clark counties; Clark has the most voters in the district. There, Perez gained six votes and Kent gained two in the county’s recount.
Following its recount, Thurston County’s Canvassing Board determined one ballot was a vote for Kent, according to a Friday news release.
The county says it conducted its recount by using tabulation system software that reviewed scanned ballot images. Ballots without votes in this race were also examined to verify any potential marks. Seven observers watched the recount in person.
Kent’s campaign previously said it wanted a recount because of the close margin in the race, The Associated Press reported.
“We believe the election workers did their best to ensure a fair election and count the ballots accurately,” his campaign said in a statement. “But given the close margin between the two campaigns, technical issues with the signature verifications software, and the obligation we have to our supporters to ensure certainty about the outcome, we believe a second tabulation is in order.”
State law allows campaigns to request recounts in a general election if the margin of victory is at least one-half of 1% or 2,000 votes or more. If the margin falls below that threshold, then a recount occurs automatically.
Since this was a request, Kent’s campaign must pay the entire cost of the recount.
