Port of Olympia commission races too close to call, early results show

There were no clear leaders in Port of Olympia races on Tuesday after contested contests were separated by the slimmest of margins.

In the District 2 race, which is between special education teacher Jerry Toompas and incumbent Bob Iyall, the candidates were split by about 400 votes.

Iyall was leading at 50.3%, or 19,294 votes, compared to Toompas at 49.2% and 18,881 votes, according to early returns.

It was a little too close for comfort, said Iyall about the numbers, but he remains confident and acknowledged that he “might pull ahead.”

Toompas, too, acknowledged the race is close.

“I’m optimistic that as the final ballots are counted, things will swing in our favor,” he said. “No matter the outcome, I’m proud of the positive, grassroots campaign we’ve built together.

“I’m deeply grateful for the incredible support from people all across Thurston County,” Toompas said.

District 3 race

In the District 3 seat race, which became available after Commissioner Amy Evans Harding chose not to run for re-election, Krag Unsoeld, whose parents were Willi and Jolene Unsoeld, was leading Anthony Hemstad with 50.4% of the vote to his 49.1%.

The two were separated by about 500 votes. Unsoeld was at 19,245 votes, compared to Hemstad’s 18,753 votes, early returns show.

“My immediate reaction is that it’s early and there are still a lot of votes to count,” said Hemstad, who recalled that he ran for a hospital commission seat about 18 years ago in King County and was down about 5.5% on election night, but came back to win.

“I’m used to being disappointed on election nights, so I wouldn’t draw any conclusions about it today,” Hemstad said. “We will wait and see. I’m not conceding anything.”

Hemstad is a Port of Olympia Citizens Advisory Committee member. Unsoeld could not be reached for comment.

This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 10:20 PM.