Port of Olympia race neck and neck as 34 votes split candidates after 3rd ballot count

The Port of Olympia District 2 race between incumbent Bob Iyall and challenger Jerry Toompas moved into the spotlight on Thursday as Toompas inched ahead of Iyall in what has become a neck and neck contest.

The two candidates were separated by about 400 votes on Tuesday and 164 votes on Wednesday, but after Thursday’s count, Toompas leapfrogged Iyall and was leading him by 34 votes, Thurston County elections data show.

“I can’t say I’m surprised because I knew this was going to be a close race,” said Iyall Thursday evening.

Iyall believes the race is close because he often found himself playing defense during the campaign, having to respond to misinformation about the port, he said.

The port has had four good years, and has showed a lot of improvement, Iyall said.

“I want to win and I want to continue serving Thurston County,” he said. “We’ll just see how it winds up.”

Iyall said he is still confident in the outcome.

“I think there’s a lot of people who realize we are doing good things at the port and it would be good to continue that,” he said.

Toompas could not be reached for comment on Thursday, but he did comment on Wednesday:

“It’s been inspiring to see so many people come together around a campaign powered entirely by community and grassroots energy,” he said.

In the District 3 race between Krag Unsoeld and Anthony Hemstad, Unsoeld continued to lengthen his lead.

Unsoeld was leading by about 500 votes on Tuesday, about 1,300 votes on Wednesday and 2,185 votes on Thursday, the elections data show.

The next count is set for 5 p.m. Friday. An estimated 19,000 ballots still need to be counted.

The Port of Olympia is governed by a five-member commission. District 1 commissioner Jasmine Vasavada and District 5 commissioner Sarah Montano were not up for re-election.

District 4 commissioner Maggie Sanders chose not to run for re-election which opened the door for Joel Hansen. He ran unopposed for the seat.

District 3 commissioner Amy Evans Harding chose not to run for re-election, so Unsoeld and Hemstad entered the race. The District 2 seat is held by Iyall.

Thurston County’s general election is set to be certified on Nov. 25.

Thursday’s vote tallies

District 2

• Jerry Toompas: 29,548 votes, or 49.83%.
• Bob Iyall: 29,514 votes, or 49.78%.

District 3

• Krag Unsoeld: 30,466 votes, or 51.6%.
• Anthony Hemstad: 28,281 votes, or 47.9%.

This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Port of Olympia race neck and neck as 34 votes split candidates after 3rd ballot count."