Washington’s candidate filing week began Monday, giving prospective candidates through Friday at 5 p.m. to officially register with the Secretary of State’s Office.
Several candidates previously announced their intention to run and have already been actively campaigning, but they must now file the official paperwork.
High-profile elections scheduled this year include the U.S. presidential election to governors, senators and local officials.
Voters in Grays Harbor County will choose a new member of the U.S. House of Representatives as the region’s incumbent, U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, announced late last year he won’t seek re-election.
Kilmer’s 6th Congressional District seat isn’t the only one without an incumbent running. State Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Lake Sutherland, is running for Commissioner of Public Lands and state Rep. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, is running for Van De Wege’s Senate seat.
Several candidates have already announced their intention to run for Chapman’s House seat.
6th Congressional District
Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, D-Grays Harbor, announced last year she would run for the 6th District seat and already secured several endorsements from local officials, including Kilmer.
Also running for the 6th District seat is state Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, so far the only Republican to enter the race.
State Sen. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, also has announced her candidacy.
19th Legislative District
Incumbent Rep. Jeff Wilson, a Longview Republican and chair of the state GOP, has filed for the state Senate.
For state Representative Position 1, incumbent Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, has filed, as has Mike Coverdale, a Democrat from Westport.
For state Representative Position 2, incumbent Joel McEntire, a Republican from Cathlamet, will face off against South Bend’s Justine Franks, a Libertarian.
24th Legislative District
Chapman filed for the 24th Legislative District’s Senate seat in addition to Marcia Kelbon, a Quilcene Republican who’s previously run for Jefferson County commissioner. James Russell, a Democrat from Port Angeles, will make his try for the Senate.
Several candidates previously announced their intention to run for Chapman’s House seat. As of Wednesday afternoon, Democrats Adam Bernbaum of Port Angeles and Nate Tyler of Neah Bay both had registered, as had Republican Matt Roberson, also of Port Angeles.
Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend, who’s served in the district’s Position 1 seat since 2011, also registered. No other candidates had yet filed for Tharinger’s seat.
Grays Harbor County Commissioner
Commissioner District 1 will have Ron Mullins (Elma, Democrat), facing off against Georgia Miller (Montesano, Republican).
Commissioner District 2 has only one person filing so far — Brian Blake, a Democrat from Cosmopolis.
Grays Harbor Superior Court
With three seats open — Positions 1, 2 and 3, only one candidate has filed for each of the open seats, all incumbents. Katie Svoboda for Position 1, Vini Samuel for Position 2, and David Mistachkin for Position 3.
Grays Harbor County PUD
Incumbent Arie Callaghan so far is the only candidate to file for District 3.
Statewide races
There are a number of statewide races also scheduled to take place this fall, and candidates are already piling up for the August primary election, which will narrow each race down to the top two vote-getting candidates.
Statewide positions include U.S. senator, governor; lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state; commissioner of public lands, treasurer, auditor, superintendent of public instruction, insurance commissioner and three supreme court positions.
Many have filed for governor, including one from Aberdeen — Leon A Lawson, who registered as a Trump Republican.
The Daily World’s sister paper The Peninsula Daily News contributed to this report.
