PHOENIX – Two Republicans are poised to poised to face off in November to become Washington state's next treasurer.
Benton County Treasurer Duane Davidson and asset manager Michael Waite were solidly ahead of the race's three Democrats in returns posted after the election closed Tuesday.
Washington's primaries send the top two finishers to the November general election, regardless of party affiliation.
James McIntire, a Democrat, did not run for a third term as treasurer.
Some 250,000 ballots remain to be counted as of Tuesday night in the state's mail-ballot-only election, according to the Secretary of State's office. Ballots are counted as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday.
Davidson was elected to his fourth term as Benton County's treasurer in 2014, and is in his second term as president of the Washington State Association of County Treasurers.
He won the endorsement of several other county treasurers as well as the editorial board of the Seattle Times.
Waite, a senior vice president at international investment company Bentall Kennedy, has never held elective office.
The Australian-born Waite came to the U.S. in the 1990s, and touted his private sector experience handling large sums of money. He won endorsements from local county Republican parties and some current and former state lawmakers and officials.
Almost 51% of the votes counted so far in the primary were for the three Democrats, but they split their vote evenly enough to push the two Republicans into the top two positions.
Davidson claimed 25.48% of the vote, according to returns posted by the Secretary of State Wednesday morning, and Waite 23.64%. The best-performing Democrat, John Paul Comerford, claimed 18.66%. Democrats Comerford and Marko Liias prevailed in heavily-populated King County, but Davidson and Waite were the leaders throughout most of the rest of the state.
Davidson dominated in his home county, with 55% of the vote. He also appeared to edge Waite in King County, Waite's home county.
The people of Washington will also cast votes for governor in November. Incumbent Democrat Jay Inslee cruised to the general election with almost 49% of the primary vote, and will face Republican businessman and former Port of Seattle Commissioner Bill Bryant in November.
