Here’s a chance to see 2 candidates debate for hotly contested Benton County prosecutor seat
READ MORE
Tri-City 2022 Election Coverage
The latest news and updates on the 2022 primary and general elections in the Tri-Cities.
Expand All
The two Republican candidates running to fill an open seat as Benton County’s top prosecutor will go head to head in a debate this week at a forum hosted by the Columbia Basin Badger Club.
The debate is at noon Thursday, Sept. 15, and will be on Zoom. It’s free for members and $5 for others.
“With the increased scrutiny on law enforcement in our political discourse and the Benton County Public Safety Sales Tax due to sunset in 2024, the eventual leader of the prosecutor’s office will play a major role in navigating the course of our community’s future,” the club wrote in its event description.
The race between Eric Eisinger and Ryan Lukson will be decided in the Nov. 8 general election.
It’s a closely-watched race.
Lukson has raised about $43,000 in donations and in-kind contributions in the tight contest, including about $16,000 of his own money toward the campaign, according to Washington Public Disclosure Commission records.
And Eisinger has raised $30,500, including $7,700 of his own funds.
Whoever wins will serve for a four-year term and succeed Prosecutor Andy Miller, who is retiring after 36 years.
Lukson currently works as a deputy prosecutor for Benton County and is a Richland city councilman. He’s also the former Richland mayor.
He’s been endorsed by Miller and a number of former Benton County sheriffs, including Larry Taylor and Steve Keane, current Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond, and two of the three sitting county commissioners: Jerome Delvin and Shon Small.
His priorities include renewing the public safety sales tax, lobbying to reverse police accountability laws recently passed by the Legislature and addressing COVID pandemic-caused case backlogs in the court system.
Eisinger is a partner with Richland law firm Walker Heye, PLLC and was a city prosecutor for Kennewick. He’s trial lawyer who’s handled more than 1,000 criminal cases.
The Benton County Republicans-endorsed candidate says says on his campaign website that recent police-reform laws in the state Legislature, specifically around police pursuits, are “destroying” Benton County. His priorities include timely prosecutions, requesting “appropriate bail on all cases” and “real punishment for bad actors.”
Eisinger was the leader in the Aug. 2 primary election with 51.6% of the vote. Lukson was about 2,000 votes behind with nearly 46.9%.
This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 11:54 AM.
