2 candidates for Tri-Cities area WA state Legislature hold strong leads. 3rd race closer

Benton and Franklin voters favored Washington state Rep. Matt Boehnke, a Kennewick Republican, over an independent candidate to serve as the District 8 state senator, in the initial vote count election night.

In the races for the two District 8 House seats, voters had to choose from two Republicans for both positions and none were incumbents.

Stephanie Barnard was in the lead for one of the seat’s in the district and April Connors was ahead in the other.

Boehnke had 22,475 votes Tuesday, or 73% of the vote, for the Senate seat, with Ronni Batchelor trailing with 8,100 votes or 26% of the ballots.

For the first House seat, Barnard had 20,483 votes, or 73%, and Patrick Guettner had 6,973 votes, or 25%.

The race for the second House seat was closer. Connors had 16,006 votes, or 56%, and Joe Cotta had 12,186 votes, or 43%.

Cotta posted on his campaign Facebook page Wednesday morning that he expects the remaining ballots to be counted to have a greater ratio of conservative votes. He expects the race to “significantly tighten,” he said.

Connors also posted that “there are a lot more votes to count.”

The release of results for both Benton and Franklin counties was Wednesday evening. Benton County election officials estimated that only about half of the ballots for the election were counted by Tuesday night.

The District 8 Senate seat is open after Republican Sharon Brown chose not to run for another term after serving since 2013.

Boehnke, who heads the Cyber Security Department at Columbia Basin College, served two terms representing District 8 in the House before running for the district’s Senate seat.

He currently is a ranking member of the House Community and Economic Development Committee and has found success sponsoring jobs and worker training bills that have been backed by Republicans and Democrats and signed into law.

Ronni Batchelor, who ran against Boehnke as an independent, has worked in outreach programs to help the homeless and those in mental distress.

Cotta vs Connors

Joe Cotta and Connors, neither of them with elected office experience, were on the ballot for Boehnke’s House seat.

Connors is a 22-year real estate agent who called herself a conservative with a record of working well with others.

She was encouraged to run by Boehnke and was endorsed by former U.S. Congressman Doc Hastings, Benton County Commissioner Jerome Delvin and several state legislators, including Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Wasitburg, and Rep. Skyler Rude, R-Walla Walla.

Cotta, who was endorsed by the Benton and Franklin county Republican parties, is a fourth-generation farmer who has lived in the Tri-Cities since 2009. He wants to restore individual liberties, he said during his campaign.

His frustration over the COVID mask and vaccine mandates prompted him to run for the Legislature and he stood up for conservative Richland school board members who made masks optional. Their action led to the school being closed for two days, a lawsuit and a recall effort, and masks were not removed until it was allowed under Washington state law.

Barnard vs. Guettner

Barnard and Patrick Guettner were vying for the House seat held by Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick, who filed in the primary to run for Congress but did not advance to the November election in that race.

Barnard, who was endorsed by both the Benton and Franklin county Republican parties, is familiar with the workings of the state Legislature as the past director of government and regional affairs for the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce and the past staff lead for the Tri-Cities Legislative Council.

She said during her campaign that as a small business advocate she’s fought with local business owners to combat unnecessary regulations, mandates and government overreach. She’s also worked to save the lower Snake River dams.

Guettner worked for 40 years in engineering and manager roles in the nuclear field and also has a law degree.

He took no money for his campaign, saying he did not want to be beholden to anyone. Instead, he focused on walking neighborhoods and talking to voters.

This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 9:55 PM.