Richland City Council race was squeaker. 2nd spot decided by 1% difference

Kent Madsen will face Kurt Maier in the race for Richland City Council Position 6 after widening his lead over Marc Newman in the Aug. 1 primary.

The race for second place was too close to call after initial ballot counts.

Madsen then extended his lead over Newman to 136 votes or more than a full percentage point in results released by the Benton County Auditor.

The race for the open position currently held by Terry Christensen is one of five on the Nov. 7 ballot. It was the only one to draw three candidates, requiring a primary to determine which two would advance.

Christensen did not file to run for reelection.

Maier, a computer engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, received 6,352 votes or 48% of the total, according to the latest results.

Madsen, a longtime resident and professional who worked for companies such as General Electric, received 3,488 votes, or 26%

Newman was third with 3,352 votes, or 25.%.

There were 13,288 votes cast in the council race. Benton County estimates just 400 ballots from throughout the county remain to be counted. Not all are from Richland.

Results will be updated at 4 p.m., Friday, and are not official until they are certified on Aug. 15.

▪ A Connell City Council race is still up in the air.

Franklin County isn’t expecting another update in its only primary race until Aug. 14.

That close race for city council position 5 now has the bottom two candidates separated by just four votes, with an estimated 10 left to be tallied.

Preston Hart leads the race with 135 votes, while Patrice Hebel holding off Stephanie Hallman at 61 votes to 57 votes for the second spot on the Nov. 7 ballot.