Upset in the making? Latest tally shows Pasco incumbent losing
In an upset more than 24 hours after election night, Calixto Hernandez has likely won the District 6 Pasco City Council seat.
Initially, there was a 19-vote difference between him and incumbent Councilwoman Melissa Blasdel.
With 706 votes counted on Wednesday night, Hernandez had 384 votes and Blasdel had 321 votes. The tally stood at 54% for Hernandez and 45% for Blasdel.
There are a remaining 412 ballots to count for elections across Franklin County. The district’s results are unlikely to change.
Hernandez is a 20-year resident of downtown Pasco and works as an employment specialist at Sagebrush Employment Services in Kennewick. He said in response to an election questionnaire that he assists Medicaid recipients gain employment by connecting them with employers and helping with the process for applying to jobs.
He will start his position on the council as soon as the election is certified on Nov. 25. He’ll serve through Dec. 31, plus a full four-year term.
He could not be reached on Thursday morning.
Campaign money
Hernandez raised nearly $14,000 for his campaign. That’s more than twice what Blasdel raised and nearly the total amount donated to both candidates in the District 3 Pasco council race.
Donations he raised from outside the Tri-Cities have been met with scrutiny.
He received more than 20 donations in July, a majority of them cash donations from individuals and groups based in Seattle and other areas.
He previously told the Tri-City Herald that he’s received support from various unions and agencies across Washington state, not just Seattle.
Those groups include the Franklin County Democrats, Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 598 union, Washington State Democratic Central Committee, Washington Teamsters Legislative League and the Washington Progress Alliance.
Hernandez worked with his campaign manager and finance manager — who are both volunteers — and decided to try to raise up to $15,000 for the campaign.
He said he wasn’t certain how aggressive his campaign would need to be in order to defeat Blasdel, so he aimed to raise a high amount.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 12:36 PM.
