Filing Week: Incumbents file and last-minute candidates join race for Congress on opening day

May 4-Tracy Murphy followed through on his promise, filing to run for Lewis County sheriff early Monday morning amid an investigation and his recent termination from the Centralia Police Department.

His wife, Sherri Murphy, also filed to become Republican precinct committee officer.

Filing for the 2026 ballot opened at 8 a.m. Monday morning.

As of Monday afternoon, a set of well known incumbents and expected candidates had made their campaigns official.

Murphy remained steadfast in his campaign for sheriff despite outside challenges. The race for sheriff will include at least one unexpected local law enforcement official. Meanwhile, candidates are appearing to challenge many local and state level incumbents.

Democrat Brent Hennrich was the first to officially file in the race for Washington's Third Congressional District seat. The top two fundraisers in the race, incumbent Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, and Washington state Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, joined him late Monday morning, making all three campaigns official.

Local and state level incumbents filed to run for office across Lewis County and the southern part of Thurston County. A Democrat challenger has already appeared to take on incumbent state Rep Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis. State Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, is also facing a Democrat challenger for his position 2 state representative seat for the 35th Legislative District.

Candidate filing will remain open throughout the week until 5 p.m. on Friday evening. Candidates can file in person at the Lewis County Auditor's Office inside the Lewis County Courthouse in Chehalis during regular business hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. any day Monday through Friday. Candidates can file in person until the 5 p.m. deadline Friday. Candidates can also file online at any time during filing week until the deadline.

Starting with today's article, The Chronicle will follow up its pre-filing week campaign coverage with two additional updates throughout filing week to keep readers updated on which candidates will run for which positions in and around Lewis County.

Stay up to date on filings throughout the week online at https://tinyurl.com/289e9zcv.

Lewis County

The race for Lewis County sheriff is already heating up as a previously unknown candidate, Lewis County Sheriff's Office Special Services Chief Gabriel Frase, filed to run for sheriff alongside Murphy.

Many candidates for Lewis County sheriff have been well known for months, but Frase was not one of them.

Four incumbent Lewis County officials also filed early Monday morning. Ross Nielson filed to retain his seat as Lewis County assessor, as he said he would in a recent campaign announcement. Scott Tinney filed to hold onto his role as Lewis County clerk, Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod filed to retain his position and Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer also filed to retain his job.

Lewis County Treasurer Arny Davis filed to keep his position, and Mitchell L. Merrill became the first candidate to file for the race for Lewis County auditor. He was the only one to do so as of midday Monday. Current Lewis County Auditor Larry Grove has said publicly that he will not seek reelection.

Two expected candidates, Lewis County Public Utility District Commissioner Michael Hadaller and Lewis County Democrats Chair Zac Eckstein, both filed Monday to run for Lewis County District 3 commissioner. They were the only two to file as of Monday afternoon in an election that is expected to include, at a minimum, current Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer and Toledo business owner Kyler Wheeler.

State Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis, filed Monday morning and will seek re-election this year to his position 1 state representative seat for the state's 20th Legislative District. According to the candidate filings, he will face off against at least one challenger, Andy Zahn, a Democrat who registered with a Toutle address.

The 20th Legislative District represents most of Lewis County and parts of Thurston, Cowlitz and Clark counties east of Interstate 5.

Incumbent state Reps. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, and Joel McEntire, R-Cathlemet, both filed to run for re-election to their seats representing the state's 19th Legislative District. The 19th district represents the parts of Lewis County, and many others, that lie to the west of Interstate 5 from Aberdeen to Longview.

Two challengers have appeared to take on McEntire for his 19th Legislative District position 2 seat. A challenger has also appeared to face off with 20th Legislative District state Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, who has not yet filed, but has already posted campaign signs around the district.

A Longview-based Democrat, Terry Carlson, announced Sunday that he would file to run for McEntire's seat, but had not yet filed on Monday. In a Sunday news release, Carlson pitched himself as a candidate for working class residents, touting his experience in the labor movement and as a "proud union member."

A former Republican candidate for the position, James "Jimi" O'Hagan, also filed to run for the seat Monday. O'Hagan previously ran for the seat in 2016, but at the same time faced felony theft charges in Lewis County. Kelso Democrat Evan Jones will run for Orcutt's spot.

South Thurston County

In a somewhat unexpected turn of events, Thurston County Commissioner Carolina Mejia filed to run for the state senator seat for the 35th Legislative District, which would set her on a collision course with incumbent state Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, assuming he files to retain his seat.

Incumbent state representatives for the 35th Legislative District, Couture and Dan Griffey, both R-Allyn, filed to run for re-election seeking to hold onto their seats. Couture was facing a single Democrat challenger, Maria Littleson, as of midday Monday.

The 35th Legislative District represents all of Mason County along with a small chunk of Kitsap County and portions of southeast Thurston County.

Incumbent Washington state Rep. Matt Marshall, R-Eatonville, filed to keep his position 2 seat for the states 2nd Legislative District. He already faces a Democrat challenger in Angela Taylor, who filed with a Yelm Address.

Self declared Labor Democrat, William Dehnel, who filed with a Yelm address, will run for the district 2 representative seat currently held by Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia.

The state's 2nd Legislative District includes part of southeastern Thurston County and a large chunk of southern Pierce County, stopping along its southern border with Lewis County.

More Congressional Candidates

Two relatively quiet congressional candidates filed for the ballot Monday morning behind Hennrich, who was the first to do so, and before Gluesenkamp Perez. Washougal-based Lawrence "Larry" Kellogg and Centralia-based John P. Roco are both running as Republicans and will seek to challenge the incumbent in a race that already includes at least eight candidates.

According to Kellogg's campaign website, he is running as a centrist Republican. Filings with the Federal Election Commission show Kellogg well behind the curve in fundraising, with no funds reported. Despite filing for the ballot, Roco does not appear to have filed a financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission yet.

According to information on the Ballotpedia website, Roco ran for Senate multiple times in the state of Hawaii but was unsuccessful and also threw his name in the ring as a write-in Republican candidate at the Republican National Convention ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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