Basin races have mix of challengers, unopposed incumbents

Cheryl Schweizer, Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, Wash.
·2 min read

May 13—MOSES LAKE — The filing period for the 2024 election closed Friday with a mixed grouping of candidates at the county and state levels. Some will run against multiple challengers while a few incumbents have exclusive spots on the ballot.

Grant County

Incumbent Grant County Commissioner Rob Jones will face a challenger for his seat, and three candidates have filed to replace Commissioner Danny Stone. Both incumbent Adams County Commissioners will face challengers.

Jones will be challenged by David Henderson of Moses Lake for his seat. Stone did not file for reelection, and the position drew three candidates, which means it will be on the August primary ballot. The candidates to replace Stone are Kevin Burgess and Amador Castro, both of Moses Lake, and Dave Bren of Soap Lake. All Grant County Commission candidates list a Republican party preference.

Grant County Superior Court Judge John Knodell did not file for reelection; Ephrata attorney Melissa Chlarson will run unopposed for the position.

Incumbent Superior Court Judges Tyson Hill and Anna Gigliotti did not have any challengers. Incumbent Grant County Public Utility District commissioner Judy Wilson will run unopposed, but incumbent Tom Flint drew a challenge from Robert Allen, Quincy. The PUD election is nonpartisan.

Adams County

Incumbent Adams County Commissioner Dan Blankenship, Ritzville, will be challenged by David Lobe, Ritzville. Hank Rivard, Othello, will challenge incumbent Adams County Commissioner Jay Weise. All Adams County Commission candidates list a Republican party preference.

Incumbent Adams County Superior Court Judge K. Peter Palubicki will run unopposed.

Washington

In legislative races, 13th District representatives Tom Dent and Alex Ybarra, both Republicans, will run unopposed.

A small slice of Grant County was moved to the 16th Legislative District as a result of a lawsuit that challenged the state's redistricting process. Both 16th District Representative seats and the Senate seat will be up for election, and the Republican incumbents in all three seats drew Democratic challengers. Incumbent Mark Klicker will be challenged by Linda Gunshefski for Position 1, and Skyler Rude will be challenged by Craig Woodard for Position 2. Incumbent Senator Perry Dozier will be challenged by Kari Isaacson.

The redistricting moved Adams County back into the Ninth District of the Washington Legislature. The district's Senate seat and both House seats are up for election in 2024.

Incumbent Representative Mary Dye, a Republican, will be challenged by Democrat Patrick Miller, Cheney, for her seat. Incumbent Representative Joe Schmick, a Republican, drew two Democratic challengers. They are Arianna Arends and Pam Kohlmeier, both of Spokane.

Mark Schoesler of Ritzville, the Republican incumbent senator is running unopposed.

Representative Dan Newhouse, the incumbent in the U.S. House Fourth District, will be challenged by seven candidates for his seat.

Eleven candidates will run for the U.S. House seat in the Fifth District, left open by the retirement of incumbent Cathy McMorris-Rodgers.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.