After a week, state lands commissioner race still too close to call

Democrats are still fighting to avoid being shut out of the race for Washington's public lands commissioner, more than a week after the Aug. 6 primary election.

Why it matters: Under Washington's top-two primary , two members of the same party can advance to the general election — an outcome that looked more than possible in early vote counts , when two Republicans were in the lead.

The latest: In the latest results from the Aug. 6 vote-by-mail election , Democrat Dave Upthegrove, a King County Council member, was about 2,300 votes ahead of Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson , a retired utility analyst and former power manager.

• If those results hold, Upthegrove will advance to the November ballot, along with former Republican U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who had amassed about 22% of the primary vote as of Wednesday.

Yes, but: Upthegrove told Axios Wednesday that he still considers the race too close to call, and that the second-place finish may come down to only a few hundred votes.

By the numbers: As of Wednesday, Upthegrove was capturing about 20.9% of the vote to Pederson's roughly 20.8%.

• If the margin between the two candidates falls below 2,000 votes and less than 0.5%, it will trigger a mandatory recount under state law .

Context: The state commissioner of public lands oversees the state Department of Natural Resources, which manages state forests and is the state's largest wildland firefighting agency.

• The position is open because the current officeholder, Democrat Hilary Franz, unsuccessfully ran for Congress instead of seeking re-election.

What they're saying: Herrera Beutler said in a written statement this week she was "honored" to be leading the race, and said her focus is on how to "manage our public lands to protect critical habitat, preserve ecosystems and reduce the catastrophic wildfires we've all suffered through over the past decade."

• Upthegrove said in a Facebook post this week that his goals are to "protect our clean air, clean water and habitat" and "increase recreational opportunities," in addition to improving wildfire prevention and response.
• Pederson posted on X last week that she is looking to "promote responsible forestry jobs" while "revitalizing our timber harvests" and preventing wildfires.

Flashback: Herrera Beutler lost her seat in Congress in 2022 after being one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach former President Trump.

What we're watching: Whether Pederson manages to claw her way back in the next few days, as Upthegrove says remains possible.