Steele leads 12th District Position 2 primary; Adams holds second

NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON — The race for Washington's 12th Legislative District State Representative Position 2 seat began to take shape Tuesday evening as the first primary election results were released.

With an estimated 15,995 ballots counted, Rep. Mike Steele led the three-candidate field in Chelan County with 8,260 votes (52.95%), followed by Adam James with 4,026 (25.81%) and Maggie Adams with 3,306 (21.19%).

Because Washington's top-two primary advances the two candidates receiving the most votes regardless of party affiliation, the contest Tuesday centered on which two candidates would move on to the November general election.

The 12th Legislative District also includes portions of Snohomish County and King County.

In the district's King County precincts, Stacy Willoughby led Brian Burnett 3,027 votes (59.36%) to 2,068 (40.56%) in the Position 1 race. In the Position 2 contest, Maggie Adams led with 2,611 votes (51.47%), followed by Mike Steele with 1,507 (29.71%) and Adam James with 946 (18.65%). In Snohomish County, however, Burnett held a narrow 33-vote lead over Willoughby, 3,181 votes (50.22%) to 3,148 (49.70%), while Adams again led the Position 2 race with 2,929 votes (46.34%), followed by Steele with 1,732 (27.41%) and James with 1,651 (26.12%). 

Across the district, Steele led the field with 11,499 votes (42.64%), followed by Adams with 8,846 (32.80%) and James with 6,623 (24.56%), positioning Steele and Adams to advance to the November general election if those results hold.

Steele, a Republican from Chelan, is seeking his sixth term in the Washington House after first being elected in 2016. His campaign has emphasized support for small businesses, agriculture and rural communities.

Adam James, a Republican from Wenatchee, is making his first run for elected office after spending his entire career in ministry. He is the co-founder of Grace City Church in Sunnyslope. His campaign has focused on reducing taxes, strengthening public safety and expanding parental rights.

Maggie Adams, a Democrat and union representative from Snoqualmie, is also seeking office for the first time. Her campaign has emphasized healthcare access, labor protections and affordability.

“Obviously, I’m pleased with the initial results, and I’m proud of the positive campaign I’ve run and the bipartisan work I’ve done in this district. I believe that’s what people voted on in this election,” said Mike Steele shortly after 8:30 p.m. 

Ward Media reached out via telephone to the Adams campaign, but did not receive word back before publication. The James campaign does not have a registered phone number for media contacts, but an email to the campaign also went unanswered immediately.

We will update our coverage with any statements from the two campaigns.

Washington will continue counting ballots received by Election Day throughout the week before certifying the election.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media