Cheat Your Way Through The 2018 Primary Election

SEATTLE, WA - The forecast for the 2018 primary election here in Western Washington is looking grim. King County Elections is predicting about 40 percent turnout for the election, which, if you're good at math, means that less than half of registered voters are going to participate.

That's bad. Postage is free this year, and the ballots aren't super long. But we get it. You're busy, you might hate politicians, and maybe all the names on your ballot are a little overwhelming.

Patch has looked at some of the more important races in Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties, and below you'll find a quick sketch of each one. Use this as your voting cheat sheet to get through your ballot even quicker.

Remember: Your ballot must be postmarked by 8 p.m. Tuesday to count. You can use this website to find the closest drop box if you aren't planning to mail your ballot.

FEDERAL

U.S. Senator: U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell has been in office since 2000. She's running for another six year term this year, but 28 people are running to unseat her. The biggest name challenging Cantwell is Susan Hutchison, the former chair of the state Republican Party. If you want to know more about the other 27 candidates, here's where they stand on one major issue.

U.S. Representative District 1: Four men want to unseat incumbent Suzan DelBene: Republicans Scott Stafne and Jeffrey Beeler, and unaffiliated candidates Robert Mair and Adam Pilskog. Of the challengers, only Beeler has held elected office - he's a Sultan City Councilman. DelBene is favored to win the election in November.

U.S. Representative District 6: U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, a Democrat, is being challenged by Shelton Republican Douglas Dightman and on the left by Tyler Vega. Kilmer is popular and likely to win in November. Dightman will probably make it through the primary, but the first-time candidate has only raised about $13,000 to Kilmer's $1.7 million.

U.S. Representative District 8: There are 12 people running to replace U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, but only four of them are likely to make it through the primary. Republican Dino Rossi will almost definitely make it through, and he's basically the only Republican in the race. Democrats have to choose between three strong and very similar candidates - Shannon Hader, Kim Schrier, and Jason Rittereiser. All three have picked up strong endorsements and have raised lots of money.

U.S. Representative District 9: This is essentially a race between Democrats. Newcomer Sarah Smith wants to unseat U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, who has been in office since 1997. Sarah Smith says the district needs a fresh face, in particular a millennial who understands serious economic challenges like student loan debt and rent hikes. Kent Republican Doug Basler is also in the race. He's run against Smith before.

BALLOT MEASURES

South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue Regional Fire Authority: This will allow the fire authority to levy up to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for a period of 10 years to fund emergency medical services. South County Fire was formed in 2017 out of two regional fire districts. This measure will replace the two levies in the old districts.

King County Automated Fingerprint Identification System Services: This is a renewal levy to support technical services for the county's criminal fingerprint system. The levy would cost 3-1/2 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in 2019, but would change each year after. Nobody submitted an opposing statement for the ballot against this initiative.

COUNTYWIDE SEATS

Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney: This is the most expensive county-wide race in the state right now. Incumbent Mark Lindquist is being challenged from Mary Robnett, a top prosecutor in the county's Sexually Violent Predators division. Both candidates will make it through the primary.

Pierce County Council District 1: Councilman Dan Roach (son of Councilwoman Pam Roach) has hit his term limit and so his seat is up for grabs. Republicans Sharon Hanek, Dave Morrell, Milt Tremblay and Democrat Lorra Jackson are aiming to replace him. Morell, a former state representative, has been endorsed by the Tacoma News Tribune.

Pierce County Council District 7: Incumbent Democrat Derek Young and Republican challenger David Olson are competing for this seat. Since there's only two of them, they will both make it through the primary and be on the November ballot.

STATE LEVEL RACES

Legislative District 48 State Senator (Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland): Incumbent Democrat Patty Kuderer is being challenged by Rodney Tom - he says he's a Democrat, but some political observers think Tom is a Republican in disguise.

Legislative District 41 Representative Pos 2 (Mercer Island, Issaquah, Bellevue): Bellevue school board member My-Linh Thai is squaring off against fellow Democrat Wendy Weiker, a Mercer Island Councilwoman. Republican Michael Appleby has never held elected office.

Legislative District 41 Representative Pos 1: Incumbent Tana Senn is being challenged on the right by Libertarian (and motorcycle and cigar enthusiast) Nathaniel Deily and Republican Tim Cruickshank. Cruickshank, a former NAVY Seal, appears to have the edge over Deily and is running to lower state and local taxes.

Legislative District 34 State Senator (White Center, West Seattle, Vashon Island): Retiring State Sen. Sharon Nelson has attracted almost as many candidates as the Cantwell race. Eleven people are running, and seven of them are Democrats. Shannon Braddock, Dow Constantine's former chief of staff, has raised the most money. But Democrat Sofia Aragon, who has worked in state government, has the endorsements from prominent elected officials like Rebecca Saldana and Sharon Tomiko Santos.

Legislative District 32 Pos 1 (Edmonds, Shoreline): Incumbent Cindy Ryu is very popular, but she's being challenged by Republican Diodato Boucsieguez and Keith Smith, who identifies as a "centrist."

Legislative District 31 State Senator (Bonney Lake, Enumclaw, Puyallup, Sumner): State Sen. Phil Fortunato is being challenged by Democrat Immaculate Ferreria and unaffiliated candidate Jeff Benson. Fortunato held the seat against Democrat Michelle Rylands in a 2017 special election.

Legislative District 31 Pos 2: Seattle police officer and longtime Republican state representative Morgan Irwin is being challenged by two people. Most notably, Democrat Mark Boswell, an Auburn resident who has never held elected office before. Steve Skutt is running as a third-party alternative to both parties.

Want to dig deeper into the candidates? Check out the Secretary of State's voters guide, which features comprehensive biographies of every candidate running for state, local, and federal office.

File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch