WA-9 Race: Sarah Smith Trails In First Round Of Primary Voting

SEATTLE, WA - First time candidate Sarah Smith was trailing her Republican challenger Tuesday night as the first round of ballots came in. Smith, 30, a Democrat, is part of the Brand New Congress, the same group that backed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Sarah Smith was competing against Kent Republican Doug Basler for a shot at competing against Adam Smith in the general election. Basler ran against Adam Smith in the 2014 and 2016 elections. In the 2016 primary, Basler earned about 23 percent of the vote, but there were two other Democrats competing in that race.

If Sarah Smith pulls ahead of Basler, 2018 will be the first time Adam Smith has faced a Democratic challenger in the general election.

Here where the race stood after the first round of votes came in Tuesday night. Refresh this page for more up-to-date results:

• Adam Smith (D) - 50.29%
• Sarah Smith (D) - 23.15%
• Doug Basler (R) - 26.56%

At her primary night party in Columbia City, Sarah Smith thanked her supporters and said that no matter what the results, she's glad to have made the effort.

The campaign held its party upstairs at Tutta Bella. Supporters watched coverage of other elections via The Young Turks while snacking on pizza and beet salad.

TJ, of Kent, said he was happy to have Sarah Smith in the race. He said Adam Smith has been in office too long, and Kent has been forgotten.

"He's been there too long, since the last century," TJ said.

File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch