Pierce County Executive race: early results show close victory for incumbent
Incumbent Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier has won another term, according to initial election results Tuesday.
Dammeier had about 54 percent of the vote, preliminary results from the Pierce County Auditor’s Office said. An estimated 70 percent of ballots had been counted by Tuesday evening.
The Republican was elected in 2016 after serving in the state Senate and the state House. Dammeier ran on his response to the coronavirus pandemic, transparency and small business relief.
After the results were released, Dammeier said he is ready to put COVID-19 lead Pierce County to a stronger future.
“I feel good. I feel like the voters recognize the work we’ve done for the past four years,” Dammeier said. ”I’m honored for them to hire me again and it’s time to get back to work.”
Challenger Larry Seaquist spoke out against Dammeier’s handling of the Black Lives Matter protests, COVID-19 response and the firing of a former Pierce County employee, who filed a damages claim against the county for up to $5 million, alleging racial discrimination.
Seaquist, 82, represented the Gig Harbor area in the state House from 2007-2014 as a Democrat. While he was disappointed in the results of his last campaign run, Seaquist was proud of what his team accomplished.
“What we’ve done with the campaign was contribute a couple things: We contributed civil politics at this time of highly divisive and dysfunctional politics,” he said. “We were using the campaign to show that campaigns can be constructive, and we laid out an agenda for the county which I think continues to be an important agenda.”
According to Public Disclosure Commission filings, Dammeier received $482,434 in contributions. Seaquist received $94,648.
As of Nov. 2, Pierce County counted 565,977 registered voters, up from 2016’s 490,666. Auditor Julie Anderson said her office is preparing for 90 percent voter turnout.
Brennan LaBrie contributed to this story.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 8:14 PM.
