3 Tacoma council seats are up for grabs. Here’s who’s ahead in Tuesday’s primary
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Latasha Palmer and Jessica Johnston appeared to be in the lead in the primary race for Tacoma’s City Council at-large Position 6 on election night.
The update comes after polls closed for Tacoma residents to cast ballots in the Aug. 5 primary, which will narrow the pool of 12 candidates down to six to fill three Tacoma council seats. Pierce County officials will continue to gradually release election results until certifying the election on Aug. 19.
The Position 6 seat saw the most competition among the three races, with six candidates in the running. Palmer and Johnston received 26.50% and 21.29% of the vote, respectively. Palmer raised the third-highest amount of money in the race, and Johnston raised the second-highest amount by election night, according to public disclosures. Krista Perez, who reported the highest amount of money raised, was in third with 19.77% of the vote.
Perez was followed by Lindsay Wills who received 12.10%, Hunter D. Henderson with 10.20% and Todd Briske with 9.68%.
Incumbent Joe Bushnell and newcomer Zev Cook also appeared to have made it through the primary on election night, kicking off what is likely to be a contentious race between the two for District 5. Bushnell received 55.80% and Cook received 28.65% of the vote.
The primary appeared to have knocked candidate Brandon A. Vollmer off the ballot. Vollmer received 15.03% of the vote. Vollmer had raised the least amount of money in the race for District 5. District 5 covers neighborhoods in South Tacoma and the South End.
A political action committee funded largely by donors from cities outside Tacoma had by election day spent around $20,000 on campaign mailers and text messages urging voters to oppose Cook and support Bushnell, criticizing Cook’s “rhetoric against Zionism” and the support she has from the Democratic Socialists of America.
District 4
In District 4, incumbent Sandesh Sadalge and newcomer Silong Chhun had the most votes with 38.55% and 33.42% of the vote, respectively. Candidate Israel James McKinney was behind Chhun with 27.13%. McKinney also raised the least amount of money in the race to represent District 4, which covers neighborhoods like McKinley, Salishan and the Eastside.
District 2
The seat for District 2, which represents downtown Tacoma and parts of the North End, is also up for election this year, but did not appear on the primary ballot since only two candidates are in the running. Incumbent Sarah Rumbaugh and newcomer Ben Lackey will automatically advance to the Nov. 4 general election, per state law.
The results of the primary election come as Tacoma undergoes a period of significant leadership change. With four council seats and the mayor’s seat up for election this year, five of the 10 positions on Tacoma’s city council could see new faces in 2026. The new council next year will be tasked with selecting a permanent city manager, and will be involved in the search for a permanent police chief.
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 8:40 PM.
