Challenger Wiggins pulls closer to Justice Sanders

OLYMPIA — Challenger Charlie Wiggins is cutting into Justice Richard Sanders’ lead in the contest for a state Supreme Court seat. Sanders is leading by about 4,200 votes out of more than 1.7 million cast after this evening’s early vote-counts. Sanders had been leading by about 13,000. Wiggins is being helped by a big majority in King County, which says it still has about 130,000 votes to count. Sanders has been preparing to challenge ballots that were rejected for mismatched signatures or other problems. In an e-mail to supporters, his campaign asks for money to help finance the effort. State law mandates a re-count if the result is within 2,000 votes and one-half of 1 percent.