Democrats Valencia, Cummings lead crowded field in Spokane Valley legislative races

Voters have narrowed the crowded field of candidates vying for the three state Legislature positions representing Spokane Valley, but two races are still too close to call.

The district stretches from Spokane Valley in the south, Elk to the north, and from the Idaho state line to Newport Highway.

The district has only elected Republicans since 1994. The top two candidates in each race will move on the general election in November.

The results in the Senate race were likely the most highly anticipated of the three races, with candidates, politicians and residents from the district on all points of the political spectrum saying ahead of the race they were uncertain who would advance to the November ballot.

Of the half dozen candidates who filed to replace retiring longtime legislator Sen. Mike Padden, three have a noticeable lead over the others after the first round of results.

Law student and Army veteran Miguel Valencia, a Democrat, leads the crowd with 23.2% and likely will advance, followed by Republican Rep. Leonard Christian with 20.9% and Valley businessman Mike Kelly, also a Republican, with 18.9%.

Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley received 13.5% of the vote, followed by Democrat Paige Scott with 12% and Spokane Valley Councilman Al Merkel with 11.5%.

Valencia said he’s feeling positive about the initial results, saying they show his stated commitment toward advocating for working families, reducing the costs of health and child care and making higher education more accessible is resonating with voters.

“The people of the 4th leg district, they’re ready for change,” Valencia said of the Republican stronghold district. “They’re energized.”

He emphasized that he held an initial lead in the race despite having little name recognition as a first-time candidate, and while raising only a fraction of the fundraising and endorsements other candidates have, such as Kelly.

Kelly leads the field in campaign donations and was endorsed by the Spokane County GOP and Padden, as well as Spokane Valley Councilwoman Jessica Yaeger.

Kelly watched the results roll in at the county GOP’s event at The Black Diamond, alongside a crowd of supporters and fellow candidates. He remains optimistic that he’ll move on to the general election.

“I know I’m going to pick up some more votes,” Kelly said. “I’m just very calm and peaceful about it either way. I’m positive, or not positive, but optimistic that I’ll be able to catch up. I’ll be first or second before it’s over with.”

State Representative Pos. 2

The race for the open state House seat vacated by Christian also featured six candidates and has a Democrat in the lead as of Tuesday evening.

Longtime Kaiser Aluminum employee and union advocate Ted Cummings, a vocal critic of the modern Republican Party, leads the field of mostly Republican candidates.

Cummings received 25.75% of the initial tally, followed by former Spokane County Treasurer and state Rep. Rob Chase with 22.99% and former Spokane Valley City Councilwoman Brandi Peetz with 22.18%.

Green Bluff cattle rancher Michael Schmidt received 15.86% of the vote, former county Democratic Party Chair Ed “Woody” Wood got 9.3% and bigfoot hunter Stephen Major trails with 3.86%, as of Tuesday evening.

Cummings said he is feeling “cautiously optimistic” due to the ballots still to be counted, particularly the mail-in votes that tend to skew Republican.

Still, he’s excited to see positive initial results for Democratic candidates in the Valley.

He said he looks forward to seeing who his opponent will be in the November election, if he holds on to his early advantage.

“I’m very appreciative of all of the people who have supported me and all of the candidates who’ve stepped out and spoken on the issues important to them,” Cummings said.

State Representative Pos. 1

Republican Rep. Suzanne Schmidt, the only incumbent in the district seeking re-election to her position, will move forward to the November ballot after pulling in 66.5% of the initial tally.

Schmidt said she is not overlooking the general election, but the large percentage lead she had over her two opponents gives her faith she can start focusing on her return to Olympia next session. Her takeaway after the initial results were released was that voters clearly feel she is doing well in the role she was first elected to in 2022, she said.

“It gives me an opportunity to start working on legislation and to move forward earlier,” Schmidt said. “I feel like there’s a lot of things that I can start working on.”

She will face independent candidate Kristopher Pockell, a software engineer and owner of the hot sauce company Elixir Sauce Co., who finished in second with 23.2% of the vote.

Green Party candidate Kitten Wildes Beeler, who owns the Spokane rage room Rage Xscape, had 9.4%.

Reporters Mathew Callaghan and Claire Lyle contributed to this report.