Largent leads Mahnkey in Whitman County

COLFAX — A rematch for a county commissioner seat is looking much like the first go-round.

Preliminary results in the Nov. 8 general election show incumbent Michael Largent, a Republican, taking the lead over challenger John-Mark Mahnkey, a Democrat.

When contacted after the first count, Largent was positive about how the results are looking, so far.

“It appears to be a mirror image of the primary,” he said, “At this stage of the game, it’s too early to call it one way or another. It looks positive, so far.”

Opponent Mahnkey agrees it’s too early to call the race.

“There are still a lot of votes to count,” he said, “I have not lost faith, and I am looking forward to the final tally.”

At press time, Largent had 3,769 votes (61.2%); Mahnkey followed with 2,376 votes (38.58%)

Thirteen write-in votes were cast.

Voter turnout, so far, is at 27.51%.

The initial tally showed 6,307 ballots counted out of 22,924. The county has about 5,000 more ballots left to count.

Late-arriving ballots were scheduled to be counted Wednesday, Nov. 9, which was after when the newspaper went to press.

Election certification is Tuesday, Nov. 29.