Primary update: Longview position 5 council race still too close to call

Aguirre is currently holding a second-place lead by 67 votes between him and the candidate trailing him in third, retired doctor and book author P.J. Peterson, according to the latest primary election results issued early Wednesday evening by the Cowlitz County Elections office.

Retired lawyer Mike Claxton has the lead in the race with 37.2% of the 5,909 votes tabulated in the race, but the top two candidates in each contested race advance to the general election held Nov. 4.

Second place is far narrower, with a margin between second and third of 1.13 percentage points. Aguirre got 1,884 votes, or 31.88%, and Peterson got 1,817 votes or 30.75%. Another 10 votes went to write-in candidates.

The results are unofficial, as certified results are two weeks away and election staff process mailed ballots filtering in with an Aug. 5 postmark and resolve issues with challenged ballots.

The Position 5 race is the closest of the contested races in the Aug. 5 primary. Below is a rundown of the latest available results for two other Longview races and a contested Kelso race as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Longview council Position 7

Current Longview Mayor Spencer Boudreau is on track to advance to the general election for another term on the council, but the numbers indicate he will face a strong challenger in retired Weyerhaeuser worker and union leader Wayne Nichols.

Nichols is in the lead with 46.85% of the 5,938 votes cast in the race, and is leading the primary with a nearly nine-point lead over Boudreau, who has 2,251 votes or 37.91%. Trailing in third is Marianne Chambers, who has 885 votes or 14.9%. Another 20 votes went to write-in candidates.

Longview council Position 6

Chris Bryant, owner of Bryant Wealth Management, is in the lead with 39.13% of the 5,786 votes cast in the race. Teacher Oliver Black is in second place with 1,900 votes or 32.84%.

Marketer Josh Carter is trailing in third with 1,602 votes or 27.69%.

Another 20 votes went to write-in candidates.

Kelso council Position 3

Incumbent Kelso Mayor Pro Tem Kimberly Lefebvre is leading with 40.31% of the 898 votes cast in the race, but her nine-vote lead indicates that the general election could be a close one.

Her challenger in second place, former city councilmember Jackie Collins, has 353 votes or 39.31%.

Trailing behind in third is Sean Legry, who has 171 votes or 19.04%. Another 12 votes went to write-in candidates.