It’s down to Backus, Wales in mayoral race | primary election results

Incumbent holds more than a 10 percent lead from early returns

Rules say the top two vote-getters in a primary precede to the general election that fall.

And what the early results of the Auburn mayoral primary show is Mayor Nancy Backus and Deputy Mayor Largo Wales headed for a showdown on Nov. 7, and community activist Bryan Rivera out of contention, finishing a far-distant third in the combined results in Pierce and King counties.

And if past is prologue to the future, Backus has plenty of reasons to smile heading to the general, as she ended the evening with a healthy lead of more than 10 percent over Wales in the combined count and maintained it with the latest count Wednesday afternoon.

“I am pleased with the results tonight and proud of our work and accomplishments,” Backus said late Tuesday evening. “I want to thank our supporters and our team, who have worked tirelessly. We have run an open and honest campaign with integrity, and I believe that resonates with our community. We’re not finished – we now focus on the general election in November.

“I commend Bryan Rivera for taking an active role in our city. I reached out to him earlier today to wish him good luck. I hope to be able to work with Bryan in the future,” Backus said.

Wales, meanwhile, is ready for the challenge to reach more voters and narrow Backus’ lead.

“I am very pleased with my growing level of support and Auburn’s increasing awareness of those issues important to us,” Wales said. “We are now at halftime, ready to move Auburn forward and close the gap for the win. I need to continue to meet the voters and get the word out. Leadership will make the difference.”

Here are the results as of 4:04 p.m., Aug. 2, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s webpage:

Combined

Nancy Backus: 4,108, 52.42 percent

Largo Wales: 3.275, 41.79 percent.

Bryan Rivera: 453, 5.78 percent

Total votes 7,836

King County

Candidate votes percentage

Nancy Backus: 3,580, 51.09 percent

Largo Wales: 3,008, 42.93 percent

Bryan Rivera: 419, 5.98 percent

7,007 votes counted

Pierce County

Bryan Rivera: 34, 4.1 percent

Nancy Backus: 528, 63.69 percent

Largo Wales: 267, 32.21 percent

829 votes counted