Most Auburn-area incumbents easily advance from primary races

Published 11:08 pm Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Most of the Auburn-area Aug. 4 primary ballot results show the incumbents pretty easily ahead except for the 47th District state representative race between Kent Democratic incumbent Debra Entenman and Auburn Liberterian Cobi Clark.

Entenman has received 38.54% of the vote and Clark 30.12% as each appear to be headed to a Nov. 3 general election showdown for the 47th District Position No. 1 in the Legislature, according to results released Tuesday, Aug. 4 by King County Elections.

The two candidates with the most votes in each race advance to the general election. Enteman and Clark were ahead of SeaTac Democrat Jasnoor Kaur Hans at 19.01% and Kent Democrat Logan Evans at 10.80%.

Voters first elected Entenman in 2018 when she defeated incumbent Mark Hargrove, R-Covington. She defeated Republican Kyle Lyebyedyev in 2024 with 56% of the vote. Clark lost a Auburn City Council race to Lisa Sturgus in November 2025.

Here’s a look at other Auburn-area races, as the 47th District includes parts of Kent, Auburn and all of Covington. The 31st District includes parts of Auburn as well as Enumclaw, Buckley, Bonney Lake and Sumner.

State representatives

• 31st District, Position No. 1

Incumbent Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn has received 57.88% of the vote while Stephen Szczurko-Walton, D-Auburn is at 42% in a preview of the November election as each will advance as the only two candidates on the ballot.

• 31st District, Position No. 2

Incumbent Joshua Penner, R-Orting has received 55.66% of the vote and John Bielka, D-Orting is at 44.18%. Each will advance to the Nov. 3 ballot as the only two candidates.

• 47th District, Position No. 2

Incumbent Chris Stearns, D-Auburn, has one challenger in Covington Republican Ted Cooke, a rematch of the 2024 election, so each will move on to the Nov. 3 ballot.

Stearns has received 59.61% of the vote compared to Cooke at 40.19%.

Voters first elected Stearns in 2022 over fellow Democrat Shukri Olow. Voters reelected Stearns in 2024 over Cooke with 55% of the vote. Cooke lost to Stearns and Olow in the 2022 primary. Cooke also lost to incumbent Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, in 2020 and 2018 for the same 47th District seat.

State senators

• 31st District

Incumbent Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, has received 53.86% of the vote and Tamara Stramel, D-Sumner, is at 46.02%. Both candidates will advance to the November ballot

• 47th District

Kent Democratic incumbent Claudia Kauffman has received received 58.72% of the vote and Covington Republican Kristina Soltys 41.10% in a preview of the November election as they were the only two on the ballot.

Kauffman seeks reelection to a second consecutive four-year term. She defeated Kent Republican Bill Boyce in 2022. Soltys is a member of the Covington City Council.

Congress

• 8th District

Incumbent Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, has received 54% of the vote to secure a spot on the November ballot, according to results posted Aug. 4 by the Washington Secretary of State. She will face one of three Republicans as Spencer Meline, of Cashmere, received 14.75%; Trinh Ha, of Issaquah, 14.74%; and Bob Hagglund 11.76%.

Voters first elected Schrier in 2018 and have reelected her three times. Schrier defeated Auburn Republican Carmen Goers in November 2024 with 54% of the vote.

• 9th District

Incumbent Adam Smith, D-Bellevue, will apparently once again go up against Kent Republican Doug Basler. Smith has 50.94% of the vote followed by Basler at 23.79%, Independent Kshama Sawant at 12.56% and Democrat Melissa Chaudhy at 11.42%.

Smith, first elected by voters in 1996, defeated Basler in 2020 and 2022. Smith defeated Chaudhry in November 2024 election with 65.4% of the vote. Sawant was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2023.