Kevin Ranker

Republican Steve Van Luven, a candidate for state senate in the 40th Legislative District who represented the 48th LD in the state legislature for almost twenty years but has been living in Skagit County since 2003, continued to vote from his Bellevue address until March 25 of this year, the Bellingham Herald's Sam Taylor reports.

He first started raising money for his campaign in April.

 "It was a nostalgic thing for me," Van Luven told the Herald. "When you represent people that long ... I guess it just became a habit, a nostalgic thing, even though I moved up here," he said. "I don't have a real good reason it was just the way it is."

Kevin RankerReacting to the recent slate of endorsements for Ken Henderson (D-Bellingham) for state senate in the 40th Legislative District, including retiring Sen. Harriet Spanel, Rep. Dave Quall (D-Mt. Vernon) and former candidate Paul Gonzales (D-Mt. Vernon), all of which have come in the last two weeks, the 40th LD Democrats are speaking up to remind voters that their full endorsement belongs to Kevin Ranker (D-San Juan Island).

"There is confusion about which candidate the Democratic Party is supporting this year in the Senate race to fill the 40th Legislative District seat currently held by Senator Harriet Spanel," 40th LD Democratic Vice Chair Roni Beall said in a press release late Tuesday night. "The clear and simple answer is Kevin Ranker. He is not only our sole nominee, but is also our sole endorsee."

Don't like the way things are going for your candidate in the 40th Legislative District? Wait a week.

The race to replace Sen. Harriet Spanel (D-Bellingham) has been one of the wildest so far in terms of twists and turns, with a glut of candidates, late drop-outs, and an endorsement process gone slightly awry. And don't forget the Salmon Yoga Party.

So it continues today as the retiring Spanel announced her endorsement of Ken Henderson (D-Bellingham), whose campaign seemed on the rocks as recently as a month ago.

The two state representatives in the 40th Legislative District, Rep. Dave Quall (D-Mt. Vernon) and Rep. Jeff Morris (D-Anacortes) have now both weighed in on their choice for the open seat being vacated by long-serving state Sen. Harriet Spanel in the 40th Legislative District, and they have agreed to disagree.

The two are splitting the endorsements between Democratic frontrunners Kevin Ranker (D-San Juan Island) and Ken Henderson (D-Bellingham). This past Friday Quall announced that he is backing Henderson, and on week earlier Morris threw his weight behind Ranker.