Mike Lonergan

Pierce County executive candidate Shawn Bunney (R-Bonney Lake) increased his vote totals across the board in the latest ranked choice vote tabulation completed Friday night, but still trails RCV leader Pat McCarthy (D-Tacoma) by just under 3400 votes out of nearly 300,000 cast.

With McCarthy and Calvin Goings (D-Puyallup) splitting the Democratic vote, 26-23 percent, Bunney, the sole Republican in the race, leads in first choice ballots with just over 35 percent of the vote.

After dropping independent Mike Lonergan from the competition, Bunney’s count shoots up to 41 percent, but after Goings is eliminated and his second-choice votes are distributed, McCarthy takes a 50.65 to 49.35 percent lead over Bunney.

A Wednesday night vote update from Pierce County elections shows Shawn Bunney (R-Bonney Lake) still leading the Pierce County executive race in the first round of voting.

Bunney currently has 35.2 percent of the vote, compared to 26.3 percent for Pat McCarthy (D-Tacoma), 23.2 percent for Calvin Goings (D-Puyallup) and 15.2 percent for independent candidate Mike Longergan. 

What matters, though, is the ranked choice results. At the last count from a week ago, Bunney was ahead after round one but with Lonergan and then Goings eliminated and their secondary votes re-distributed, McCarthy was the first to break the 50 percent barrier. 

Pierce County will run the ranked choice votes again on Friday, November 14. Bunney has received a slightly higher percentage of late breaking votes. Tomorrow will help to show if it is enough for him to overtake McCarthy.

With just under 100,000 votes counted in the Pierce County executive race, Pat McCarthy (D-Tacoma) appears to be headed to victory.

The election, which is using ranked choice voting for the first time in county history, showed Shawn Bunney (R-Bonney Lake) leading after the first round of votes with 32 percent, but after Mike Loner an (I-Tacoma) and Calvin Goings (D-Puyallup) were eliminated within the RCV rules, and their second place votes disbursed , McCarthy took a 55-45 lead over Bunney.

All of this is subject to change as more votes are counted.

Pierce County Councilman Dick Muri weighed in with the scenario he anticipates for the first ever Pierce County executive to be decided by ranked choice voting, one that would put his Republican councilmate, Bonney Lake's Shawn Bunney, in the Peirce County driver's seat.

On Kelly Haughton's Ranked Choice Voting blog,  Muri predicted that Bunney, as the sole Republican in the race, would lead the entire way, with Mike Lonergan (I-Tacoma) being cut after round one, then Pat McCarthy (D-Tacoma) outlasting Calvin Goings (D-Puyallup) after round two, and Bunney continuing to get enough second choice votes to defeat McCarthy in the third round, 51.5-48.5.

All of Pierce County's countywide elections involve ranked choice voting for the first time.  Each voter ranks the top three candidates. After each count, if no one has over 50 percent of first place votes, the last place candidate is cut, and their second choices split among the remaining candidates. 

Three Pierce County companies are using loopholes in state campaign finance laws in order to expand their influence in the Pierce County executive race, according to an in-depth story by the Tacoma News-Tribune's David Wickert.

The companies, Sumner's Investco and Corliss Resources and Tacoma's Tucci & Son's Construction,  are taking advantage of a rule that allows each of a companie's subsidiaries to max out to a candidate without counting toward the parent company's limit.

The main beneficiaries of these contributions have been Calvin Goings (D-Puyallup) and Shawn Bunney (R-Bonney Lake), while Pat McCarthy (D-Tacoma) has received a very small piece of the largesse.

Pierce County Councilmember Calvin Goings (D-Puyallup) added yet another endorsement to his list of backers. The campaign announced today that the 25th Legislative District Democrats, from Puyallup, Fife, Milton and Edgewood, issued a sole endorsement to Goings at their monthly meeting last week.

"The 25th Democrats are proud to give our sole endorsement to Calvin Goings. His leadership in the private sector and his hands on experience dealing with the key issues facing Pierce County are critical to our future," said Lauren Adler, Chair of the 25th District Democrats.

The Washington Conservation Voters, a leading environmental interest group, announced Thursday that they are giving Calvin Goings (D-Puyallup) their sole endorsement for Pierce County Executive.

"For over a decade Calvin Goings has shown a record of environmental leadership on many of our most pressing community priorities," said Sarah Lowe, the co-chair of Pierce County WCV, in a statement.

Tacoma City Councilman Mike Lonergan has declared his intention to stay in the race for Pierce County Executive as an independent candidate, despite having failed in his bid to become the Republican candidate at the Pierce County GOP convention a week ago.

He had this to say in a release about his chances in the upcoming "ranked choice" vote that will be taking place for Pierce County-wide elections.

Tacoma City Councilman and Pierce County Executive candidate Mike Lonergan, who initially announced he would run as an independent, has decided to instead seek the Republican nomination to the post. This decision comes just one day before tomorrow's Pierce County Republican convention and undoubtedly comes as a reaction to the Top Two primary ruling.

The main points of his message is below, from a release.  read more »