Schmick leads District 9 legislative race

COLFAX - Incumbent 9th District Representative Joe Schmick is leading in the race for a 9th Legislative District House seat in the Tuesday, Aug. 6, primary election.

Early results showed he had 15,094 votes statewide. In Whitman County, his home county, Schmick has 3,373 votes out of 5,861 counted as of press time.

Rep. Joe Schmick

"I want to thank all the voters in the primary," Schmick said, "I appreciate their support. I think there's still work to be done, and when I'm talking to folks, people are worried about the economy, public safety and government overreach."

Dr. Pam Kohlmeier currently has the second most votes with 6,708 statewide. She also has the second-most votes in Whitman County at 1,870 votes.

"I'm glad to be moving on and I am excited that voters have entrusted me to move onto the next step," Kohlmeier said.

Arianna Arends is a distant third at 1,389 votes statewide and is eliminated from the race for the House seat as only the Top 2 candidates advance to the Nov. 5 general election.

Arends could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

In addition to Whitman County, the 9th Legislative District includes eastern Franklin and Adams counties, as well as other counties.