The Aug. 2 primary results left Kent Republican Bill Boyce “feeling pretty good” as he advances to the Nov. 8 general election for the Legislative 47th District Senate seat against either Claudia Kauffman or Satwinder Kaur.
Kauffman and Kaur, two Democrats from Kent, were in a tight race for second after initial results to decide the second candidate to advance to the general election.
“We feel pretty good where we are at,” Boyce said in an Aug. 3 phone interview about getting 45% of the vote. “We have a lot of work to do for November and what to do to come out on top.”
Boyce, the president of the Kent City Council, said he’s ready to take on either Kauffman or Kaur in the general election.
“My focus is on Bill and what Bill can do,” Boyce said. “Whoever comes out of that, it will be a good race. They will have the support of their party and we will have the support of our party.”
Republicans are pushing hard to get the 47th District Senate seat back after Kent Democrat Mona Das defeated Auburn Republican Joe Fain in 2018. Das decided not to seek reelection to a second four-year term.
Boyce expected to be facing Das when he filed for office. Instead he will clash with either Kauffman, who held the Senate seat from 2007 to 2010 prior to losing to Fain, or Kaur, a fellow Kent City Council member.
“The 47th is a swing district,” Boyce said. “I will need to try to outwork my opponent. We feel pretty good about getting a win in November.”
Kauffman said she’s confident she will advance to the November ballot.
“I am very excited about the numbers which have me ahead in the vote totals, given the contested primary,” Kauffman said in an Aug. 3 email. “These numbers demonstrate that my message resonated with the voters and that I ran a solid campaign.
“As new numbers came in today (Aug. 3), my lead did not diminish, and I am confident that the vote totals will continue this trend and I will advance to the general election.”
Kaur said the overall voting numbers showed more votes for Democrats than Republicans. The combined totals for Kaur and Kauffman made up about 55% of the vote.
“I am thrilled that Democrats won the primary in this district,” Kaur said in an Aug. 3 email.
Kaur said negative campaign mailers about her might have taken away votes.
“As the only candidate in the race who experienced extreme negative spending by an independent expenditure, I know this impacted our result, but I talked to so many voters over the final days and am optimistic about our position,” Kaur said about her chances to advance.
Kaur said she expects either Kauffman or herself to do well in November against Boyce.
“Either way, I believe a Democrat will hold this seat because voters in the 47th want a pro-choice champion that understands how high costs are impacting our families,” Kaur said. “They want reasonable, effective leadership from someone who understands our issues and that’s what I’ve delivered on the Kent City Council.”
Kaur told the Seattle Times in an interview that she would support a state constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights. Gov. Jay Inslee in June said he will push for a state constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights within Washington state’s borders.
Boyce told the Kent Reporter he had no intentions of making any changes to state abortion laws. Boyce said during his door-to-door campaigning nobody has brought up abortion rights.
“They talk about public safety, crime, affordable housing, taxes and police reform,” Boyce said.
Boyce said some people are trying to use abortion rights to separate themselves from him.
“I won’t address it as a senator,” Boyce said.
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