Incumbent U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, a Democrat, will face off against MAGA Republican Cody Hart in the general election in November after each of them secured a spot on the ticket, according to updated election results.
As of Thursday, Larsen was in the lead with 45.09% of the vote. Hart, securing 21.67% of the vote, had a healthy margin over the remaining six candidates who put their name in the hat.
Larsen, who has served District 2 since 2001, has a history of dominating the primary, regularly securing more than 40% of votes — more than double that of the closest challenger. This election appears to be no different.
“I am running for reelection so I can continue to work to protect reproductive freedom, combat fentanyl in our communities, build an economy that works for everyone, increase access to health care and support our veterans,” Larsen said, while noting more votes still need to be counted before the results are finalized.
This was the third time Hart has run in the District 2 primary and the first time he’s made it through. The MAGA Republican’s popularity has steadily increased since he first ran in 2020.
“We have to deal with these issues of bias judges across the nation,” Hart said, noting that he believes the U.S. Supreme Court is doing a fairly good job. “But the judiciaries at state levels have become so politicized.”
Hart said that while he was optimistic about the initial results of the night, he remains a little nervous about it because he does have a distrust of the system.
Traditionally, the district breaks with one Democrat and one Republican moving forward out of the top-two primary, giving conservative challengers an advantage in a district dominated by progressives. In the weeks leading up to the election, several progressive candidates had voiced their concerns about vote splitting hurting their chances of making it through to the general election.
Previously, Green Party candidate Jason Call proved to be a strong contender in the District 2 primary — though has never advanced through to the general election. But this year, Call had only 4.76% of the vote in the latest ballot count.
In addition to Hart, two other candidates ran as Republicans: Daniel Miller and Leif Johnson. Miller has received 5.46% of votes, while Johnson has earned 9.86%.
The remaining progressives on the primary ticket have earned 13.10% of the vote with Josh Binda securing 5.88%, Devin Hermanson earning 4.25% and Dr. Edwin Stickle getting 2.97% as of Thursday.
Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.
