Litzow, Maxwell lead, Mercer Island voters approve Proposition No. 1 for new fire station

After the first numbers came in on Tuesday night for November's general election, several close races were left to be determined, but for Mercer Island voters several issues were cleared up.

After the first numbers came in on Tuesday night for November’s general election, several close races were left to be determined, but for Mercer Island voters several issues were cleared up.

Here are the numbers as of Wednesday morning.

Litzow earned 53.52 percent of the vote while Maureen Judge, another Island resident, had 46.48 percent in the race to represent the 41st District.

Maxwell, running for another term as the legislator for the 41st District in the House of Representatives, earned 58.19 percent of the vote, with challenger Tim Eaves picking up 41.81 percent.

Proposition No. 1, which would allow the City to lift the levy lid to build a new fire station on the South End, will likely be approved, with 56.48 percent voting in favor of the measure, and 43.51 against it.

State representative Judy Clibborn ran unopposed for the second seat in the House of Representatives, earning 100 percent of the votes.

Mercer Island resident John Urquhart led the King County Sheriff race, with 57.35 percent, while incumbent Steve Strachan earned 42.23 percent.

Referendum Measure No. 74, the measure which would uphold an earlier legislative action to allow same sex marriage in the state, had 51.79 percent in favor of approving the measure, with 48.21 percent voting to reject it. In King County, 65.47 percent approved the measure, with 34.52 voting to reject it.

Initiative 1240, which would allow charter schools in the state for the first time, was leading 51.24 percent to 48.76 percent in favor.

Initiative 502, to legalize marijuana, early on had a 55.44 percent vote in favor of the initiative, while 44.56 percent were against it. In King County, 63.82 percent voted to approve it, with 36.17 percent against.

Initiative 1185, which would require a two-thirds vote in the legislature to approve new taxes, led with 64.5 percent and 35.5 percent against.

In a very close race for Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee led early returns with a 51.32 percent, while Rob McKenna had 48.68 percent. In King County, Inslee led with 62.92 percent, while McKenna earned 36.94.

Senator Maria Cantwell will retain her seat, earning 56.41 percent of the vote, while challenger Michael Baumgartner earned 40.59 percent. Incumbent Congressman Adam Smith also will return to Washington D.C., winning 71.39 percent of the vote for District 9, while Jim Postma had 28.61 percent of the vote.

In the race for Lieutenant Governor,  Brad Owen claimed 53.73 percent in a close race, while Bill Finkbeiner had 46.27 percent.

In another close race, Kim Wyman led in the race for Secretary of State with 50.39 percent, while Kathleen Drew had 49.61 percent.

In the race for attorney general, Bob Ferguson led with 52.92 percent of the votes, while Reagan Dunn had 47.08 percent.

Troy Kelley will likely become the state’s new state auditor, winning 52.4 percent of the votes, while James Watkins earned 47.6 percent.

In the race for Commissioner of Public Lands, Peter Goldmark will retain the post earning 57.68 percent of the votes, while challenger Clint Didier had 42.32 percent.

In Washington, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden earned 55.49 percent of the vote, while Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan had 42.49 percent of the state’s votes.

So far the Secretary of State’s office has counted 1.947 million votes, approximately 49.9 percent of the registered voters in the state. The state estimates 618, 300 ballots on hand are left to be counted.

Election results will not be official until certified on Dec. 6.