Evan Smith: McConnell not planning endorsement

By Evan Smith

ShorelineAreaNews Politics Writer

Democratic candidate Doris Fujioka McConnell, who finished third behind Democrat Cindy Ryu and Republican Art Coday in the top-two primary, says she has no plans to endorse either of the finalists.

The three ran last week for an open 32nd District State representative seat.

McConnell took about 20 percent of the vote to 42.5 percent for Ryu and 37.4 percent for Coday.

After the primary, Ryu told me that she expected District Democrats to come together to support her candidacy, but McConnell now says that she is not ready to endorse either candidate.

"I have not considered endorsing anyone at this time,” she told me early this week. “I urge everyone who voted for me to do their homework on both candidates to determine who will best serve this district for them.

"No one has asked me to endorse them,” she added.

Here’s the vote count through Wednesday, including King County votes counted Wednesday and Snohomish County votes counted Tuesday. Both counties plan updated counts Thursday afternoon.

The King County portion of the District includes Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore and the Finn Hill area near Kirkland. The smaller Snohomish County portion includes Woodway, south Edmonds and unincorporated Esperance.

Wednesday’s count:

32nd Legislative District, State Representative Pos. 1

Candidate (Party)	King County	Sno County	Total Vote - %
Cindy Ryu (D)	10,794 –42.47%	2,232 – 40.89%	13,026 – 40.21 %
Art Coday (R)	9,302  -36.60%	2,347 – 42.99%	11,649 – 35.97 %
Doris McConnell (D)	5,278 –20.77%	877 – 16.07%	6,155 – 19.95%
Write-in	41 – 0.16%	3 – 0.05%	44 – 0.14%
Total votes	25,415 –100%	5,459 – 100%	30,874 –100%
Under-votes	1,958
Total Ballots	27,373
Turn-out	41.83%