Republicans Sean Murphy and Oran Root leading in Kitsap commissioner race

Two Republicans, Sean Murphy and Oran Root, are leading the primary for the Kitsap County Commissioner District 2 position after initial returns were announced Tuesday night.

Murphy received 2,915 votes, or 26.13% of the total vote, while Root followed behind with 2,503 votes, 22.44% of the total. That gave him a narrow margin above Democratic candidate Stacey Smith, who is just 78 votes behind with 21.74% of the vote. Those three were trailed by Jeff Coughlin (2,211, 19.82%), Matt Macklin (980, 8.79%) and “Abe Lincoln Democrat” Paul Nuchims (120, 1.08%).

In the primary for the District 1 position, incumbent Commissioner Christine Rolfes, running unopposed, drew 10,216 votes, or 100% of ballots cast.

Updated totals are scheduled to be released at 5 p.m. Wednesday by the Kitsap County Auditor's Office.

Live Results: See the local primary election totals

Root is no stranger to the race, having run against former District 2 commissioner Charlotte Garrido who decided not to run for re-election this year after having served in the position since her election in 2008.

Murphy however, is a new face. A U.S. Navy veteran and insurance broker, Murphy has served in elected office as vice chair of the Kitsap County Republican Party, as precinct committee officer 270, and as a delegate to the 2024 Republican County and State Conventions.

Learn more: Q&A with the candidates up to follow Garrido as Kitsap County Commissioner

“We're making history in Kitsap County, if that's how the numbers play out all the way to the end,” Murphy said, eager to congratulate his Republican competitor, Oran Root. “I don't think we've ever had an opportunity coming out of the primary where there were two Republicans on the ballot.”

As he advances forward, Murphy’s primary goal is “meeting with the citizens of Kitsap County directly and talking to them about what it is that they're concerned with and what they want us to do,” he said. Murphy wants to look at the County’s permitting process, push forward ideas about the Gorst traffic situation to the federal level, and take a look at drug addiction and mental health crises both in the county and throughout the state.

The race remains close after the first batch of the voting count. Root was only 78 votes ahead of Democratic candidate Stacey Spencer Smith, who also ran against him and Garrido in 2020. Smith had secured 2,425 votes by Tuesday night, which is 21.74% of the total vote.

"We do know that we are expecting a lot more ballots, that haven't been counted yet, to be counted in the next couple days, so we know that we have a lot of ballots out there and anything is possible," Smith said in a call on Wednesday morning.

As she awaits the final results, Smith plans to keep her supports up to date on the future of her campaign. "This has been a lifelong dream of mine to be a county commissioner and I will go 100 percent forward on to the general election if I'm selected in the top two. I am really excited about the opportunity to be the next county commissioner to represent South Kitsap."

The results from the first round of counting are from ballots that were turned in early and the Kitsap County Auditor will continue to release additional results in the coming days as more ballots are tallied.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Republicans leading Kitsap County Commissioner primary election