LIVE UPDATES: 2024 primary in Seattle, Washington state

This is KUOW's live coverage of the 2024 Washington state primary election on Aug. 6. TUESDAY NIGHT RESULTS ARE IN!

10 p.m.

Attorney general race

In the three-way race for Washington attorney general, Republican Pete Serrano, mayor of Pasco, was leading in initial results over two Democrats with 42% of the initial vote.

Serrano told supporters on primary night that if elected he’ll focus on public safety and pushing criminal prosecutors to “do their jobs.”

In a statement, he said, “Over the next three months, I will be crisscrossing the state sharing my vision and plan to restore Washington as a peaceful state, where law enforcement has every tool available to ensure criminal activity is halted and criminals are held accountable.”

Serrano is also the chair and general counsel for the conservative Silent Majority Foundation which works to “reign in government overreach.”

Democrat Nick Brown, who previously served as U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, was in second place with 36% of initial results, making him the most likely to advance to the general election with Serrano.

Brown told supporters at the Westin Hotel in Seattle that the results exceeded his expectations. “We got a long way to go, more votes to count, but we are well ahead,” he said, and “we’re going to go on to November and beat the Republican in this race and carry this on, and I’m so excited about being the next attorney general.”

Supporters at Brown’s primary night gathering included fellow attorneys Tina Kondo and Vonda Sargent. They called Brown “the complete package” in terms of his experience and said they appreciate his focus as a candidate on the fentanyl crisis.

State Senator Manka Dhingra was in third place with 22 % of the vote on Tuesday.

Brown said about Dhingra, “I have a lot of respect and admiration for the work she’s done over many years in Olympia and the legislature, and she’s run a good campaign so to be part of this race with two other high-quality people has been an honor for me.”

--Amy Radil

9 p.m.

'I'm the real Bob Ferguson.'

Democrat Bob Ferguson, leading the gubernatorial race with roughly 46% of the vote on Tuesday night, gave a rousing speech to a packed house in Ballard.

Noting that his parents were die-hard Dan Evans people -- Dan Evans being a Republican -- Ferguson said, "I know they're looking down with big smiles on their faces."

Ferguson said he would defend reproductive freedom and affordable health care. He said he is running a "relational campaign."

"It's my college buddy Larry over here talking to his friends about me and why he supports me for governor over Dave Reichert," Ferguson said.

He shared an example of a woman he worked with, who, on a walk, past a home with a Dave Reichert sign. Ferguson's friend chatted up the person in the yard and by the end of the conversation, had convinced them to take a Ferguson sign instead.

"That is how we win this election," he said.

--Katie Campbell

8:52 p.m.

Democrat Nick Brown appeared to be headed for the November ballot after the first vote drop on Tuesday night. He had 35.9% of the initial vote; Republican Pete Serrano had 41.9%.

--Amy Radil

8:46 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

Democrat Bob Ferguson and Republican Dave Reichert appear headed for the November ballot.

7:47 p.m.

7:43 p.m.

Bird supporters gather in Enumclaw, without GOP chair

Supporters of Semi Bird, the GOP-endorsed candidate for governor, gathered in Enumclaw with the candidate on primary night.

Bird supporters were hopeful in the hours leading up to the first ballot drop. Marty Mioni thought he’d easily make it into the top two. She held up a tattered "Semi Bird" flag, signed by many of the supporters gathered, and said it was the first Bird flag that had been manufactured.

“We’re gonna get it framed so we can hang it in the governor’s mansion,” Mioni said. If Bird isn’t in the top two, she wasn’t sure who she’d vote for in November, but said it’s important to get a Republican into the governor’s seat.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but he’s worked really hard, and he’s very sincere,” said Jerry Lamb, a resident of Ocean Shores who said he was once a Democrat but now identifies as Republican. Lamb said he is upset by overspending from Inslee’s administration, and thinks Bird would be more accountable to the people.

“I think he’s the best thing for Washington state,” Lamb said.

The Republican-endorsed candidate for Commissioner of Public Lands – the state’s forest and wildfire manager – Sue Kuehl Pederson, was in attendance.

Not in attendance was GOP Chairman Jim Walsh, who told KUOW he was driving home to Aberdeen. In June, Bird accused Walsh of undermining his campaign by discussing allegations circulating on right-wing radio that Bird had worn medals he didn’t earn in the military.

--Scott Greenstone

7:30 p.m.

7:08 p.m.

6:44 p.m.

5:40 p.m.

Voter vibes

Some voters in Thurston County said a sense of duty and the governor's race are what’s motivating them to fill out their ballots this primary election.

Kristin Nelson, a 52-year-old who lives in Lacey, said voting is a family tradition.

"My dad, oh my gosh, he passed away about four years ago, but he was a poll captain in California for years," she said. "My sister and I would never think about not voting."

Nelson said she likes current Gov. Jay Inslee and is keeping a close eye on the race to replace him.

Paul Girard, 55, said he feels cynical about voting, but he does it anyway.

"Because of all the people that died for me to give me the chance to do this and all the people in the world who don’t have the chance to do this," he said. "Whether or not my vote counts, I do not know."

Unlike Nelson, Girard wants to see some change in the governor's office.

Many other voters who stopped to talk said the governor’s race is top of mind and that they're thinking about public safety concerns and access to reproductive health care this election season.

One voter said casting a ballot in the primary is a helpful way to warm up for the "main event" — the general election in November.

— Jeanie Lindsay

4:00 p.m.

The race for superintendent of public instruction

A number of statewide offices are on Tuesday's ballot, including the superintendent of public instruction.

Two-term incumbent Superintendent Chris Reykdal is running for re-election. He's up against opposing candidates including Reid Saaris, the founder of an education nonprofit, and Peninsula School Board member David Olson.

RELATED: WA race for head of public schools is heating up

Arik Korman, CEO of the nonpartisan League of Education Voters, said some see the job as just a bully pulpit, but it's more than that. The superintendent lobbies state lawmakers for funding, and distributes those funds to schools.

"So if we don’t have an understanding of what the goal of K-12 is, then how do we know what we should be supporting in classrooms?" Korman said. "Do we fund school mental health? Do we fund wraparound supports? A lot of schools and districts are doing that, but if we don’t have a shared understanding as a state, then it’s going to be piecemeal-y."

— Sami West

3:40 p.m.

Still time to vote

There's still time for Washington state voters to get their ballots in.

Ballots must be postmarked, returned to a drop box, or returned in person to an elections office by 8 p.m. Tuesday.

So far, voter turnout is sitting at about 20% in King County and statewide. According to data from the Washington Secretary of State's Office, turnout in 2020 — the last primary during a presidential election year — was about 29%.

Voters 65 or older are so far leading the pack with the most returns among eligible voters in their age group. About 40% of registered voters over the age of 65 have returned ballots.

The top two vote-getters in each race will advance to the November general election.

In the gubernatorial race, that means a whopping 26 candidates will not make the final cut. Though more than two dozen people are vying for the office, plus write-in candidates, just four are considered to be in the running: on the Democrats' side, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and state Sen. Mark Mullet; and for the Republicans, Semi Bird and former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert.

RELATED: One Washington voter picks between 28 candidates for governor

Ferguson and Reichert are widely expected to proceed to the general gubernatorial election.

Democrats have held the governor's office since the mid-80s; the last Republican governor in the state was John Spellman, who served from 1981 to 1985.

— Katie Campbell and Paige Browning