November 07, 2017 - 8:16 PM
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The Latest on a legislative race in Washington state that will decide the balance of power at the Statehouse (all times local):
8:15 p.m.
Democrat Manka Dhingra has taken an early lead in a state Senate race that will determine the balance of power at the Washington Capitol.
The first posting of ballots show Dhingra leading Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund with 55 per cent of the vote. Under the state's vote-by-mail system, ballots just need to be postmarked or dropped off by Tuesday, which means that final results may not be known for days. The next ballot update is set for late Wednesday afternoon.
Republicans, with the help of a Democrat who caucuses with them, currently control the Senate by a single seat. Democrats hold a slim majority in the House.
If the Washington Senate flips, the state will join Oregon and California with Democratic one-party rule in both legislative chambers and the governor's office.
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1:35 a.m.
Voters in the suburbs east of Seattle will determine whether the Washington state Senate will remain the only Republican-led legislative chamber on the West Coast.
Tuesday's race for the 45th District is one of eight special elections for the state Legislature this year, but it's the only open seat and has broken all previous legislative spending records in the state because of the significance of the outcome.
Republicans, with the help of a Democrat who caucuses with them, currently control the Senate by a single seat. If the Washington Senate flips, the state will join Oregon and California with Democratic one-party rule in both legislative chambers and the governor's office.
Democrat Manka Dhingra and Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund are seeking to serve the last year of a four-year term left vacant by last year's death of Republican Sen. Andy Hill.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017