Kerns, Kuney sweep to county commissioner wins

SPOKANE COUNTY – Republicans have maintained their lock on the county commissioners board as both incumbents Josh Kerns and Mary Kuney won re-election tonight (Nov. 3).

Kerns won his second term with a 12-point win over Democratic challenger Ted Cummings in the Commissioner District 1 race representing the north county. Kerns notched 55.97 % of the vote to Cummings 43.90 %, 136,293 votes to 106,896 votes.

In the District 2 race, Kuney enjoyed a larger almost 17-point win over Democratic challenger David Green, 58.05 to 41.79 %. Kuney received 141,185 votes to Green's 101,641.

The win represents Kuney's first four-year term, having been appointed to the position in 2017 and winning a special election be easily defeating Rob Chase in 2018. District 2 represents Spokane Valley.

Turnout in the county was a 71.18 %, with over 78.57 % of voters having returned their ballots in the all-mail election by Nov. 3, according to Election's Department statistics.

"Voters want their voices heard, and they are sending in their ballots because they want their votes counted," Spokane County Auditor Vicki Dalton said at the Spokane Arena voting center earlier today. "This election holds a lot of interest for voters."

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@chenefreepress.com.