Washington Primary to Winnow Candidates in Dozens of Races

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington's voters are weighing in on dozens of races across the state as they winnow their choices for offices ranging from Congress to the Legislature in the state's primary election.

Voters will decide Tuesday between 11 candidates for governor, though Democratic incumbent Gov. Jay Inslee and Republican challenger Bill Bryant are expected to easily advance to November. The open seat for lieutenant governor has also drawn 11 candidates, including three Democratic state senators. Other open statewide races include: auditor, lands commissioner, treasurer and superintendent of public instruction.

More than four million of the state's registered voters started receiving their ballots in the mail weeks ago for the top two primary, in which the top two vote getters advance to the November ballot, regardless of party. Because Washington is an all-mail-ballot state, results may take days to come in as the ballots — which just need to be postmarked by Tuesday — arrive in elections offices.