Heidi Eisenhour is leading in the race for the District 2 position on the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, according to the initial vote tally on Election Night.

Eisenhour had the early advantage, with 58.04 percent of the vote.

Lorna Smith had 39.98 percent of the vote, according to early unofficial returns.

The actual vote count was 10,164 votes for Eisenhour, and 7,001 votes for Smith.

A total of 17,513 ballots in the race were counted in the first vote tally. There were 348 write-in ballots.

The next count is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Eisenhour and Smith, both Democrats, are making their first run for elected office.

The winner of the race will fill the seat now held by Commissioner David Sullivan, who decided against seeking another term. Sullivan was first elected in 2004 and has served four terms as a county commissioner.

Smith, 69, is currently serves on the county's Planning Commission and has been the executive director of Western Wildlife Outreach. She has lived in Cape George since 2012. Before moving to Jefferson County, Smith worked as a land use and environmental planner for Snohomish County.

Eisenhour, 49, is the chief operations officer at the Northwest Maritime Center and a lifelong resident of Irondale and Port Hadlock.

Eisenhour said she would concentrate on essential county services if elected, and pledged to focus on the county's recovery efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smith highlighted her 25 years of experience working for Snohomish County during her campaign, as well as her work on environmental issues, including the effort to create the Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Eisenhour was the favorite in the race, having finished first in a three-way Primary Election race that also featured candidate Amanda Funaro.

Eisenhour finished the primary with 43 percent of the vote, while Smith had 32 percent and Funaro, 21 percent.

After Funaro finished third, she endorsed Eisenhour and asked her supporters to do so, as well.

In the primary, however, only registered voters in District 2 could cast ballots. (District 2 is the Tri-Area and communities just south of Port Townsend.)

In the General Election, registered voters across Jefferson County were eligible to vote.

Voters in Jefferson County also cast ballots Tuesday in the race for the District 1 commissioner's position.
Democrat Kate Dean ran unopposed.