Burnett regains lead in 12th District House race

NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON — Incumbent Rep. Brian Burnett regained a narrow statewide lead Wednesday afternoon as additional primary election ballots were counted in the race for Washington's 12th Legislative District State Representative Position 1 seat.

In Chelan County, Burnett received 9,431 votes (53.38%), while challenger Stacy Willoughby received 8,217 votes (46.51%). Because only two candidates filed for the office, both will advance to November's general election regardless of the primary outcome.

The district spans Chelan County along with portions of Snohomish and King counties. In Snohomish County, Burnett continued to hold a razor-thin edge with 3,181 votes (50.22%) to Willoughby's 3,148 (49.70%). In King County, however, Willoughby maintained a strong lead with 3,850 votes (59.11%) to Burnett's 2,657 (40.80%).

Statewide, Burnett led Willoughby with 15,269 votes (50.04%) to Willoughby's 15,215 (49.86%), a margin of 54 votes.

Burnett, a Republican and former Chelan County sheriff, was first elected to the Legislature in 2024. Willoughby, a Democrat and the president of nonprofit Chelan Valley Hope, is making her first run for the Legislature.

As Burnett said Tuesday night, "the work starts tomorrow," adding that his campaign would spend the coming days analyzing the results as additional ballots are counted across the district.

Washington will continue counting ballots received by Election Day throughout the week before certifying the election.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media