McKeen closes gap in prosecutor race

The election race for the position of Wahkiakum County prosecuting attorney became tighter Thursday with the second count of mail-in ballots.

Incumbent Democrat Dan Bigelow led Independent challenger Holly McKeen 1,093 to 963 on Tuesday, a lead of 130 votes.

After Thursday's count, Bigelow leads 1,241-1,155, a lead of 86 votes. The county auditor's elections website estimates there are another 100 ballots left to count; the next count will be Nov. 28.

In the county's other contested race, incumbent Gene Strong boosted his lead over challenger Blair Brady to 1,519-686 in the race for District 3 county commissioner. Strong ran as an Independent, and Brady stated no party preference.

[See more election news on Page 5.]