Hagan and county incumbents ahead after first week’s vote counts

Danny Hagen is handily winning his primary race for Skagit County Assessor, replacing his boss, Dave Thomas, who is retiring. The Shelter Bay resident, running as an independent, leads Republican Karie Storle by almost 3,000 ballots and over nine percentage points after Monday’s Aug. 8 vote count.

Hagen and Storle will face each other on the November ballot.

All county races were between two candidates or had officeholders unopposed. Incumbents were winning handily in every contest. Auditor Sandy Perkins’ portion has dropped to 57.5% of the vote, with a 4,868 count lead against challenger Eric...