Election Results: Mullet Maintains Lead in the 5th District

Mark Mullet claimed victory last night after the initial election results showed him with a 6 percentage point lead over opponent Brad Toft in Washington's 5th District Senate race, though Toft himself had not officially conceded the race as of this morning.

With 62 percent of the votes verified, Mullet had a 7-point lead over Toft as of Wednesday, Nov. 7. Meanwhile, Chad Magendanz held a nearly 11 point lead over David Spring for the 5th District Representative Pos. 2 seat. The next results are scheduled to be released at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8.

Toft's campaign communications consultant, Terry LaBrue, said the early results were a great disappointment.

"Our tracking polls had put him much closer," LaBrue said, acknowledging that with the early 6-point margin, it would be an uphill climb for results to swing far enough in Toft's favor to overcome Mullet's lead.

The campaign has been a heated one from the get-go, with accusations about both candidates surfacing repeatedly.

LaBrue lamented the hostile nature of the campaign, saying "I think you can have a gentlemanly discussion without impugning someone's character," and saying he has found Toft to be one of the most respectful, professional, and sensitive candidates he's worked with over his 90-campaign career.

After the election today, Toft was keeping a low profile, and Mullet said his family would be preparing for a vacation to Disneyland later this week.

"We always take (the girls) to Disneyland every four years after the election so they'll get excited about election season," Mullet said.

Representative Position 2 winner Chad Magendanz, who held an insurmountable lead against opponent David Spring, said his downtime would be short-lived.

"We immediately go into reorganization, and have about a week to ramp up" for preparing to take his new position.

Related Coverage:

Washington Election Results 2012