By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch The final choices in the 2016 election for state senator and state representative for the Second Legislative District will come from among two entrenched incumbents, an appointee, a former legislator and two newcomers. Voting in the primary election that ended last week narrowed two races to the finalists in this fall's general election. Randi Becker, in her bid for re-election to the Senate, will face Marilyn Rasmussen, who held that seat before losing it to Becker. And the opponent for Rep. J.T. Wilcox, who is seeking his third two-year term, will be Derek Maynes. Andrew Barkis, who was appointed earlier this year to the district's Position 1 seat in the House of Representatives, is matched against Amy Pivetta Hoffman. They were the only candidates in their primary race. Maynes and Hoffman are candidates for partisan elected office for the first time. But both cut their teeth on school board campaigns. Hoffman was elected to the Bethel board in 2013, while Maynes lost a race last year for Puyallup's board. Becker, Wilcox and Barkis are Republicans. Their opponents are Democrats. The primary results were dominated by the Republicans. Becker (61 percent) and Wilcox (67 percent) topped the 60 percent mark, and Barkis was close behind at 58 percent. Rasmussen advanced with 28 percent. The third Senate candidate, Democrat Tamborine Borrelli, was eliminated with 11 percent. Maynes finished with 18 percent to earn his spot in the general election in November. Nathaniel Downes, a Democrat, received 14 percent. The Second District covers south Pierce County (including Eatonville, Graham and Roy) and part of Thurston County. Twenty-one percent of the district's 53,171 registered voters cast ballots in the primary. A much larger turnout is expected for the general election. Wilcox has cited his business background (he's part of the Wilcox Farms family) and community ties as important to his agenda for bolstering rural economies with efforts that aren't "Seattle-centric." Maynes, a small-businessman and Air Force veteran who lives in the South Hill area, is an advocate of bipartisan work on issues in the Legislature. The Becker-Rasmussen contest is a rematch of their contest eight years ago in which Becker unseated Rasmussen after she'd spent 16 years in the Senate. Rasmussen previously was a state representative for six years. Becker is seeking her third four-year term. She and Rasmussen emphasize state funding of public schools as top priorities. Barkis, a small-businessman from Thurston County, was appointed to the House after the resignation in February of Graham Hunt. Hoffman is an attorney.
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