EPHRATA — Joshua Thompson led Deanna Martinez by 3,278 votes for the 13th Legislative District’s state representative Position 2 seat in preliminary Nov. 11 results. According to the Washington Secretary of State, there are around 2,000 ballots left to count in the four counties that make up Legislative District 13.

Thompson had 22,400 votes, or 52.73%, to Martinez’s 19,122 votes, or 45.02%, according to the Nov. 11 ballot counts. The election will be certified Nov. 24. 

Thompson said his early work would focus on building relationships with fellow lawmakers, learning the legislative process and making his office accessible to constituents.

“There are a lot of issues that both sides agree on, and so that’s a great place to start,” Thompson said.

Martinez acknowledged the election results in a statement and wished Thompson well. She did not respond to requests for comment prior to press time.

“I want to take this time to acknowledge the election results for Position 2, House of Representatives, did not go as I had hoped, prayed and worked for,” Martinez wrote.

Martinez said the House Republican caucus has lost seats this election cycle, creating a Democratic supermajority in the House. 

“I wish Joshua well in his new role and I expect that he will do his best to represent everyone in the 13th District,” she wrote. 

Thompson said the concerns he heard during the campaign crossed political lines, including taxes, energy costs, education, housing and opportunities for families to improve their financial circumstances.

“Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, you share the same issues,” he said.

Thompson said he wants more people to be able to move from renting to owning a home and build equity. Access to health care is another concern in a district where residents may travel long distances between communities and services.

“District 13 is a rural district,” Thompson said. “You can go for 20 miles and barely see anything but farmland. We need to make sure that our residents still have access to care and if they don’t we need to start thinking about how to fix that.” 

Thompson also identified the pressures facing farmers, including mental health concerns, as issues he wants to address. He said he appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from farmers during the campaign.

He said he expects Rep. Tom Dent’s experience to be helpful as he enters the Legislature. Dent led Juan “Jerry" Garcia in the district’s Position 1 race, with 33,105 votes to Garcia’s 16,610 in the Nov. 11 results.

Thompson said he was working to establish an office that responds to residents, regardless of whom they supported in the election. While hiring a legislative assistant, he said, he said the office works for constituents.

“I want to make sure that anyone who contacts the office is going to hear back,” Thompson said.

He said people told him they were frustrated after trying to contact their representatives and receiving no response. Making time to answer calls and messages will be part of how he runs his office, he said.

“We serve them, and the only way you can do that is to listen,” Thompson said.

He extended that commitment to people who voted for Martinez, or support a different party.

“I will return the phone call at the same speed, whether it’s from the left or the right, whether you voted for me or not,” Thompson said.

Asked about his first 90 days, Thompson said he would need to learn how the Legislature works from the inside, pursue committee assignments that would benefit the district and work with local leaders to identify goals.

He said entering as a freshman Republican in the minority would make advancing those goals challenging.

“You’re going to have to work twice as hard,” Thompson said. “It’s going to be a lot of very long days that I already know are coming. But I’m really excited for it.”

Building relationships with Democrats will be part of that effort, he said. Thompson pointed to his city council experience, where he said he worked with colleagues whose politics differed from his own. He said he would meet colleagues for coffee or lunch, get to know them personally and find common ground before working through policy disagreements.

“That’s going to have to happen to get anything done,” Thompson said of building relationships across the aisle.

The campaign gave Thompson opportunities to hear from residents and business owners throughout the district. He said he visited more than 500 businesses, introducing himself at the front door and asking owners and managers how they were doing.

“The question I asked for every single one of them was, ‘How are you doing?’” Thompson said.

He said one business owner teared up and told him no one had come in to ask that question. He said those conversations helped him build rapport across the district and understand the pressures businesses were experiencing. 

“Small businesses right now have a ton of pressure on them,” Thompson said, referencing rising costs and concerns about the business and occupation tax.

Thompson said listening was central to those visits and would remain part of how he approaches representing the district.

“It’s so much more important to listen in that situation,” Thompson said.

Martinez thanked those who supported her campaign in her statement.

“Thank you to all who supported me and voted for me,” she wrote. “I am truly grateful for you.”

Looking back on his own campaign, Thompson described the months of travel and conversations as rewarding, though the time away was difficult with a 3-year-old at home.

He said running for the Legislature was different from seeking a city council seat, and the campaign helped him learn more about the district, particularly through time spent in Grant County.

“You never can be prepared for a race like that unless you’ve done it before,” Thompson said.

Now, he said, the focus shifts to the responsibilities that would come with the seat.

“The race itself was just competing to see who could get to the starting line,” Thompson said.