It's a rarity - two hand recounts in the same district.
On Thursday, the Whatcom County Auditor's Office began counting ballots by hand in two races which have been reliably Republican for a decade, but this cycle are within the state-mandated threshold for a hand recount.
"Forty-six votes," said Bellingham Mayor Pro Tem Pinky Vargas. "This is a good reminder to everyone that every vote counts."
Vargas trails Republican Incumbent State Senator Doug Ericksen by a slim margin with more than 72,000 ballots cast.
The 42nd District Senate Race has been a GOP stronghold with Ericksen, who won in 2014 by 16 points and in 2010 by 19 points. His previous State House races in the district followed similar margins.
But Ericksen has become a lightning rod for his early support of President Donald Trump. His opponents donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to unseat him.
"It's important to stand up for what you believe in and support who are doing great things for America. We have a great economy in America right now, and things are going well," Ericksen said Thursday while acknowledging that perhaps it played a role in this close election. "Money does make a difference to turn out the vote, and obviously people are motivated. President Trump organically motivates some people to show up and vote against anyone who supported him, so that's also a factor, but also generates people who come out to support him."
Ericksen is confident he'll still come out on top.
"In politics, it's always better to be ahead than behind," he said.
For her part, Vargas says she'll accept the final tally and is proud of the way she ran her campaign.
Another race in the 42nd District is also being given the hand recount treatment.
In the race for House Seat #1, Republican Incumbent Luanne Van Werven leads Democratic challenger Justin Boneau by just 80 votes, with more than 72,000 votes cast.
In the District's other legislative race, Democrat Sharon Shewmake leads Republican Vincent Buys by less than 1,000 votes, which was not enough to trigger the recount.
A hand recount also begins next week for the 26th District Senate Race, which includes parts of the Kitsap Peninsula.
Democrat Emily Randall leads Republican Marty McClendon by 104 votes, out of more than 70,000 votes cast.
