Pat McCarthy leads in early election results for state auditor

Pat McCarthy was leading in early election results with 54 percent of the vote, over opponent Mark Miloscia for auditor of Washington state.

Election results for all of Washington’s key races

The last time a Republican was elected as Washington’s state auditor was 1928, when C.W. Clausen ran unopposed for re-election. The post was most recently filled by Troy Kelley, who served one term after taking over for long-time incumbent Brian Sonntag. Kelley was the first Washington state official indicted in 35 years, accused of illegally pocketing $3 million in fees that prosecutors say he should have refunded to homeowners when he ran a real-estate services business. A federal jury deadlocked on the main charges against him in the spring, and he decided not to seek re-election. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle said it will try him again next year.

The auditor is the elected official charged with rooting out waste and fraud in government operations. It employs about 350 people around the state and is tasked with ensuring governments from sewer districts to statewide agencies have adequate financial controls and abide by applicable laws and their own policies.

Miloscia was the leading vote-getter in a primary that included McCarthy and another Democrat, as well as an Independent and unaffiliated candidate.

Over the past three decades, McCarthy has been a Tacoma school board member, deputy county auditor, elected county auditor and finally county executive. Miloscia, a Democrat-turned-Republican, served seven terms in the state House of Representatives before his election in 2014 to the Senate, where he chairs the Accountability and Reform Committee. A former B-52 pilot, he said he gained crucial experience by auditing Boeing programs for the Air Force.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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