Lacey City Councilman Nicolas Martinez-Dunning holds a narrow lead over incumbent Emily Clouse in early returns from Tuesday's Thurston County Commissioner District 5 primary, with third-place finisher Michelle Gipson effectively eliminated from the race.

The initial count, reported by the Nisqually Valley News, showed Martinez-Dunning with 2,160 votes (37.91%), Clouse with 2,000 votes (35.1%) and Gipson with 1,440 votes (25.27%). Under Washington's top-two primary system, the two leading vote-getters advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

The results are unofficial.

Additional ballots will be counted before the county certifies the outcome, as eligible mail-in votes arrive and drop-box submissions are processed, according to the Thurston County Auditor's Elections Division.

The race heads to November

The District 5 seat covers much of Lacey and stretches from Johnson Point in the north to the Pattison Lake area in the south. Residents there will now choose between Clouse and Martinez-Dunning, commonly known as Nic Dunning, in November.

The primary campaign was marked by sharp exchanges between the two frontrunners. As we reported Aug. 1, a $300,000 settlement involving Clouse dominated a July 30 candidate debate, with both Dunning and Gipson arguing the controversy should have ended Clouse's tenure.

A separate dispute over military credentials flared in the race's final days. Clouse, an Army veteran who deployed to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia at age 19, accused Dunning of misrepresenting her combat service at a campaign forum, according to The Olympian. "That is a blatant lie," Clouse said in a video posted Aug. 2. "I am a combat veteran."

Dunning, a Marine Corps veteran who earned a Combat Action Ribbon during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, denied the accusation. He told The Olympian the claim was an intentional mischaracterization and drew a distinction between deploying to a designated combat zone and direct combat exposure.

The numbers

Countywide voter turnout stood at roughly 15%, with 31,701 of 215,385 registered voters returning ballots as of the first results release. The Thurston County Auditor's Elections Division had mailed more than 207,000 ballots ahead of the primary, with 31 secure drop boxes open through 8 p.m. Aug. 4.

Pre-primary fundraising totals from the Public Disclosure Commission showed a tight money race: Dunning raised $30,616 and spent $21,714, while Clouse raised $29,645 and spent $28,394. Gipson raised $17,120 and spent $10,817.

What's next

The Thurston County Auditor will certify the primary results before the general election matchup is official. The Nov. 3 general election will determine who holds the District 5 seat on the Board of County Commissioners. Both Dunning and Clouse are Democrats.