2026 Spokane County elections

Last updated

2026 Spokane County elections
 2024
November 3, 2026
2028 

The 2026 Spokane County elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, in Spokane County, Washington, with primary elections for certain offices being held on August 4. [1] Two of the five seats of the Board of County Commissioners are up for election, as well as six of the countywide elected officials, the Sheriff, the Treasurer, the Auditor, the Assessor and the Prosecutor, three of which are open seats. [2]

Contents

Board of County Commissioners

Two of the five seats of the Spokane County Board of Commissioners are up for election to four-year terms. In 2018, the Washington State Legislature passed a law to mandate that Spokane County elect five commissioners instead of the previous three, and that each commissioner have their own district instead of all running as a county-wide slate. As such, this is the first election in which the law fully takes effect. [3] Incumbent Commissioner Mary Brooks (elected as Mary Kuney), a Republican and the Chair of the Comission, who was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee in 2017 to fill a vacancy, has announced she will not seek re-election. [4] Incumbent Commissioner Amber Waldref has announced she is running for re-election. [5]

Position 2

Candidates

Declared
  • Amber Waldref (Democratic), incumbent County Commissioner (2023-present)

Position 4

Candidates

Declared
Declined
  • Mary Brooks (née: Kuney) (Republican), incumbent County Commissioner (2017-present)

Auditor

Incumbent Auditor Vicky Dalton, the only county-wide elected Democrat, is retiring. She has endorsed Republican Spokane city councilman Michael Cathcart. [6]

Candidates

Declared

  • Michael Cathcart (Republican), Spokane city councilman (2019-present)

Declined

  • Vicky Dalton (Democratic), incumbent Auditor
Michael Cathcart (R)

County officials

Sheriff

Incumbent Sheriff John Nowels was elected in 2022 with 57.82% of the vote. [7] He is running for re-election. [8]

Candidates

Declared
  • John Nowels (Republican), incumbent Sheriff (2023-present)

Prosecuting Attorney

Incumbent Prosecuting Attorney Larry Haskell resigned on July 18, 2025, citing his age. The Spokane County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to appoint Chief Criminal Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam to fill the vacancy. [9]

Candidates

Delcared
  • Preston McCollam (Republican), incumbent Prosecuting Attorney (2025-present) [10]

Treasurer

Incumbent Treasurer Michael Baumgartner resigned on January 3, 2025 after he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Mike Volz, the Deputy Treasurer and state representative was appointed by the Board of County Commissioners to fill the vacancy. [11]

Candidates

Delcared
Withdrawn
  • Matt Hanson (Republican), businessman
  • Mike Kelly (Republican), bussinessman (ran for Spokane Valley city council) [12]
Matt Hanson (R) (withdrawn)

U.S. representatives

Assessor

Incumbent Assessor Tom Konis was first elected in 2018 with 95.27% of the vote. [7] He is eligible for re-election but has not yet announced whether he will do so.

Candidates

Potential
  • Tom Konis (Republican), incumbent Assessor (2018-present)

References

  1. "Dates and Deadlines 2026". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved March 18, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Gibson, Nick (January 6, 2026). "Spokane County Commission leadership continues for fourth consecutive year, despite odd interaction during vote". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved March 18, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Tiernan, Colin (December 7, 2021). "Five Spokane County commissioner seats are up for grabs in 2022, and here's who might be running". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved March 18, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. 1 2 Gibson, Nick (February 10, 2026). "Spokane County commissioner gets new name and won't seek re-election". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  5. Appel, Emmalee (March 11, 2026). "Spokane County Commissioner Amber Waldref seeking 2026 reelection". KREM (TV) .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. 1 2 Dinman, Emry (May 28, 2025). "Spokane Councilman Michael Cathcart announces 2026 bid for county auditor". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved March 18, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. 1 2 "Current Election Results". Spokane County Elections. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  8. Uppendahl, Grace (March 4, 2026). "Sheriff John Nowels announces reelection campaign for Spokane County Sheriff". KREM (TV) . Retrieved March 18, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Gibson, Nick (June 10, 2025). "Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell retiring after a decade as Spokane County's top legal representative". The Spokesman-Review .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. https://www.prestonforprosecutor.com/
  11. 1 2 Gibson, Nick (January 8, 2026). "Who will replace Michael Baumgartner? Spokane County GOP releases names, questionnaires for potential new Spokane County treasurer". The Spokesman-Review .
  12. https://www.kxly.com/news/top-stories/mike-kelly-leads-spokane-valley-position-1-city-council-race-against-kristopher-pockell/article_1cc0b3d3-c211-482a-b314-1df8a28b886b.html