For the statewide races, which will be decided in November, it was a winnowing-out of also-rans and a measurement of the leaders. That measurement showed the race for Commissioner of Public Lands to be closest, with the Republican incumbent, Doug Sutherland essentially tied with Democratic challenger Peter Goldmark. Sutherland was the focus of a mini-scandal having to do with running his hand down a female employee’s back several years ago. The Republican Attorney General, Rob McKenna, has no mini-scandal and is comfortably ahead of his Democratic challenger, John Ladenburg.

Among Democratic incumbents, Gov. Christine Gregoire was running a few points ahead of Republican challenger Dino Rossi—not many points, but more than she had in the twice-recounted election of 2004. State auditor Brian Sonntag, Democrat, will have little problem in November, as will Secretary of State Sam Reed, Republican.

So where is the excitement. Superintendent of Public Instruction? Pro-WASL Incumbent Terry Bergeson is a lap ahead of anti-WASL Randy Dorn, who is backed by the teachers’ union and the service employees. But it is a six-way race, and the four candidates culled out had among them enough votes for Dorn to win it. Bergeson will have to fight for the job.

In Washington’s nine congressional districts, only the Reichert-Burner race in the 8th was close—the same as in 2004, with Dave Reichert, the incumbent Republican, slightly ahead.

None of the races I’ve mentioned so far is radically changed by the new top-two voting system. I know of one local race that is—in the 36th district, which has traditionally been 80-percent-plus Democrat. There the count to replace retiring Rep. Helen Sommers was:

John Burbank (D) 42%
Reuven Carlyle (D) 39%
Leslie Bloss (R) 18%

Under the new system, Burbank and Carlyle, both of them Democrats, advance to the November ballot, and Bloss, the Republican, drops out. That may seem very unfair to the Republicans of the 36th, but it is not: They hold the balance of power, and can decide which Democrat goes to Olympia.