Sonic boom. This Inslee McDermott staffer met Obama today. OMG OMG OMG OMG!

• Kelly O

• Kelly O

Jim McDermott is here, drinking a draft beer. He hid his pint glass for this photo because "Politicians don't drink." As he drank his beer, the dulcet sounds of Ministry's "Psalm 69" blared overhead. Several minutes later, "Fuck Tha Police" kicked in.

The SECB done gone huntin':

Joe Fitzgibbon, the dashing candidate to represent the 34th District, has finally come out of hiding and is enjoying his party since discovering he is only fractions of a percent from the lead stop. People have cast away their sodas for beer and wine. Fitzgibbon's father tells the SECB, "My catholic sister was appalled by your coverage of this election."

Ivan Weiss, former Democratic party chair of the 34th District, took the opportunity to slam challenger Mike Heavey, saying, "Heavey has no field. We have all the field. Heavey has nothing." Weiss then then predicted a thorough "ass whooping."

The SECB then challenged Fitzgibbon to arm wrestle, and he won, no contest. Swoon.

Called for comment, Ross Hunter told the SECB, "It looks like I'm okay. I've knocked on 3,000 doors and it's heartwarming to get this kind of vote. Typically the Democratic vote goes up in the general election. I feel optimistic. It looks like they want to keep me on the job."

Also called for comment, Charlie Wiggins said, "You know, these are early results, but I'm very pleased. I think this gives me another two and half months to make my points."

Who knew polls were so accurate? Like they say you're going to get a lousy 10 percent in the primary and then, lo and behold, you get 10 percent in the primary.

But it's not for lack of support for the only true Republican in the race! One organizer of the Clint Didier for Senate party says into the microphone, "Did you hear that voters in Snohomish never got their ballots?"

When new results pop up on the teevee, everyone looks, but no one says anything. It's sort of like a computer freezing, and then everyone goes back to staring slack-jawed into the middle distance.

Eventually Didier addresses the crowd on the speakerphone from Kennewick, saying, "Thank you for showing up for this exciting night of finding out where we stand. Thank you for all your hard work. It's not going to be all over tonight and it's not going to be over this election."

He closes by pointing out that Patty Murray is against freedom.

Then the party organizer asked if anyone had any questions.

The first question is, essentially, will you commit to staying in the race no matter what? Didier didn't understand the question, so the party organizer asked him on the speaker phone would you commit to running as an independent in this election. So then Didier had to explain to the party organizer what a top-two primary means. In other words, it doesn't matter what your party affiliation is if you don't make one of the top-two spots. And he was in third.

Actually, it was his girlfriend, Cheryl Johnson ("His long-suffering girlfriend of nine years," Cheryl said, "and feel free to say long suffering") who showed it off.

"There’s very few mammals that have a bone in their penis," she told me, holding a Bud Light in the living room of her GIANT house in Fremont. "Walruses are one of those animals." And the above objects are made from walrus penis bones—one large, one small.

As for Justice Sanders, he was hunched over a computer when I arrived, hoping that he'd hit 50 percent, which would mean he wins, full stop, tonight. "I have a chance," he said.

We sat and had a drink, and he told me (again) how proud he was of being endorsed by The Stranger in 1998 as both the man to vote for and the man we'd want to have three drinks with. Sanders was holding a glass of red wine, and said we could call it his third if we wanted. (So maybe we've now almost enacted that 1998 wish.)

This year, citing his 2006 opposition to overturning Washington's Defense of Marriage Act, we endorsed his opponent, Charlie Wiggins—something that clearly grates on Sanders.

"I'm The Stranger's guy, really," he told me, sitting next to the walrus penis bone. "You guys just don't know it. There's more to life than gay marriage. And I would hope that the gays would tell you that."

Then we went and listened to this woman sing the Star Spangled Banner in his girlfriend's kitchen.

UPDATE: As for Justice Sanders' alleged gay friends, none appeared to be in attendance. Sanders' girlfriend Cheryl and Justice Sanders himself said that there were no gay people at the party—that they knew of. Then Justice Sanders asked the SECB, "Are you gay?", to which we replied "Yes." It was then agreed on that Justice Sanders might have one gay person at his party. In parting, Sanders shook the SECB's hand, looked in our eye, and said, "Say hi to the boys for me."

Before Dino Rossi got onstage for his "victory speech," three young pimply men in the crowd discussed the evening's soundtrack: Vampire Weekend, MGMT, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. While the MGMT song "Kids" was playing, the shortest and pimpliest of the three said, "I hate how all these songs get really popular five months after I listen to them." The tallest and least pimply of them said, "You should become a music scout or something. Start a blog. That's how it happens." "I should, I really should," the short one responded. "What do you listen to?" His friend's response: "Reggae."

Rossi's speech didn't mention his numbers, which had fallen from 37 percent to 33 percent in the preceding ten minutes. He basically gave a stump speech about how Washington needs "adult supervision" (pandering to the oldies!) and how the ideas of Senator Murray "don't work." He flattered the American people but failed to explain why such noble voters have kept Murray in office for the past 18 years. After his speech, a woman next to me, who was in Rossi's high school class, said he looked very different in high school, when he had shaggy hair and flared jeans. "He looked nothing like the man he is today."

Was he a jock, a nerd, a debate-club dude? "No," she said, "He was just a dude."

For the record, we like toast:

These latest results from the Secretary of State's office on the Supreme Court race represent about half of the expected votes in the primary election. And while we'd love to say that Rumbaugh—adorable as he is—can pull through, the math is against him. He'd need the whopping majority of the remaining uncounted votes to come down on his side, and, frankly, that's not going to happen. With only two contestants and Jim Johnson firmly in the lead, this race won't proceed to the general election; Rumbaugh's toast. May he be delicious with butter and jam.

• R.B.
• DelBene and her husband Kurt at the HQ

"I am relieved and excited to move on," DelBene told the SECB (The Stranger endorsed Del Bene). "It's definitely going to be a tough race, we need to work hard."

DelBene has been trying to be more visible in Pierce County, where minor rumblings have been heard about why she is not more present. "We are making sure we are in Pierce County," DelBene said. If elected, creating new jobs will be her number one priority, DelBene said, followed by energy, healthcare, and education. "I don't think all these are separate issues," she said. "I think they are all intertwined in some way or the other."

Susan Neville, a family friend of the DelBene's for the last 12 years, said that she was not surprised by today's results. "When she was talking for running for Congress I knew she was going to win," she said. "She usually does."

"I am debating the death penalty with a Bellevue cop," texts an SECBer from Dino Rossi's budget barbecue. "It is surreal."

• Kelly O

You know, maybe Toby from Washington Bus (in the center, holding the sticker) is hotter than Joe Fitzgibbon. We go for that whole scruffy thing. Added hotness bonus: He's clearly pro-booze, and he's not using children as human shields.

This is what happens when you try to see the latest results on the judicial races:

Everyone drink!

• Stan Rumbaugh in his lucky tie. (Results may vary.)

Stan Rumbaugh is adorable. He's a good guy. SECB has only been impressed further by the goodness of Stan Rumbaugh.

Candidate Rumbaugh arrived to his party at 7:55, because his wife is working for a candidate who is running against a lesbian, which is the only thing we can say we don't like about Stan Rumbaugh.

About his own race: Before the 8:15 info drop, he said he was nervous and was wearing his lucky tie, which is dapper, red, and was given to him last Friday the 13th, on his birthday, by his wife. (He was also born on Friday the 13th, and, amazingly, owns an interest in a Manhattan company that runs the best haunted house in the United States, and whose theme this Halloween will be Superstitions; this same company, Art Meets Commerce, is the company producing Fela on Broadway right now. Which means Stan Rumbaugh has collaborated with Jay-Z and Beyonce.)

In advance of the results, Rumbaugh said, "Hundreds of people have helped this campaign, and it is humbling, even though I know that's a cliche. But they helped because they believe in something better, and I really, really want to come through for them. If I don't win, I'll be as sorry for them as I am for myself. Honest to God."

This is the first time SECB has ever believed the words of an attorney. He meant it.

When the first returns came in at 8:15 pm, it was a nailbiter. Opponent Jim Johnson was up 65 to 34 percent, and Rumbaugh said, "Well, that's not very encouraging."

Meanwhile, his party at the Harmon Hub in Tacoma (Rumbaugh lives in Browns Point, just outside Tacoma) is the cutest election party in history. For the first hour, SECB was seated next to the attorney for Smoke Farm, who moved to the Northwest in order to follow beat poet Gary Snyder, landing here after hitchhiking 30,000 miles. SECB's other tablemate wears a diamond in his left ear and cooked for bands for ten years, including Bon Jovi, Foreigner, and Bob Seger.

Imagine what the world would be like if Stan Rumbaugh were in charge of justice.

Although Marcee Stone, running to represent the 34th District, gathered a paltry 15 percent of the vote tonight, she told supporters at the Elliott Bay Brewery Pub that she isn't conceding.

"The numbers aren't looking good right now, but we are not giving up. Let's not give up! We need to double-down because we know that special interest money is part of the problem and let's wait and see what happens at 4:30 tomorrow," said Stone, referring to the next batch of results which will further cement her status as irretrievably behind the top-two candidates who will continue to the general election.

Asked who she want to see in that seat—front runners Joe Fitzgibbon or Mike Heavey—she said, "It's too early to tell."

These results will change as more counties post results this hour. Here's the what we've got for now:

State Supreme Court: Incumbent Jim Johnson is creaming Stan Rumbaugh, 65 percent to 34 percent. Meanwhile, Justice Richard Sanders is winning with 48 percent, over Charlie Wiggins who has 36 percent of the vote. Bryan Chushcoff has only 15 percent support.

The numbers in the senate race:

Clint Didier: 10.55 %
Patty Murray: 43.67 %
Dino Rossi: 37.45 %

Peter Steinbrueck is here, looking fresh and hearty (not running for Mayor of Seattle will give a special glow to your skin, we hear).

• Kelly O
• Peter Steinbrueck with Tom from Rock the Vote, right after Steinbrueck referred to the Viaduct as an "opportunity."

Seconds after this photo was taken, someone approached Steinbrueck and shook his hand. They asked, "Are you announcing your run for mayor tonight?" Steinbrueck laughed, shook his head, and said, "God, no!"

At least they're horny for those SECB members who are thin pretty females.

From the scene: "A young Republican Rossi supporter tried to pick me up!" reports our thin pretty female. "His come-on line: 'So, you voted for Rossi....' 'Nope,' I told him. 'I'm a writer for The Stranger.' He apologized profusely."

The SECB temptress then chatted with the man and his friend, the latter of whom expressed his dislike of Sarah Palin, driving the Rossi-loving Lothario to flee the room, so opposed was he to his friend's anti-Palin sentiment. "Thus ended the romance," reports our lady, who was soon enough accosted by another man—a KING 5 anchor who asked if she could please retrieve Luke Esser from across the room. "I work for The Stranger—what are you gonna do for me?" asked our lady, inspiring another man to apologize profusely and abruptly ending another romance.

Here we go with today's results for races in King County (about half of all the ballots expected in the primary). Results for state races will be tricking in over the hour from lots of counties, and well update with those next.

State Representative Legislative Dist No. 34 - Position 2

Joe Fitzgibbon Prefers Democratic Party 5065 32.80%

Mike Heavey Prefers Democratic Party 5185 33.58%

Geoffrey Mac McElroy Prefers Independent Party 2910 18.84%

Marcee Stone Prefers Democratic Party 2191 14.19%

Write-in 91 0.59%

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT NO. 7

Ballots Cast/Registered Voters: * 90053 / 419100 21.49%
United States Representative Congressional District No. 7

Bob Jeffers-Schroder Prefers Independent - No Party 5624 6.75%

Bill Hoffman Prefers Democratic Party 3598 4.32%

Jim McDermott Prefers Democratic Party 64258 77.16%

Scott Sizemore Prefers Democratic Party 2034 2.44%

Don Rivers Prefers Democratic Party 2814 3.38%

S. Sutherland States No Party Preference 3150 3.78%

Write-in 1803 2.16%

METROPOLITAN KING COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT NO. 8

Ballots Cast/Registered Voters: * 23990 / 109557 21.90%
County Council District No. 8 Unexpired 1-year Term

Diana Toledo 4182 19.97%

Tim Fahey 1481 7.07%

Joe McDermott 12421 59.30%

Shawn McEvoy 2732 13.04%

Write-in 129 0.62%

In the swing 45th District:

State Senator Legislative Dist No. 45

Eric Oemig Prefers Democratic Party 8845 48.74%

Andy Hill Prefers Republican Party 9279 51.13%

Write-in 24 0.13%
State Representative Legislative Dist No. 45 - Position 1

Roger Goodman Prefers Democratic Party 8973 50.27%

Kevin Haistings Prefers Republican Party 8853 49.60%

Write-in 24 0.13%
State Representative Legislative Dist No. 45 - Position 2

Larry Springer Prefers Democratic Party 9874 54.96%

Mark Isaacs Prefers Republican Party 8067 44.90%

Write-in 26 0.14%

The swingy 48th District:

State Senator Legislative Dist No. 48

Rodney Tom Prefers Democratic Party 8257 51.78%

Gregg Bennett Prefers Republican Party 7658 48.02%

Write-in 32 0.20%
State Representative Legislative Dist No. 48 - Position 1

Diane Tebelius Prefers Republican Party 7244 45.92%

Ross Hunter Prefers Democratic Party 8511 53.95%

Write-in 20 0.13%

State Representative Legislative Dist No. 48 - Position 2

Philip L. Wilson Prefers Republican Party 7286 46.73%

Deb Eddy Prefers Democratic Party 8283 53.13%

Write-in 22 0.14%

More King County results here.

The awkward party for Joe Fiztgibbon, who wants to represent the 34th District in the legislature, has lots of family and streamers and balloons. But nobody is drinking alcohol, only soda, at tables where folks are sitting around family style. The only thing missing from the Heartland Cafe in West Seattle: Joe Fitzgibbon.

Joe Joe is apparently so nervous, according to friends and family, that he is hiding out in a an undisclosed location with one one friend pounding shots of Jägermeister waiting for the results.

Campaign manager Laura Hicks isn't sweating it, though. Just as young and all American and cute as her candidate, Hicks says their toughest competition is Mike Heavey, but "only because of his family name." (Heavey's dad used to be in the legislature.)

Maybe Fitzgibbon will come out (of the closet) soon.

After a slow start, the Dino Rossi party in Bellevue is picking up steam. The candidate has arrived, and is making up for his shocking shortness with a deep tan. (He's like a boy Snooki!)

People in the crowd tend toward social liberalism, but they wouldn't call it that. The SECB has spoken to people who support abortion rights, gay rights, and the legalization of marijuana, but all are very concerned about the economy. One lady whose husband is a 91-year-old former airline pilot said she preferred Dino Rossi to Clint Didier because Rossi "has better presentation." She doesn't like it "when politicians drop their Gs with their participles, like Bush and Palin and now Obama. They think they're talking to me and they must have a low estimation of my intelligence." (She was pleased when Palin started to get her Gs back.)

The ex-pilot's wife's offered this unsolicited advice to young people: "Live below your means. 31 percent of average household expenses is in housing. I have never lived in a house I could afford. I have always lived in a house less than what I could afford." A pot-bellied, bearded, and sunburned man next to her chimed in: "And don't get divorced!"