Susan Fagan, a Republican 9th District House candidate for Washington state, leads after first ballot counts in the primary elections.

Fagan, who would succeed Don Cox, R-Colfax, with a victory in the Nov. 3 general elections, garnered 29.24 percent of the vote with 6,440 votes, Campaign Manager Jordan Vorderbrueggen said.

Trailing Fagan are Pat Hailey, R-Mesa, with 25.64 percent and 5,657 votes as well as Glen Stockwell, D-Ritzville, with 24.33 percent and 5,358 votes, Vorderbrueggen said. The two other republican candidates for the position, Darin Watkins and Art Swannack, who took in about 20 percent of the votes combined, are out of the race because of low voting numbers, he said.

The primary results were tabulated Friday afternoon with a “very small number of votes left to count,” Fagan said.

Fagan hosted a primary night election party from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Ridge Pointe Apartments’ club house. About 100 attendees came out she said.

Pat Hailey, republican candidate for the 9th District House position, said Fagan is likely in the lead because she spent more money and had an extensive radio advertising campaign.

Hailey said about 200 votes remain to be counted, which she is confident Stockwell won’t garner.

Though both Hailey and Fagan are republican candidates, Hailey said she would make a better representative because of her farming experience and ability to sympathize with local farmers.

“I have lived with the regulations that legislation passes for farmers, and I think I understand what farming means today than 30 years ago,” Hailey said.

Though Fagan is certain she will battle for the 9th District position in the November election, she said she is unsure who her challenger will be because of the slim margin between the current second- and third-place vote-getters, Hailey and Stockwell.

“The top two vote-getters advance to the general election, and I have enough votes to be one of the two who advance,” she said. “I don’t think a winner has been declared for the No. 2 spot.” If Fagan wins the general election, she would serve the counties of Whitman, Adams, Garfield, Asotin, and parts of Franklin and Spokane counties.

Fagan described the duty as important because the 9th District encompasses a geographical region larger than the state of Connecticut.

Fagan said she is confident of a victory in the general election after witnessing massive support from her followers.

“We’ve had so many volunteers helping on the campaign, and that’s really rewarding for me as a candidate, and I feel really good going into the election,” she said. “We’ve had such a hardworking group of people, and I’m determined to win and work as hard as it takes to win the election.” Fagan’s background includes 15 years fighting for constituents as a staffer for three U.S. senators and 10 years at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, working on issues such as business competitiveness, health care and the death tax, she said.

If the voting numbers remain as they stand, a Republican-versus-Republican matchup will ensue with Fagan facing off against Hailey in the November general election.

“There are enough votes to count for me to be put into the second place,” Hailey said. “I feel like we can pick up that ground really quick.”