by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard
August 31, 2026
Michael Shepard will be the Democratic candidate for a Bellingham-area Washington state Senate seat in November, after a recount confirmed his narrow primary victory over a fellow Democrat.
Shepard, a Bellingham port commissioner, came into the hand recount up four votes on teacher Eamonn Collins after this month’s primary. The recount, certified Monday morning, didn’t change a single vote.
Shepard defeated Collins by a vote of 13,125 to 13,121, in a primary with nearly 50,000 votes tallied. At one point during the initial counting, Collins clawed to within two votes of Shepard, but couldn’t surpass him.
“We’re really pleased to be moving onto the general,” Shepard said Monday.
Shepard added that the recount matching the initial machine tabulation “should provide everyone a huge amount of confidence in our election process here in Washington state,” especially given ongoing attacks on mail-in voting by President Donald Trump.
Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn agreed, calling the voting system “very accurate, very transparent.”
Collins didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment
Shepard and Collins were vying for a shot at an open seat in the 42nd Legislative District with Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, forgoing reelection. Shepard will face Republican Erika Creydt, a psychologist and Blaine school board member, in November.
In Washington’s primaries, the top two finishers advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. This year, election day is Nov. 3.
As recently as 2022, a Republican senator represented the district, which covers north Bellingham and rural Whatcom County, including Ferndale, Lynden and Blaine, but it has tilted toward Democrats in recent years.
Democrats feel good about their chances of retaining this Senate seat as the combined vote total for Shepard and Collins surpassed Creydt.
On top of being a port commissioner, Shepard is an anthropology instructor at Western Washington University. He earned Shewmake’s endorsement. Collins, a science teacher at the Lummi Nation School, considered himself a grassroots progressive running to the left of Shepard’s more establishment lane.
Recounts rarely change election outcomes, but in a race this close, Collins was holding out hope for a shift.
Statewide recounts across the country between 2000 and 2023 resulted in an average margin shift of 551 votes, representing 0.03% of the vote in those contests, according to an analysis by voting rights group FairVote. Recounts typically widen the gap between the top two candidates.
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