The gap has grown to 53 votes between incumbent Republican Phil Bakke and no-party challenger Curt Gordon in the fight for the second spot on the November ballot for District 1 Island County commissioner.

Bakke has 2,290 votes, and Gordon 2,237, in the latest vote tally. County elections officials gave the updated count just before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The race is not close enough to trigger an automatic recount, said Deputy Auditor Michele Reagan.

According to state law, less than 150 votes between the two candidates, and less than one-quarter of 1 percent of the total number of votes for both candidates, is needed to trigger a manual hand recount.

“We are not within manual recount range,” Reagan said.

The gap in the race is currently at 1.17 percent.

Democrat Helen Price Johnson continues to lead the race for District 1. On Wednesday, she had 5,243 votes.

Republican Reece Rose was in fourth, with 1,596 votes.

Under the state’s top-two primary, the two candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election in November.

Bakke has held on to second place throughout the vote counts conducted since the primary on Aug. 19. He held a 39-vote advantage late Monday.

Approximately 50 votes countywide remain to be counted, Reagan said.

To see the latest vote count, Click here