County Sheriff
Thurston County, Washington
My vote power
Normal
Election date
August 4, 2026 · Primary election
How do we calculate my vote power?
What goes into the rating: Representation: how much weight one vote carries here compared with a statewide vote — the smaller the district, the more each vote counts. Decisiveness: how likely this race is to be close, based on past results or current analyst ratings, plus the number of candidates.
Representation: Normal · 65 out of 100
This district covers a large share of its state, so each vote carries about average weight — like a vote in a statewide race. About 299,067 people live here.
Show the representation math
score = 50 + 50 × ln(state population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50 + 50 × ln(7,816,116 ÷ 299,067) ÷ ln(50,000) = 65.08, measured against a statewide vote in WA (grades: 66+ high, 33+ normal, otherwise low; a statewide race is the 50 baseline)
Decisiveness: Unknown
No analyst ratings or past results for this contest yet.
Normal representation → My vote power: Normal.
Some data is missing, so this rating is based on partial information.
About this office
- Running police patrols and deputies in the county
- Running the county jail
- Carrying out evictions, warrants, and other court orders
Affects: Immigration, Public Safety and Crime Control, Gun Control,
Candidates
Independent · Incumbent · declared
Derek Sanders is the 24th Sheriff of Thurston County. Before his election as sheriff and taking office in January 2023, he served six years as a Thurston County deputy and received the Medal of Valor and two Lifesaving awards.
Records: Public Safety and Crime Control 4 for, 1 against, Civil Rights 1 for
Democratic · declared
Kevin Burton-Crow is a Thurston County Sheriff's Office special victims detective and former reserve deputy. He retired from the U.S. Army after 20 years of service and also coordinates marine services and search-and-rescue work for the Sheriff's Office.
Sources: voter.votewa.gov2