Dye, Vanek, Echanove post leads

Appointed state Rep. Mary Dye of Pomeroy received 65 percent of the votes Tuesday in a first count of ballots in the Ninth Legislative District to defeat Richard Lathim of Pasco, and incumbents G. Todd Vanek of Colfax and Michael Echanove of Palouse fended off challengers with strong leads in mayoral races.

In Whitman County returns, Dye received 2,502 votes while Lathim totaled 1,227. Those totals compare with August primary numbers where Dye received 3,276 votes and Lathim earned 839 in a three-way race.

An estimated 2,500 ballots remained to be counted as of Tuesday night.

In the Ninth Dist...