WENATCHEE — Incumbent Mike Armstrong has conceded the race for the 12th Legislative District, Position 2, to challenger Brad Hawkins.

“I called him last night and wished him the best of luck,” Armstrong said this morning. “I’ve made easier calls.”

The latest vote tally shows Hawkins, 36, leading Armstrong, 55, by nearly 1,000 votes, down from the 1,570-vote lead Hawkins had after the first ballot count election night. Both are Republicans. Armstrong from Wenatchee and Hawkins, who lives near East Wenatchee.

The 12th District comprises all of Chelan and Douglas counties, about half of Okanogan County and small portions of Grant County.

Armstrong’s concession comes with about 1,075 ballots left to count across all four counties. He current holds 49 percent of ballots counted to Hawkins’ 51 percent.

Final votes across the state will become official Nov. 27, when county elections offices certify their counts with the Secretary of State.

Armstrong outspent Hawkins by approximately two to one during the campaign.

He said this morning that the public and media outcry over his using some $7,000 in surplus campaign funds over a 5-year period to buy suits to wear during his legislative duties was a key factor in his defeat. He also blasted Hawkins’ campaign as negative, personal-attack-driven and not focused on the issues.

“I think it was huge,” he said this morning of the suit issue. “Before I expended a penny of surplus campaign funds I checked with the PDC (Public Disclosure Commission) to make sure it was a legitimate use of those funds, and was told, yes, it was,” he said. “I would probably do it again. I think it was a legitimate expense. I’m not a suit-and-tie guy, but it’s a requirement to be on the House floor.”

He added, “If someone is going to run for office, the day of running on your experience and the issues is gone,” he said of a season of negative campaigning, both in his case and nationwide, that he say worked. “Because of my personality and my attitude toward running campaigns, I just couldn’t get to a point of running a negative campaign. That’s the only way to combat those, and I just won’t do it.”

Armstrong survived a race in 2010 with Stehekin-based challenger Cliff Courtney, who captured 46 percent of the vote to Armstrong’s 54.

Armstrong said Courtney worked harder at the campaign than any of the previous challengers in is 11 years in Olympia and capitalized on voters’ mood at the time that anyone is office needed to be replaced. Armstrong said the race taught him to buy more signs.

He says he’s leaving his options open for future elected posts. “I hope that I will be engaged in the process in some way,” he said.

Hawkins this morning said he’s been invited to participate in party-level reorganization talks in Olympia, once ballot counts are certified. He attributes his success in the race to hard work, not negative campaigning.

“He made some mistakes on the campaign trail,” Hawkins said. I think we outworked him. The massive, grassroots effort. The whole last three weeks of the campaign, we were out there every night. We never saw him. We never saw any part of his team. Also, I got a lot of feedback from people who more neutral about the real condescending way he responded to me. But it’s all a matter of perspective. I think voters were ready for a new perspective.”

He added, “What’s cool about winning a close race with a grassroots campaign is that everyone who helped along the way made a difference. We had a lot of supporters. We never gave up.”

In other close races around the region, Alicia Nakata leads Travis Brandt by a scant 179 votes — with only about 25 ballots left to count — in the race for Chelan County Superior Court Judge.

County Elections Director Nissa Burger said an automatic recount would be triggered if the vote spread drops to one-half percent — 146 votes.

Ballots in hand are still being reviewed for validity, she said, and absentee ballots could still be in the mail.

“As of now, we’re not in recount mode,” Burger said. “That number is really fluid. I’d still hate to say ‘Yea’ or ‘Nay.’”

Candidates who demand recounts at a vote spread of more than one-half percent have to pay the cost of the recount, she said, starting with a deposit of 25 cents per ballot for a hand recount, or 15 cents per ballot for a machine recount.

In Okanogan County, additional ballot counting Wednesday put Okanogan County Commissioner Don R. “Bud” Hover within five votes of his challenger Ray L. Campbell. Deputy auditor Mila Jury said the 875 ballots she has left to count will be tallied Friday.

World reporter K.C. Mehaffey contributed to this report.

Christine Pratt: 665-1173

pratt@wenatcheeworld.com