Bellingham liberals made the difference for conservative Louws

Conservative Jack Louws beat Doug Ericksen for Whatcom County executive not because rural, right-leaning voters chose him but because liberal Bellingham ones did.
In the battle between the two conservative candidates, Bellingham voters strongly supported Louws, former mayor of Lynden, over Republican state Sen. Doug Ericksen, an analysis of election data shows. Countywide, Louws won the race with about 54 percent of the vote.