Democrat Vickie Ybarra and Republican Norm Johnson emerged Tuesday from a crowded field of candidates vying for the state House seat soon to be vacated by veteran Republican lawmaker Mary Skinner.

They will advance to the Nov. 4 general election, setting up a race that will be watched throughout the state.

As the only Democrat in a field featuring five Republicans, Ybarra, 47, was expected to draw well while the GOP candidates divided the vote among themselves. And that's just what happened.

"We think this positions us really well to run a strong general election campaign," Ybarra said.

Johnson also was pleased with the numbers, noting that the Republican candidates combined to get about two-thirds of the vote.

"Hopefully we can pull together and win this thing in November," he said.

Ybarra, president of the Yakima School Board and director of planning and development for the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, received 5,099 votes, or 32 percent at the end of counting Tuesday. Johnson, a 69-year-old retired school administrator and Yakima councilman, received 3,358 votes, or 21 percent. No one else received more than 12 percent of the vote.

Yakima County Auditor Corky Mattingly said there could be thousands of additional votes counted before the primary is certified Sept. 9. But it's unlikely the outcome of this race will change.

It was a dead heat for third place as of Tuesday, with three candidates each getting about 12 percent of the vote. Retired school administrator Bob McLaughlin, 67, drew 1,901 votes. Yakima attorney Al Schweppe, 47, finished fourth with 1,895 votes. Scott Hess, 35, a political newcomer who works for the National Federation of Independent Business, received 1,859 votes. And Aubrey Reeves, 67, a former Union Gap mayor and owner of Aubrey's RV, rounded out the field with 1,004 votes, or about 6 percent.

Johnson, who learned of his second-place finish during an evening City Council meeting Tuesday, said outside council chambers that he expects local Republicans who were splintered in the primary to line up behind him now.

The Yakima County Republican Party held off on endorsing any of the five GOP candidates in the race, but now that Johnson is the only one left, he expects to get more support from the party organization and its rank and file.

"I'm sure it will make fundraising easier," he said.

No Democrat has been elected in the 14th District since 1992, but the lack of an incumbent in this race and the falling fortunes of the Republican Party nationally have local Democrats pinning their hopes to Ybarra.

She led all six candidates in fundraising with nearly $55,000 raised as of Tuesday, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission -- about 75 percent more than Johnson, who had raised just over $31,000. She also had nearly $22,000 of that left as of Tuesday, compared to Johnson's campaign chest of about $5,000.

"It's going to be a catch-up battle," he said.

State Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, chairman of the House Democratic Campaign Committee, said he believes Ybarra is the strongest Democratic candidate in the 14th District since Jay Inslee left to become a U.S. congressman. The state party has donated $4,000 to her campaign, and Hunt personally went out doorbelling with her last weekend.

A Yakima native, Hunt knows full well that the district -- which includes Yakima, Union Gap, Selah, Naches and Tieton -- traditionally votes conservative.

"It's obviously a difficult area (for a Democratic candidate)," he said. "But I think Yakima is changing."

For his part, Johnson knows the Democrats consider the 14th District seat to be in play this November.

"They smell blood in the water," he said.

But he and state Republican officials believe the area remains a conservative stronghold. With Democrats holding a 63 to 35 majority in the state House, this race takes on added import, said Luke Esser, chairman of the state Republican Party.

"Frankly our numbers are already down much lower than we'd like," he said, adding that he's confident the 14th will stay Republican.

Esser did not know on Tuesday whether the state Republican Party will donate to Johnson's campaign. It doesn't have as much money as the state Democratic Party, he said.

"We'll be evaluating all of the different seats and deciding where it's needed most," he said.

The GOP never had to worry much about the seat while Skinner held it. The seven-term lawmaker was never in a close race, but her sudden decision to retire threw the race wide open.