ELECTION 2025: In second round of results, Seattle city challengers widen leads

King County Elections has released the second round of results from Tuesday’s primary. The major news: The challengers in three of the four Seattle city races with incumbents have widened their leads. In those three races:

SEATTLE MAYOR: Katie Wilson‘s one-point initial lead over Bruce Harrell* has grown to five points, 48% to 43%.

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL CITYWIDE POSITION 9 Dionne Foster‘s 15-point initial lead over Sara Nelson* has grown to 18 points, 56% to 38%

SEATTLE CITY ATTORNEY: Erika Evans‘s initial 14-point lead over Ann Davison* has grown to 17 points, 53% to 36%

In other races:

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL CITYWIDE POSITION 8: Alexis Mercedes Rinck* has increased her share of the vote to 77%.

KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE: County Council President Girmay Zahilay has increased his lead over County Councilmember Claudia Balducci by two points, 42% to 30%.

See the full results list here.

These represent just under 22 percent of county voters’ ballots, three percent more than the first round; so far the county has received 28 percent of voters’ ballots. (5:28 pm update: Now up to 33% received.) Next round of results, Thursday afternoon.

Derek August 6, 2025 (4:22 pm)

47% holy wow!!! It’s happening!

K August 6, 2025 (4:28 pm)

Really cannot put into words what a relief these numbers are. Looking forward to replacing entitled empty suits with people who understand that their job is to serve the public. We still have the general election to go, but these percentages in a primary are really encouraging.

delridge res August 6, 2025 (6:04 pm)

Absolutely agree! Feeling hopeful and inspired.
Motivated August 7, 2025 (12:06 am)

Totally. I’m fired up to knock on doors for Katie.

DC August 6, 2025 (4:34 pm)

Wonderful news! Seattle is tired of the centrist fearmongering over Sawant and defund. We are ready for new leaders who actually like our city and have a positive vision for its future!

935 August 6, 2025 (5:49 pm)

ONLY abject failure of these policies and crippling taxes and onerous fees and fares will teach the unlearned of history that these policies just. don’t. work. Thatcher says it best… “The problem with socialism (little s by me) is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money”

I’m here for it. I am voting EXTREME left from here on out to expedite this (to be) PAINFUL learning process. BUT I fear the Seattle Voter (TM) “knows better” and will be duped ad infinitum.

Nolan August 7, 2025 (12:00 am)

If that’s the mentality it takes for you to justify supporting your community over the whims of billionaires, then I look forward to your support.

By the way, do you know how Thatcher’s legacy is viewed nowadays?
- Pete August 7, 2025 (8:19 am)
  
  Hi! Scottish person here :) the fact that the statue of her in her home town needs police protection might be a clue. Horrendous human, horrendous legacy.
Wondering August 7, 2025 (12:08 am)

Which policies specifically do you think won’t work?
Scarlett August 7, 2025 (1:19 pm)

Well, except when other people’s money is being directed to the trillion military industrial complex, or the prison industrial complex, or the billions worth of subsidies handed out to agriculture, aeropace, semiconductor and other industries. Then, of course, money is no object. Let me guess, you’re a drown-government-in -the- bathtub conservative?

Rhonda August 6, 2025 (6:16 pm)

Let’s wait and see what the other ~80% of Seattle’s registered voters say in November.

WSB August 6, 2025 (8:44 pm)

Datapoint: The 2021 election turnout was similar to this in the primary (so far this one is 33 percent and probably won’t go much higher aside from a few straggler USPS-mailed ballots) – 34 percent – and the general turnout that year was 54 percent.
- CC August 6, 2025 (10:18 pm)
  
  Appreciate you, WSB.

Morgan August 6, 2025 (6:29 pm)

Those dastardly centrists and hopeless causes of stability and competence…

Daniel August 8, 2025 (10:19 am)

Centrists are the opposite of that.

Kadoo August 6, 2025 (6:47 pm)

Ugh. I don’t relish a return to ‘progressive’ leadership. Sawant turned me into a centrist.

Rides the bus August 6, 2025 (8:12 pm)

Be honest you have always been a centrist. Own your politics don’t blame someone who wasn’t even on the ballot.
k August 6, 2025 (10:40 pm)

Is this the Seattle version of “I was a Democrat, but her e-mails…”? Sawant left office last year and accomplished very little during her tenure. No one who was ever progressive and paid any attention to Seattle politics would even remember Sawant if not for the conservative talking heads that can’t let her go.

Frank August 6, 2025 (7:21 pm)

What’s first priority? Take parking enforcement outside of SPD again? Surely that will bring back equity and justice. Or maybe increase the size of the CARES team and layoff police?

Kt August 6, 2025 (7:59 pm)

Hi Frank – the info you seek is one click away. https://www.wilsonforseattle.com/platform
Wonderint August 7, 2025 (12:11 am)

Where did you hear that increasing staffing for CARE would require laying off police officers?
- k August 7, 2025 (7:40 am)
  
  They’re being sarcastic I think, and it’s not required. The point of CARE is to direct mental health professionals to situations that require a mental health response instead of a law enforcement response. SPOG is insisting that every CARE call also have police present (which is like saying every heart attack needs police present. It doesn’t make sense) so maybe that’s where the two items are getting lumped together. No one has been trying to downsize the police, they’re trying to get the police to focus on police work to improve response times.

Rhonda August 6, 2025 (7:29 pm)

Seattle’s now-tradition of failed, one-term Mayors continues.

Raye August 6, 2025 (7:58 pm)

Buh-bye, Bruce! (I hope)

Jort August 6, 2025 (8:21 pm)

Is former Facebook corporate lawyer turned council cosplayer Rob Saka going to keep hiding behind self-imagined “voter mandates” and the “there’s a new sheriff in town” shtick that he and his moron council pals are so fond of using as cover for being insufferable, know-nothing jerks from the dais? I dunno, Rob. Maybe I’d take a look at these primary results and start asking some really deep, introspective questions about whether your buddy Sara Nelson is the path to electoral success, these days. Or, you know, keep snottily lecturing your constituents and telling them that what they see with their own eyes is wrong. Or, maybe this is just a “messaging” issue, like Bruce says. Sure. Sure Rob. Can’t wait for you to not even make it out of the primary in two years, if you’re even brave enough to run knowing that you’ll almost certainly lose.

B August 6, 2025 (8:41 pm)

It looks like voter turnout was only about 19%! I wonder if turnout might be this low because many people aren’t actually that outraged at the current Seattle government, and therefore not particularly motivated to vote in this primary.

WSB August 6, 2025 (8:46 pm)

No, it’s up to 33 percent now. 19 percent is the percentage of voters whose ballots were in time for the first count, which is often “everything before Election Day.”
- B August 6, 2025 (10:24 pm)
  
  Oops, I misunderstood the percentage. Thanks for the correction.
CC August 6, 2025 (10:17 pm)

This is such a weird take. So people who want to maintain the status quo will just sit this one out?
Alyssa August 7, 2025 (10:04 am)

I vote in 95% of elections. I sat this one out because I don’t like any of the candidates and Seattle’s downward spiral into extreme progressiveness without the education to understand longterm consequences disheartens me.
- CAM August 7, 2025 (10:33 am)
  
  Because someone who disagrees with you must be “uneducated,” right? It seems to be a greater possibility that you just hold different opinions about how to accomplish things. The idea that we make distinct in and out groups and need to diminish anyone who isn’t similar to us is how we end up with movements like MAGA. They thoroughly enjoy pointing out how stupid they think everyone else is.

Toni Reineke August 6, 2025 (10:15 pm)

Thank you, WSB for the clear, unadorned reporting! Refreshing!

CC August 6, 2025 (10:16 pm)

I’m so proud of voters!

West Seattle Mad Sci Guy August 6, 2025 (11:56 pm)

I voted because I always vote. But I did feel like the primary related votes were obvious who the top two would be. Save maybe position 8. Might be why so many “November voters” sit less competitive primaries out. Not that I’m happy they do.

alkiannie August 7, 2025 (1:04 am)

Whomever is elected mayor – please say goodbye to AP Diaz in Seattle Parks and let him find a new role elsewhere where he can be fancy LA lawyer guy. We need someone who likes nature in the Emerald City.

oropendola August 7, 2025 (6:03 am)

WSB, thank you so much, and so glad to see these results!

Bronson August 7, 2025 (8:50 am)

Seems to be a lot of premature celebrations here. The general election tends to move back towards the middle as has been evidenced previously. A lot of the challengers are pretty unknown to the wider electorate, so I think many will be looking more closely and become more engaged as we move towards election day.

Nolan August 7, 2025 (12:40 pm)

It’s worth noting that NPI’s polling has shown that Harrell, Davison, and Nelson all lose voters that become more informed about their platforms.

Obviously, we won’t know the election results until (at least) the first ballot drop of the general, but it’s safe to say their promise of solving every societal ill by punishing them harder is starting to fall apart.

Shawn August 7, 2025 (9:05 am)

Socialism? I really wish people wouldn’t drag the endless left-right socialism – capitalism food fight of national politics into local fights. It’s about urbanism vs car focused, police reform vs police state, housing vs criminalized homelessness. These aren’t left/right divisions at all. I’m absolutely a “centrist” politically (hurray balanced budgets), but I never vote for what yall call “centrists” in these local races because I’m a pro housing urbanist centrist. Let’s keep separate fights separated.

Rhonda August 7, 2025 (1:30 pm)

“Police reform” among Seattle officials seems to equal government cameras in our neighborhoods, whether they be red light, speed, surveillance, or in our case, all three. Government surveillance is about as police state as it gets. I refuse to vote for or support any candidates who advocate government spying on residents in their own neighborhoods.

HTB August 7, 2025 (11:02 am)

For mayor, Wilson seems better on housing and transit, both big issues for me. I worry that an overly hostile attitude towards business may ultimately hurt the city though, and we need to think about not bleeding businesses to Bellevue. I also appreciate Harrell’s efforts to keep the sidewalks clear downtown.I’m open to persuasion from both sides, and endorsements are going to matter a lot to my vote in November. I think I could live with either of them as mayor, especially if the city council races shape up how they look like they’re shaping up.I guess ultimately I feel like Seattle has been slowly and steadily recovering from COVID and I’m not sure I want to rock the boat too much.Maybe out of line with this thread, but thats where I’m at.

k August 7, 2025 (11:35 am)

If the businesses are using city resources without contributing to city coffers, why is it a problem to have them move to Bellevue? The jobs aren’t going away, they’re moving across a bridge. What businesses take from the community should be considered as well, not just what they claim to contribute.
- Rhonda August 8, 2025 (12:26 am)
  
  k, businesses large and small are the life blood of Seattle’s economy. Do you actually not care if dozens of large corporations that employ tens of thousands of people flee to Bellevue? Look what happened to downtown Seattle and South Lake Union when most Amazon employees worked from home outside of Seattle during the Pandemic.
Lauren August 7, 2025 (9:07 pm)

HTB, I appreciate where you’re coming from here, and that you are actually paying attention to the candidate platforms. I do have to comment though on the comment about Harrell cleaning up sidewalks downtown. He did this, yes… by pushing people in crisis down to the International District. That neighborhood (which, obviously, has a lot less corporate interests and wealth) has seen a huge spike in issues as a result.

anonyme August 7, 2025 (11:05 am)

This morning I read through the entirety of Wilson’s website. I found absolutely nothing of substance; it reads like a cut and paste of every other candidate for every other position in Seattle politics in the last 20 years. There are no detailed plans, nor any strategy for accomplishing them even if they did exist. Just the usual idealistic blah blah blah. It looks like she’ll probably be elected: I wonder how many of these cheerleaders will come back and admit their mistake a year from now when either nothing has changed, or things have gotten worse? It takes more than social workers to run a city.

Nolan August 7, 2025 (12:29 pm)

What substance were you looking to find that you couldn’t?
Jort August 7, 2025 (1:45 pm)

As opposed to the highly-detailed, extremely sophisticated Bruce Harrell plan of “aim a firehose of money at SPD as atonement for Kshama Sawant hurting their feelings?”
- anonyme August 9, 2025 (8:27 am)
  
  Did I say I supported Harrell? Redirect.
  - Nolan August 11, 2025 (2:38 pm)
    
    I have to say I’m a little disappointed to revisit this comment thread and see that you’ve responded here, but didn’t answer my question.
Lauren August 7, 2025 (9:08 pm)

Actually would genuinely love to see a city run by social workers. I know many amazing social workers, and let me tell you, they get things done.

Sorry, comment time is over.