Progressive Wilson on the brink of victory in nail-biter Seattle mayoral race

Progressive Wilson on the brink of victory in nail-biter Seattle mayoral race

At the end of Election Day, incumbent Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell appeared to have a comfortable path to reelection.

Harrell lead challenger Katie Wilson by more than 10,000 votes in the early tally. The race tightened dramatically as late-arriving and mail-in ballots were counted over the following days. Wilson, a longtime progressive activist running for office for the first time, now holds a narrow lead of roughly 1,346 votes, with just over 1,400 ballots left to be counted.

Though the race remains close, one political consultant in the city told Politico that she would be “comfortable calling this race for Wilson now.”

Wilson, 43, ran on a platform focused on affordability, homelessness, and public transit. She highlighted her own struggles to make ends meet in Seattle, advocating for funding public services via a capital gains tax and expanded renter protections. Harrell, a longtime fixture in the city government, ran on experience and stability. He criticized his opponent’s lack of a track record. Wilson previously beat the mayor by nine points in the city’s nonpartisan primary.

With the margin hovering near 0.5%, an automatic recount could still be triggered, but most observers see Wilson as the likely victor given her late surge and the small number of ballots remaining. Wilson expressed optimism about her odds.


Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.


“We’re going to wait for all of the ballots to be counted, but I think we won this race,” she said on Tuesday.

Harrell’s team has said that they are not giving up.

“While not the direction we were hoping for, this remains a very close race, and we want to ensure every vote is counted,” a spokesperson told the Seattle Times.

Read more

about this topic



Source link

Share this post

  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Post Comment