Voter dissatisfaction in Seattle carried progressive challengers to strong wins in the August 5 primary election. Challengers to Mayor Bruce Harrell, Council President Sara Nelson, and City Attorney Ann Davison staked a claim to leads in the first ballot count on primary election night and continued to expand their margins in subsequent ballot counts.
Transit Riders Union co-founder, Katie Wilson, grew her lead over Mayor Bruce Harrell from 1.3% on primary night to 9.5% on August 12. Dionne Foster, challenger to Council President Sara Nelson, has extended her lead from 14.6% to 23%. City Attorney Ann Davison suffered a similar fate, watching her challenger, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika Evans, build her from 13.9% to 22.4%.
What drove these strong results for the challengers? Voter frustration with housing affordability, public safety, and homelessness are considered the key issues with voters. Beyond the issues, voters seemed to seek out progressive challengers in races against moderate elected officials. In the City Attorney race, voters seem less willing to elect a Republican (Ann Davison) in very Democratic Seattle than they were four years ago.
In the race for King County Executive – an open race for the first time in 16 years – County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay grew his primary night lead over fellow County Councilmember Claudia Balducci from 10.1% to 14.2%. They both move on to the general election.
