This week’s primary election featured all seven Seattle City Council seats elected by district, including three Seattle City Councilmembers seeking reelection. Another incumbent City Councilmember was on the ballot but running for a seat on the King County Council.
As expected, the primary confirmed that the three incumbents are locked in tight races. In District 2, incumbent Tammy Morales barely edged her top challenger, Tanya Woo, by a 48.14% to 45.41% margin in a three-candidate race. In District 6, incumbent Dan Strauss leads his next challenger, Pete Hanning, by a wider 50.77% to 29.61% margin. The third incumbent, Andrew Lewis, leads his top challenger, Bob Kettle, by a 40.9% to 33% margin in District 7.
The other four districts also saw tight primary results. One highlight was in District 3 with Joy Hollingworth, whose family owns a small business, taking 40% of the vote in the race to succeed Socialist Alternative Councilmember Kshama Sawant.
Citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda is seeking a seat on the King County Council that retiring Councilmember Joe McDermott vacated. Mosqueda won her primary by a 54.75% to 39.77% margin over Sofia Aragon in a 3-way race. If Councilmember Mosqueda wins the County Council seat, the Seattle City Council will name a person to serve in that citywide seat until filled in the November 2024 general election.
It’s important to note that the King County Elections office will continue counting votes for the next few weeks. Historically, the candidates endorsed by The Stranger will up a disproportionate number of votes after primary night. We will update these races once it is clear which candidates are moving on to the general election.
