In a special election with a surprisingly strong voter turnout, Seattle’s Socialist Alternative Councilmember Kshama Sawant appears to have narrowly survived her recall election.

Almost 53% of Seattle’s District 3 voters cast ballots in the December 7 special election. While the “Yes” vote led on election night and the following day’s count, the “No” vote slipped ahead in the November 9th vote count and has grown its margin slightly with each additional batch of counted ballots. As of Monday, December 14, the vote is:

   Yes      49.62%

   No       50.38%

At this point, it’s unclear whether there will be a recount or a legal challenge to the results. Assuming Councilmember Sawant survives this recall election, she will be up for re-election in 2023. The recall election was much closer than her 2019 victory, which could reflect an erosion of support for her in the 3rd district.