It's all but certain that progressive candidate Katie Wilson will be the next mayor of Seattle.
Results released Wednesday show Wilson ahead of incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell by 1,976 votes — a .7% difference. That's beyond the threshold needed to trigger an automatic machine recount.
Wilson said in an Instagram post on Wednesday: "We’re thrilled with the latest drop, which continues to trend in our direction. Ahead by almost 2,000 votes, we now believe that we’re in an insurmountable position. We’re so grateful to all the volunteers who have powered this grassroots campaign to victory. We look forward to hearing the mayor’s address to the city tomorrow."
The mayor's office issued an advisory shortly after results were released, saying that Harrell will "provide an address to the people of the city of Seattle" on Thursday. No further details were included.
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who represents District 7, congratulated Wilson in a statement, saying she wants to work with Wilson on "transit, housing, childcare and ensuring that our city remains equitable and welcoming to all people."
Wilson is the co-founder and director of the nonprofit Transit Riders Union, which advocates for the rights of workers, renters and transit riders. It is the first time she is elected to office.
During her campaign, Wilson split from Harrell in her ideas for how to address homelessness and bring the cost of living down. Her approaches include helping people in shelters who can live independently find accommodations, such as vacant affordable housing units. Wilson has also proposed progressive taxes that would shift the burden from low-income residents to the city’s high earners.
Wilson’s projected victory is in line with a trend of progressive candidates winning in city races, including three City Council seats and the city attorney's office.
Wilson, who grew up in New York state, studied physics and philosophy at Oxford University, but dropped out weeks before graduation. Instead, she turned to advocacy, working odd jobs when she landed in Seattle in 2004 with her now-husband. In 2011, she helped found the Transit Riders Union. Through that work, she has advocated for policies that provide renter protections and higher minimum wages in places like Burien and Tukwila, as well as draft tax policies such as the JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax on large corporations.
Results for the mayor’s race have taken a big swing in favor of Wilson since election night. Harrell was leading by more than 8,000 votes after the first round of ballots were counted. But in the days that followed, Wilson overtook the incumbent. Political pundits say that’s typical for Seattle, where young progressive and left-leaning voters tend to cast their ballots later.
The mayor’s race follows a trend of Seattle voters expressing dissatisfaction with incumbents. The city has had a streak of one-term mayors, starting with Mike McGinn whose lone term began in 2010. The last two-term mayor was Greg Nickels, whose final term in office began in 2006.
*Incumbent
KNKX's Izzy Ross contributed reporting
