Good evening and happy Election Day, you surly, beautiful voters!!!

Before we begin: If you're reading this message before 8 pm and have NOT yet voted in the primary elections, then stop what you're doing, read this, vote accordingly, and then get back here. 

As for the rest of you, the time has come to stop watching clips of Tim Walz doing incredible handyman shit on social media and start watching The Stranger's biannual election night party coverage!!! (Okay fine, we'll probably drop in some good Walz clips throughout the night, too—we can't help ourselves, either.) 

In any event, as always, we've deployed the members of the Stranger Election Control Board to election parties all over town AND ALSO to the Olivia Rodrigo concert at Climate Pledge Arena. Look forward to live updates on party snacks, party drinks, party gossip, and outfit swaps—plus election results and snap analysis. 

Once the first round of results drop at around 8:15 pm, we'll all be a little closer to answer the following questions:

• Who's in line to replace 30-year incumbent and House Speaker Emeritus Frank Chop in the state's most progressive district? Is this the end of Andrea Suarez's political career, or only the beginning??? 
• Which progressive will emerge to challenge Tanya Woo for the citywide city council seat?
• Will Bob Ferguson crack 50% in the gubernatorial race?
• Did Republicans ice out Dems in the Public Lands Commissioner Race?
• Will the progressives challenging US House Reps. Kim Schrier and Adam Smith on Gaza make it through?
• Who the fuck is taking Olivia Rodrigo for granted? Who the fuck would do that? 

Stay tuned! 

---

OLIVIA RODRIGO SUMS UP TONIGHT'S RESULTS
10:15 PM

Olivia Rodrigo didn't explicitly say her customized Seattle-inspired shirt is a nod to the power of voting in local elections, but it is. It totally is. 

---

DOUGHNUTS ARE FOR WINNERS
10:10 PM

Chaudhry’s team was still out canvassing voters at 7:45 tonight, so when the first ballot drop showed them in third place, but barely more than one percentage point behind republican Paul Martin, she was STOKED. Her campaign feels confident that in the next few days, they’ll be able to close that gap. (As we expected, Adam Smith is still miles ahead with almost 56% of the vote.) In the meantime, she’s celebrating with a glazed cruller from Top Pot (which we approve of). When we asked how she was feeling, we heard the same idealism that inspired our endorsement in the first place: “This is about claiming power,” she said. “Power is amoral—it’s all about how you use it.”

---

OLIVIA RODRIGO IS FLYING AROUND CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA ON A GIANT MOON
9:45 PM

---

SIDDIQI IS NOT IN THE MOOD TO TALK ABOUT PIZZA
9:43 PM

As the first ballots dropped, Imraan Siddiqi came in at just under 3% of the vote. “Obviously it’s disappointing,” he told us. “But I can sleep with a clear conscience knowing that we put together a clear campaign. It just didn’t break in our direction.”

He mentioned Cori Bush’s brutal loss tonight as a sign that the genocide in Gaza “isn’t registering with people as a primary issue.” He said he hopes they “move the needle a little bit,” and knows that their campaign empowered people to vote with their morals. We asked him how the Domino's pizza went over with the fam, but he didn’t want to talk about it.

---

SLAMMING A SOUR WITH POTENTIAL SEAT-MATES
9:40 PM

With 35% of the vote share in the 5th Legislative District, which covers a big swath of east King County, former Issaquah City Council Member (and Stranger-endorsed candidate) Victoria Hunt cleared the Democratic field and established a seven-point lead over Republican Mark Hargrove. Later returns will likely trend in her direction, albeit less so than in races closer to Seattle.

“I’m feeling very good, very happy with the results,” she said at Formula Brewing, where, true to her word, she downed a sour and noshed on pizza, wings, and artichoke dip as the results came in.

She said canvassing and sourcing volunteers from all parts of the district contributed to her lead, and she just plans to maintain that strategy going into the general.

---

“NOT UNEXPECTED”
9:37 PM

As the polling from Northwest Progressive Institute forewarned, King County Council Member Dave Upthegrove is running in third place, 4,000 votes behind Washington GOP-backed Sue Kuehl Pederson and 27,000 votes behind former Republican Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler.

“Not unexpected. It’s too close to call. I’m excited to be the top Democrat in the race,” he said.

Though generally statewide votes tend to shade red, Upthegrove remains optimistic that the later votes will trend in his direction given his strength in King County, and given that he thinks King County votes will make up a larger-than-normal share of the statewide votes this cycle.

When the SECB asked if he had any choice words for the four other Democrats in the race who may have drawn votes from him, he said, “Oh, look at you!” and then called them all exceptional candidates.

If he does end up squeaking by Pederson in the coming days, then he says the results don’t indicate any need to make policy adjustments in the race. “Given the field, this is a predictable outcome. I am fired up and ready to face a Republican instead of a Democrat, and I think Dem voters are energized with the top of the ticket.”

---

WE ARE GOING TO INVOICE YOU FOR THIS BOB
9:20 PM

---

BRANDY REYKDAL AND PETER FERGUSON SHOULD HANG
8:46 PM

We called Chris Reykdal in his fortress of solitude at 8:38 pm, before the Stevens County results were in. He judged us a little for jumping the gun, but in our defense, with almost 40% of the vote, he was clearly in the lead for tonight’s count. He’s feeling “pretty darn good,” he told us.

We followed up when the results came in—still at nearly 40%!—he was stoked that they’d taken the lead in the majority of Washington’s rural counties. His dog, Brandy, did not share his stoke. 

---

IT WOULDN'T BE AN ARENA CONCERT WITHOUT INTERPRETIVE DANCING
8:45 PM

Over at Climate Pledge Arena, we could feel the teenage teardrops raining on our shoulders while Olivia Rodrigo performed "Drivers License." Also in the setlist so far? "Vampire," complete with a full moon, and some wild interpretive dancing.

Rodrigo has not yet commented on tonight's election results.

---

NICK BROWN REMAINS OPTIMISTIC
8:40 PM

With more votes to count, Nick Brown has come down from his hotel room to claim second in the Attorney General primary. Brown hugged and kissed his kids, thanked the crowd, and confidently promised he’d be Washington’s next Attorney General. Early vote counts show Brown’s Republican opponent Pete Serrano with 41% of the vote, Brown with 36%, and Democratic State Senator Manka Dhingra trailing with 22%. We overheard Brown say nice things about Dhingra. A Brown spokesperson for the night, Sandeep Kaushik, said the campaign expected Brown to come in second, given that Serrano ran as an uncontested Republican, but the fact that the numbers are close for the two of them is really good for Brown. Andrew Lewis also showed up for a moment, but everyone started leaving to go celebrate with Alexis Mercedes Rinck.

---

THEY'RE SINGING THE DOORS AT ELYSIAN BREWING
8:35 PM

Our ears hurt from the sheer volume of people cheering “I believe that we can win” at Elysian Brewing, where gathered progressives just witnessed two big wins in the primary elections. Both Shaun Scott and Alexis Mercedes Rinck were winning on the first ballot drop.

Shaun Scott is performing like an incumbent in the race for the 43rd Legislative District, where he has 54% of the vote. We Heart Seattle’s Andrea Suarez tails far behind at 23% while Seattle Times-endorsed Daniel Carusello holds 17%.

In a crowded field of three progressives and a conservative incumbent, Rinck took 46% of the vote. Council Member Tanya Woo trailed her with 41%. In general, the first ballot drop is most conservative, so the outcome is only likely to be even better for the two candidates.

At 8 pm, as Scott spoke just before the ballot drop, hollers came from the back of the room. “I thought my speech was killing it,” he said as he realized results must be coming in. With each number announced by a campaign staffer over the PA, the people cheered and cheered some more. The crowd gathered in a circle around Rinck and Scott.

Over the stereo, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek traded solos in the Doors’ “Light My Fire.” People hugged one another. They shook hands and raised glasses. They shook hands and hugged others at the same time, all smiling. A server set down a celebratory chicken sandwich on the table and we are so jealous.

---

OLIVIA RODRIGO OPENED TONIGHT'S SHOW WITH "BAD IDEA RIGHT"
8:31 PM

And she is delivering some major '90s-era Gwen Stefani vibes.

---

BOB IS AHEAD WITH 45.8% OF THE VOTE AND HALF THE PARTY DOESN'T KNOW YET BECAUSE “SEPTEMBER” BY EARTH, WIND & FIRE IS TOO LOUD
8:30 PM

A smattering of whoops and applause heralded the arrival of Bobby Ferg’s election result. It’s looking like he has at least en passanted his way FAR into the lead. (That’s a chess term, and we DO NOT care if it makes sense here; we’re using it anyway!!!!) In front of a crowd of Bob supporters—including a very tall twink with a ten-gallon hat—King County Council Member Teresa Mosqueda yelled, “ARE YOU READY TO STAND WITH THE MAN WHO HAS NO FEAR???” She then listed his resume of court victories. The room loved it!!!

What does Bob think? We are on our toes waiting for him to say something. Someone trying to get us to write about a 9/11 event commented, “Looks like it’s a done deal.” Is that enough? No, no. 

WA Democratic Party Chair Shasta Conrad said it looks “pretty decisive for Bob.” She also said she would “love to see him try” regarding Dave Reichert. 

Fresh off an inspiring introduction from Council Member Girmay Zahilay, who is fucking everywhere this evening, Ferguson said, “ARE YOU FIRED UP? I’M THE *REAL* BOB FERGUSON.” And then he said he won the primary or something but he’s speaking too fast for our hungry little fingers. 

“We did it by being the only people-powered campaign,” he said. “Why are we fighting so hard? Because we represent the campaign that will move Washington forward and not backward—am I right?”

He loved the rhetorical questions tonight, and so did the crowd!!! And so did the twink in the 10-gallon hat!!!!

---

"BRUTAL"
8:20 PM

Council President Sara Nelson rushed over to her appointee, Tanya Woo, when she saw the results drop. They scrolled "all the way to the bottom" to find her results. They mumbled to each other with blank expressions across their faces. She was in second and behind her progressive challenger Alexis Mercedes Rinck by five percentage points. She didn't say much to her supporters, just that it's only the initial drop, and she will keep them updated if her standing changes. Traditionally, the more progressive candidate gains ground with the votes that trickle in the days following the election. "Brutal," her campaign manager said.

---

STATE RESULTS TAKING THEIR SWEET-ASS TIME FOR SOME REASON
8:15 PM

Though the first batch of King County numbers are in, the state’s numbers are still being weird. Please hold. We will be taking this up with Steve Hobbs.

---

KING COUNTY RESULTS
8:07 PM

They’re up. We’re processing.

---

CARMEN BEST IS HERE AND HAS A MASSIVE LOUIS VUITTON BAG 
8:06 PM

Bob’s biggest (and only??? someone fact check this) endorser from the pro-cop camp is here and she’s looking ELEGANT. Ditching the top job at the SPD really clears up the skin. It is unclear whether she took a road trip a la Thelma & Louise, but looks like her new consultant gig or whatever she’s doing is paying well!!! 

---

CUSTOM DENIM IS A HIT AT THE OLIVIA RODRIGO SHOW
8:05 PM

Not all of us are out at election parties. Some of us get to be at the Olivia Rodrigo show! Fans (and their parents) are lining up outside Climate Pledge Area covered in purple sequins.

---

THE BIG PROGRESSIVE PARTY AT ELYSIAN BREWING
7:58 PM

Shaun Scott, candidate for Washington’s 43rd Legislative District, and Seattle City Council candidate Alexis Mercedes Rinck decided on a joint election night party, kind of like kids do when they’re born in the same month. The doors opened at 7 pm, and partygoers flooded the room within minutes. Say what you want about progressives voting late, tonight they were on time to mingle.

Rinck agreed her party had “kid’s birthday party energy.” For her, the day has been a whirlwind of sign-waving with interns and phone calls with supporters. She still had time to take notice of Council, including her opponent Tanya Woo, limiting public comment and punting the vote on I-137, an initiative to fund social housing.

“I’m brought to this feeling of who gets to be heard in this moment,” she said. “I think we just saw a really startling example of what happens when we shut down community voice.”

We’re sure Scott is here, but the room is so crowded we didn’t see him. He’s the likely frontrunner in his state-level race to replace Rep. Frank Chopp, but the question on everyone’s mind is who his challenger will be.

The Stranger endorsed Scott. Seattle Times editorial board endorsed Daniel Carusello, a relative unknown. Challenger Andrea Suarez may not have a newspaper endorsement, but she’s popular for her work with We Heart Seattle, the controversial homelessness nonprofit she founded.

Kaiden Cook sat down at the booth across from us. He’s heard plenty from the Suarez campaign, which packed his mailbox with three mailers. He only got one each from Scott and Carusello.

“The Times endorsement really puts things in the air,” said Cook, who managed Nilu Jenks's campaign for City Council last year. “In Nilu’s race, we had money, we had endorsements, but we didn’t have the Times or The Stranger, so that was the end of that. My conventional wisdom is it will be Scott against that guy, I forget his name.”

---

MANGO LASSIS FOREVER
7:54 PM

While everyone else is partying, running analytics, or drinking protein shakes (looking at you, Reykdal), Melissa Chaudhry is at home “catching up on emails.” (Relatable.)

The candidate for congressional District 9 isn’t totally leaving her volunteers hanging: she plans to throw a thank you party for them next week. But today, she’s ordering shawarma, and her big treat for the night is a mango lassi, “if I can get it,” she says.

We love a mango lassi, and we love her gentle optimism for the night. “Of course I want to be top two,” she told us. “But I’ll be happy with anything that validates the support we’ve gotten.”

---

NICK BROWN'S SWANKY PARTY HAS WEIRD VIBES AND POWERFUL PEOPLE
7:49 PM

For the non-millionaire candidate in the Attorney General’s race, Nick Brown’s party had some swanky vibes. Who knew we’d be dropping $14 on a six-ounce glass of bubbly tonight? But that’s the 1900 Fifth Bar + Lounge for you. Brown arrived basically on time, with his kids in tow. His son posted up outside the bar on Brown’s cell phone, not allowed inside the 21-and-over section. The whole event had bigwig vibes, with people such as King County Council Member Girmay Zahilay and his wife Joyce Bruce hanging out at the bar. Zahilay smoothly passed us off to the nearest possible people to talk to. Other notables we spotted included State Senator Joe Nguyen, former City Council candidate Ron Davis, a bunch of consultants, and, oh my god, the Secretary of Department of Children, Youth, and Families Ross Hunter just caught us searching him online. How embarrassing. He showed us his website, and the photos he’s taken. Apparently, we endorsed him in the past and called him a bad word. He told us he spent $1,500 to buy all the website domains for his name. What a character. Also, people keep telling us their friend owns us? Weird vibes at this one. 

---

IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY AT TANYA WOO'S PICNIC IN THE PARK
7:30 PM

Conservative City Council appointee Tanya Woo invited her supporters to a BBQ at Donnie Chin International Children's Park. Woo has held her last three election parties at the park because community elders can easily walk to it, according to her mom, who encouraged the Stranger Election Control Board to stop standing off shy on the outside of the party. We looked sorta like the three cops who stood watch on the sidewalk!

We chatted with a few distance relatives of Woo's. One distance uncle said he "pounded the table" when he saw how narrowly she lost her last election. He feels like she has a better shot this time around because now she has experience on the council. We bit our tongue instead of arguing about her record—or lack thereof. We may be a bunch of argumentive d-bags, but we have enough courtesy not to pick fights with Woo’s elderly family members!

---

WE WANT TO PULL OUR FERGUSON ENDORSEMENT OVER THE NO FOOD THING BUT PETER THE FIRST CAT MAY MAKE US RECONSIDER 
7:29 PM

Okay, there seriously is no food and we are not being super chill about that. But, Bob has a cat named Peter who will become the first cat if he wins and that’s enough to change our hungry heart. What is exacerbating our hanger, though, is that the campaign staff WILL NOT let us talk to Bob even though all we want is to ask him about Peter the Cat. Unfortunately, Peter is not in attendance. SAD. 

We did stoop to just asking campaign staff about election stuff. When asked how they were feeling about the chances tonight a staffer said, “Can’t you tell from our upbeat playlist?” Okayyyyy... all we can glean from that is you have the music taste of a 2014 wedding. As we type this “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers is playing and a table of white women next to us is dissecting the meaning of it. “It’s about cheating,” one says. “You know there’s another man. That’s why it’s *Mr. Brightside.* There’s a better option.” We stan a close reader! 

---

NERD ALERT (WE LOVE NERDS)
7:17 PM

As a rule, Chris Reykdal doesn’t throw watch parties during the primaries. So when we caught up with him tonight, he had just finished a five-hour drive from Spokane to his home in Tumwater, and he’s already hitting the books. “I’ll spend tonight looking at the models from 2020, reviewing data as it comes in,” he told us. “Lots of screens.”

When we asked the candidate for Superintendent what his results-night meal would be, it seemed like he might have forgotten that food is typically a human necessity. And since he’s given up booze and coffee, he’s oscillating between two beverage options: a protein shake, or iced tea (“because it’s more celebratory” than herbal tea).

But he knows what he’s looking for in the numbers tonight. His models show that winning incumbents with three or more challengers average 42% in the primary, so tonight, he’s looking for 38% to 43%.

Does he think he’s going to win? “We think so,” he told us, “but we won’t jinx anything.” Either way, he says he’ll be back at work at 6:30 tomorrow morning. We can guarantee we won’t be.

---

YOU HAVE LESS THAN ONE HOUR TO VOTE
7:09 PM

If you don’t vote in the primary, you won’t get to complain as convincingly in the general, and, more importantly, you won’t get one of these new, extremely tasteful stickers from King County Elections!!! Don’t you just love the nonpartisan color scheme, the diversity of transit and housing options, and that adorable little barn? 🥹 According to a KCE spokesperson, Victoria C. designed the sticker. Though our mail-in voting system rules, it does kinda cut down on the number of opportunities to promote voting in this fun little way, so we’re glad they figured it out. NOW OPEN UP YOUR BALLOT, VOTE, AND SLAP ON THAT STICKER.

---

BOB FERGUSON’S PARTY IS BUMPIN’ WITH BEE GEES, BEER, BUT NO FOOD 
7:03 PM

We've put on our dressy pants and made the trek to Ballard where we promptly found a parking spot in between one of Council President Sara Nelson's beloved eco blocks. Then, after we lint rolled the hair off of our child-free and cat-having self, we stumbled across an outdoor soiree at Reuben's Brews' Barrel House. Here is where the Bob Ferguson diehards, the Democratic who's who of Seattle, are mingling and sipping. And yet, we fear there is no food. Only beer and La Croix. Why didn't we eat dinner? Couldn't Bob spare a slice of pizza or something? We used to get all hot under the collar for you, Bob. Is this—like your newfound love for strengthening the police—some sort of long-game tactic of wooing? We obviously like you, but you're going to have to pull out the red carpet a bit more to really get our fanny fluttering like the old days. 

Upbeat jams like the Bee Gees' "More Than a Woman" and Hall & Oates' "You Make My Dreams Come True" are playing. We are going to try to find someone to teach us the Queen's Gambit and maybe a Reuben's Brews' worker will toss us the crust of their Serious Pie pizza to nibble on like the rat we are. 

In the meantime, we chatted up Bill Ferguson, one of Bob's SIX brothers (he also has one sister). Bill is proud of Bob, but he is NOT happy with the only non-alcoholic beer at the function, some kind of berry atrocity. Right after we chatted with Bill, a woman named Kathleen in a piratey-striped shirt and thick liberal arts glasses told us she was surprised by how much of her voting choices aligned with ours. "I didn't know I was so liberal," Kathleen said. We could've told you how liberal you were just by that getup, Kathleen! 

---

IMRAAN SIDDIQI IS EATING AIRHEADS XTREMES
6:17 PM 

Imraan Saddiqi’s watch party is in Sammamish, and election nights are for drinking, not driving, so the SECB gave him a call this afternoon.

The congressional candidate for the 8th District told us he’s having a “lowkey” watch party with family and friends at his campaign headquarters. They’re eating pizza (Dominos), candy (Airheads Xtremes), and protein bars (“to keep ourselves energized,”) which all sounds very wholesome to us.

Saddiqi ran an insurgent campaign that only launched in May, so when we asked if he was going to win tonight, he wouldn’t give us a confident “yes.” 

“But I’m optimistic,” he told us. “I feel good about the energy. We left everything out there.”

Saddiqi is hoping for a win, but if all his campaign does is force Congresswoman Kim Schrier to budge her position on Gaza, he’ll be pretty stoked. If he makes it to the general, though, he looks forward to being “a gut check for the Dems,” forcing them to “make a moral decision” about Gaza.

---

DAVE UPTHEGROVE EMBRACES GAY TREES
2:50 PM 

After polishing off a cheese enchilada and a spinach enchilada at La Costa Mexican Restaurant in Burien, King County Council Member and Public Lands Commissioner candidate Dave Upthegrove said our endorsement inadvertently delivered him a new campaign slogan. 

The other day his husband, who works as a librarian, overheard a group of people reading The Stranger’s endorsement package and discussing our picks. When they finished reading the Commissioner of Public Lands endorsement, they said, “Well I don’t know what gay trees are, but I’m all in for Upthegrove.” That level of enthusiasm inspired him to create a line of “GAY TREES” t-shirts for the campaign. After all, gay trees are happy trees. 

But he’ll only make the shirts if he makes it through the primary, a decidedly uncertain prospect in a field of five Democrats and two Republicans. Recent polling shows a plausible future where the two GOP candidates in this race could waltz through the primary with low double-digit vote shares, blocking out the Dems. Upthegrove hopes the Republicans—former Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and Sue Kuehl Pederson—do not put up similarly close numbers, but otherwise he doesn’t know what to look for tonight. “It’s a complicated field with a lot of independent money, and I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. 

And he ain’t lying about the money. He raised $590,000—the most in his field—and an independent expenditure from the Washington Conservation Voters Action Fund dumped another $350,000 on top of that. Conservative Democratic state Senator Kevin Van De Wege brought in nearly $341,000, but then an IE called “Firefighters for Protecting Public Lands,” which is actually funded primarily by big timber companies, spent a jaw-dropping $736,000 on his behalf. With $430,000 raised, Herrera Beutler hauled in the second-largest pile of cash, with no IE spending on her behalf yet. Of the other viable candidates, Department of Natural Resources Tribal Liaison Patrick DePoe pulls up the rear with $221,000, plus close to $90,000 in independent expenditure funding largely from tribes and the teachers’ union PAC. 

Upthegrove said he felt “good about the things I can control,” such as raising all that money, deploying volunteers all over the state, and wrangling every local Democratic club in support of his campaign.

This evening he plans to fight off the remainder of an upper respiratory infection among friends and family at his parents’ house. He'll dine on a vegetarian Subway sandwich and watch the returns roll in as the others enjoy “beer, wine, and soda pop.” 

“I’m feeling zen about it,” he said. “I’m braced for any outcome. And if doesn’t work out, I’m okay.” 

---

VICTORIA HUNT IS HUNGRY
1:45 pm 

In the hours before the primary results dropped, former Issaquah City Council Member and Democratic State House candidate Victoria Hunt was working the phones with a stable of volunteers and fighting back hunger pangs. “Someone just finished up making lunch, though, so that’s good,” she said. God bless. If we go without lunch for more than an hour after lunchtime, then we … get sluggish and irritable like everyone else.

Growling stomachs aside, Hunt said she felt as if her team “left everything on the field” in their race for the open 5th Legislative District seat. As far as fundraising goes, the Stranger-endorsed candidate pulled in north of $76,000, mostly from individual contributors. Her stiffest competition, former Sammamish City Council Member Jason Ritchie, who is running to her right, pulled in about the same amount of money, but $46,000 of it came from his own pockets. That gives us some indication of the level of grassroots support each candidate garnered. 

Hunt said she’ll watch the results at Formula Brewing in Issaquah, along with her potential seat-mates in Olympia: State House Rep. Bill Ramos, who is running for the state Senate seat that Mark Mullet abandoned for his quixotic gubernatorial bid, and State House Rep. Lisa Callan, who’s running for reelection to her own damn seat. 

At the party, Hunt plans to house a slice of pizza and order a sour beer, her favorite, but she hopes to toast to sweet, sweet victory. 

This story has been updated since its original publication. We intitially reported that Bob Ferguson was leading by 45.8% of the vote. He was, in fact, leading with 45.8% of the vote. We regret the error.