📌 Election Day is finally here. Let’s make sure it doesn’t suck.

When all the ballots are counted, if we’re lucky, we’ll have a new mayor, a new city council president, and a progressive caucus in City Hall. The dust won’t settle for a few days. The results may be unclear. And if trends hold, the earliest voters are the most conservative. If our polling bears out, at least in the mayor’s race, this will be a lot tighter than the primary. 

Progressives really kicked ass in the primary. Presumed underdog Katie Wilson walked away with more than 50 percent of the vote. Mayor Bruce Harrell finished more than 9 points behind her. Embarrassing. City Attorney candidate Erika Evans took home almost 56 percent of the vote. City Council candidate Dionne Foster snagged 58 percent. County Executive Candidate Girmay Zahilay took home 44, compared to Claudia Balducci’s 30 (that race has really tightened up). City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck swept her race with more than 70 percent of the vote. It was a great night for gloating.

But since then, political spending in the city’s moderate and conservative wings shot through the roof. Between Bruce Harrell’s campaign and his PAC, he’s packing more than $3 million. In a metaphysical sense, the political bones are hard to read. Dick Cheney is dead, but, also, Kamala Harris is here. What does it mean?

If you’re reading this and it’s not 8 p.m. yet, there’s still time to vote. But when the clock strikes 8 p.m., there won’t be time to vote. The deadline is 8 p.m. 8 p.m. is the deadline. Grab our cheat sheet and vote like the wind. Hi-yo, Silver. Here’s where all of the ballot drop boxes are. Bring a friend. Friends don’t let friends who voted in the primary not vote in the general election. Seriously. The winners are not guaranteed to stay winning. The losers will remain losers, but they may not lose.

While you agitate the citizenry, the Stranger Election Control Board will be scattered around the city, haunting candidates' election parties, eating their snacks, eavesdropping on their conversations, and calling them at their homes as they (probably) lose surrounded by their friends and family.

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9:22 p.m. From A Strangermobile

WHAT HAPPENED? ARE WE WINNING?

The votes are in! And they are… mostly good?

Starting with the less-than-stellar, Bruce Harrell leads 53.3 percent to Katie Wilson’s 46.18 percent. That’s not a super ideal position to be in, but turnout was low and old leading into election day. If the procrastinating youth rallied at the last minute, there’s hope! Progressives have clawed their way to victory from bigger initial ballot drop deficits.

Still. Not the sexiest results.

Now, the sexy results: Erika Evans leads 62.5 percent against Ann Davison in the City Attorney race. Davison only came away with 37.1 percent. Math, y’know? Decisive math. Evans is our new City Attorney.

In District 9, Dionne Foster is in a cushy lead against incumbent Sara Nelson. Foster came away with 57.9 percent. Nelson with 41.6 percent.

Over in District 8, Alexis Mercedes Rinck essentially saged the city of Rachael Savage’s presence, winning a dominant 78.7 percent to Savage’s 20.5 percent.

In District 2, Eddie Lin will be the new city councilmember. He left election night with 68.6 percent of the vote. Adonis Ducksworth took 30.9 percent. We’ll still get you that skate park, buddy. Don’t you worry.

And as for the levies, resolutions, and propositions, Seattle continues to love getting taxed. Well, really, Seattle loves funding schools: Proposition 1 to pay for the renewal of the Family, Education and Preschool Promise Levy leads with 76.7 percent.

Seattle also loves changing the B&O tax to help small businesses and create more progressive revenue for services we need: Seattle voted 67.7 percent in favor of approving Proposition 2, or the Shield Tax.

And King County loves surviving heart attacks. We voted an overwhelmingly positive 79.3 percent to approve King County Proposition 1 to keep funding Medic One emergency services.

Over in state resolution land, Washington residents are in favor of investing our long-term care funds in the stock market. The approval is leading with 70 percent of the vote. To the moon, or whatever.

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8:57 p.m. Black & Tan Hall

WOMEN!!!!!!

Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Dionne Foster and Erika Evans supporters swarmed the stage. We got jostled into an elderly woman. She just laughed. “There’s so many people in here!”

Happy people. A campaign manager read the results: all three candidates swept their races. The numbers were good: Rinck has 78.75 percent of the vote. Foster has 57.92 percent of the vote. Evans has 62.54 percent of the vote.

The venue erupted in cheers and fist-pumps. The trio beamed, hugged each other, screamed. The camaraderie was evident, and dare we say, touching. Evans promised a city “where justice is not just reserved for the powerful, but for all of us.” Rinck pledged to “not compromise on our values.” Foster said she’s watched in horror the Trump administration’s actions, and is “so clear on why I am here and who I am here for.” Three women. Three wins.

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8:54 p.m. Darkalino's

HE BUILT IT

By the time Luther Vandross and Prince started trading riffs over the speakers at Darkalino’s, you could feel it: joy, relief, exhaustion, and just the faintest whiff of victory. Jam-packed, the place was one fire-marshal visit away from capacity, as King County Council Chair Girmay Zahilay took the mic to thank his team, his supporters, and, just about everyone in the room.
With Zahilay leading County Councilmember Claudia Balducci by a razor-thin 50.07% to 48.44%, the mood was cautiously triumphant.

“Tonight’s results are very encouraging,” Zahilay told the cheering crowd, “but there are still tens of thousands of votes left to be counted.” Still, the grin on his face said what everyone was thinking: it feels damn good.

He called the campaign "a humbling experience," and spoke about his family, about the prayers he and his wife Joyce whisper each night for their daughter that she stays healthy, has a roof over her head, that doors swing open instead of slam shut. "I ran for King County Executive so that every single child in our region can have that same hope," he said.

He then directly addressed the planks of his campaign : “It’s unacceptable for people to be sleeping in the streets. It’s unacceptable for people not to be able to afford housing, food, and clothing. We all know what’s possible in this region.”

If the lead holds, Zahilay will be the first immigrant to ever hold the office.

Community organizer Mohammed Adeeyo leaned against the bar, watching the chaos unfold, and summed it up perfectly: "He's everywhere, man. He's connected to everybody. What you see tonight? This energy? He didn't buy this. He built it."

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8:53 p.m. El Centro de la Raza

KATIE LOOKS SHAKEN, SOUNDS HOPEFUL

This is the night Katie Wilson was preparing for on primary night—when she was expected to remind voters that progressives vote late, that they might be behind now, but they had a real chance of catching up. That night, she was two points ahead in the first ballot drop, but tonight she's seven points behind Bruce Harrell.

When she got on stage, she told the crowd that she had 46.18 percent of the vote. She called them "promising numbers," which they are. It's a big leap to make after the first ballot drop, but it's possible. She thanked her team, her volunteers, and the Transit Riders Union, and promised to make sure every vote was counted.

The energy was still big at the party—everyone in the room understands that we could still have a nail-biter ahead of us. At first, the crowd was chanting "Katie!" Then, when Josie started trying to pull down the tinsel, they started chanting "Josie" instead. (Katie eventually shut that down. "Don't want it to go to her head.")

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8:41 p.m. The Royal Esquire Club

HARRELL LEADS, RAMBLES, PRAYS

Harrell took the stage to chants of "BRUCE BRUCE." In a 9-minute long meandering victory speech, Harrell named every family member of his and talked through their family dynamics and celebrated his lead over Katie Wilson. With over 23 percent of the ballots counted at the first drop, Harrell leads 53 percent to Wilson’s 46 percent.

“We know it’s going to be tight. Now this is still a nail biter,” Harrell told the crowd.  “We know how votes change. I’d rather be where we are right now than where my opponent is. Let me put it at that.” He invited his pastor up to do a prayer.

Not for him to win—“though slip that in there if you can,” he joked—but for “everyone that needs help.” And, sure enough, we got a prayer. After, the crowd buzzed with cautious optimism. Some other people remarked that if Wilson won then she’d be a target for Trump and the “Seattle would be on fire.”

“We’re going to count each vote,” Harrell said. “We feel pretty good about this.”

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8:30 p.m. Baja Bistro

THE FAMOUS SEATTLE TIMES KISS OF DEATH

Eddie Lin has this in the bag. He praised his team, the policy wonks in the room, and mentioned how he has learned so much about affordable housing, and lavishly praised Alexis Rinck, “who [he] is super excited to work with.” He gave a shout out to the Stranger. He didn't get a Seattle Times endorsement, which,  “probably would have been the kiss of death.”

With 21.27 percent of the ballots counted, Lin has 68.61 percent of the vote. His opponent, Adonis Ducksworth, is skating far behind with 30.99 percent of the vote.

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8:15 Tutta Bella in Bellevue (Tuta Bellevue)

MEATBALLS AND BEER

Balducci's campaign manager announced that the ballot drop had landed. Balducci had 48 percent of the vote for King County Executive. (Her opponent, Girmay Zahilay, was in the lead at this time, but this was left unmentioned).

A few woos came from the crowd, and someone even tapped a glass with a fork, ostensibly because this meant Balducci was still in the game. By god, the Bellevueans have come alive.

Balducci spoke to the crowd a few minutes later. "It's much, much closer than it was on Friday," she said. "There's a small amount [of ballots] that gets counted on the first night. We'll see what happens over the next few days, and we'll be putting out messages, letting everybody know how we're doin'. We really, really changed the trajectory. We'll see what happens next. But: too close to call."

Transit was a hot topic at the party at Tutta Bella tonight, as both Balducci and Zahilay are big public transit boosters. Seattle Subway Board Vice President Eugene Kramer approached the SECB to let us know he endorsed Balducci, and we mentioned that we are also pro-transit and, in fact, took a #500 to the B Line to get here tonight, and it sucked. Kramer offered us a ride back to Seattle. Tempting to do it, just to find out what kind of car he drove. (A bus?? A...Shinkansen?). But we respectfully declined. More breaking news: Turns out, there were pitchers of free beer sitting on the food table the whole time, next to the salads. Stoup IPA and some kind of pilsner. Balducci's supporters fucking destroyed both of the salads, btw. There are still lots of bready meatballs left.

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8:13 p.m. Darkalino's

CHEERS

Cheers erupt at Girmay Zahilay's election night party as campaign manager Michael Charles announces that he is leading in the first ballot drop.

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7:59 Seattle Central College on Capitol Hill

LAST CALL

 

A person with a megaphone announced the final minute before the ballot box closes, “Ok Seattle, you have one more minute to get your ballots in!” A few people literally ran down the street and tossed their ballots in the box action move style.

“I’ve been doing this for five years and I’ve never seen lines this long, not even for the last presidential election!” an election worker says.

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7:50 p.m. Still Inside The Royal Esquire Club

BRUCE FEELS CALM

The ballot results are imminent. Bruce Harrell took the mic to filibuster until results came in. He says this is “nerve-wracking” for him but he feels “calm.” Those feelings are different.

“It’s my family that’s driving me crazy.”

Harrell said he’s proud of the campaign he’s run. He thanked the crowd.“This is sort of an invite-only event,” he said. “You are part of the team.”

We don’t think he realized that we, who were here without an invite, were not part of the team. We don’t think he realized the KUOW and KNKX reporters who also did not receive invites and had to track down the event information for the incumbent mayor’s election night party were here sans-invite either. Harrell decided to stop speaking and wait for the results off the mic. But he’ll be back! He promised.

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7:47 p.m. Tutta Bella in Bellevue

CHILI'S HUNG HEAVY IN THE AIR

Despite running for Executive of the WHOLE COUNTY, Claudia Balducci chose one of the furthest-flung locations in the county for her party tonight, all the fuck out in Lake Hills, Bellevue. Turns out, the founder/CEO of Tutta Bella endorsed Balducci, so…at least it’s not at the Kirkland location.

Everyone in the dining room is white and over 50. This place used to be a Chili’s and it’s all we could think about. The ghost of Chili’s is still spiritually detectable here, although the bar now makes a helluva negroni, which would never happen at a Chili’s.

At the Balducci party in back, the vibe was younger and more convivial, although no emotions were being openly displayed. A guy in a shirt with what looks like an MTA New York City subway sign but says Z O H R A N seemed unimpressed when we told him that Zohran had won. “Oh, yeah, hmm. I saw that.” (What?)

The spread at the party was healthier than expected: Green salad with white beans and red peppers, roasted beet salad with goat cheese, some bready polpetti. The fried potato croquettes were probably the king.

Balducci's bid against Girmay Zahilay to be the new Dow Constantine is a monied race. We’ll admit, we kinda expected…more food. And better food. We know Tutta Bella has more, better food somewhere back there. Half a negroni in and we mistakenly thought a Seattle Times photog worked here. He seemed offended, whoops.

No one spoke one single word on the mic until 7:30 p.m., and it was Lynne Robinson, the mayor of Bellevue—a job Balducci once held—to introduce the woman of the hour. Balducci basically just said she’s grateful for everyone’s support. “If I started saying ‘thank you,’ I’d never stop.”

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7:43 p.m. Darkalino's

THE DREAM OF THE 90s IS ALIVE WITH GIRMAY

If democracy has a dance floor, it's at Girmay Zahilay's election night party.

Faith Evans is blaring through the speakers like it's 1997, bass is rattling the walls, and over 200 people are packed shoulder to shoulder in a blur of cheers, hugs, and half-finished cocktails that cost $18 each. You can barely get to the bar without using full-body contact, but you can definitely feel the energy: multicultural, multiracial, and unmistakably hopeful—like a Benetton ad come to life, but with better music and actual political stakes.

Zahilay is visibly nervous but all smiles, as he took the mic to praise his supporters and literally everyone who contributed to his campaign. "Nothing is possible without the people."

Dawn Bennett of the African American Leadership Fund says the packed house represents the community he seeks to serve: "This is what South King County looks like. Every color, every culture—and it's about time we get the attention we deserve instead of just traffic jams and airport noise." Reggie Brown from Skyway adds, "He's got that it factor. People are excited because he brings something new—energy, unity, possibility." You know, all those things we pretend political consultants can manufacture but actually can't.

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7:31 p.m. El Centro de la Raza 

GET OUT YOUR HARMONICA, THIS PARTY JUST GOT STARTED

We looked down at our keyboard for a few seconds, and this party got packed. "Golden" was suddenly bumping over the speakers. Rainier and Bodhizafa flowed. And the campaign upgraded their food situation since the primary: in July, it was crudités and sweaty humus; tonight, there's a whole room set aside for the trays of Indian food they ordered. 

Despite what you might expect, not everyone here is wearing secondhand REI. Someone was walking around in full leather gear. Katie Wilson's campaign manager wore a button-up shirt with a poker cards on it. (It's an old gift from a friend, he told us, and what better time to wear it.) Josie, Wilson's two year old daughter, (very, very begrudgingly) wore a red velour dress, her dad told us.

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7:30 p.m. At Stranger HQ (An Apartment)

WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING, UNDECIDED VOTER

You have thirty minutes left to vote! RUN TO THE BALLOT BOX!

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7:25 p.m. Seattle Central College on Capitol Hill

LOUD SOUNDS

“WE HAVE A FIRST TIME VOTER!” someone says over a megaphone (and over a live drummer). The voter is from Peru, and became a citizen in 2022. 

“My best friend reminded me that today is the last day to drop off my ballot!" they say. "My other friend forgot theirs so we went to a tan salon nearby and borrowed their printer to print the ballot out."

The was a 50 foot line for the ballot box. A person handed out bubbles. It's a vibe.

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7:20 p.m. Inside The Royal Esquire Club

THE BAR IS NOT OPEN

Whew. We made it inside ... only to find there isn’t an open bar? A cash bar??

Over $1 million in candidate contributions should at least get us a vodka soda on the house. Maybe there wasn’t enough left over after all the attack ads. The good news is there are boxes of free pagliacci pizza and free soda. It’s like a Mormon wedding! Just kidding, just kidding. The soda would be a lot crazier. But we are curious about who is the Diet Coke lover in the Harrell camp. Is it you, Tim Burgess?

Kylie Minogue's "Padam Padam" is blasting.

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7:15 p.m. POV, You Haven't Voted

YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE

Sprint to your nearest ballot box. You have 45 MINUTES!!!!!

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7:08 p.m. Black & Tan Hall

"THE QUINTESSENTIAL BULLY"

That's what they're saying about Mayor Bruce Harrell down at the Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Dionne Foster, and Erica Evans election night spectacular. At least ... that's what one blonde lady said to some guy. It was easy to hear her delightful phrase, as there was no music yet, nor many people. We were 30 minutes early. Too early. But by 6:57, there was a decent-sized crowd and music with an appropriate level of bass. Enough to drown her out. No more delightful phrases.

Chelsea Pimentel, an intern with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s campaign, sang the three candidates’ praises. She voted for them, of course. She loved that they’re willing to fight for their community members. Same, Chelsea, same.

The DJ pumped Janelle Monáe’s "Make Me Feel" through the speakers. We felt.

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6:51 p.m. Outside The Royal Esquire Club

Mayor Bruce Harrell is hosting his election night party at the Royal Esquire Club. You may know it from history. It’s a Black institution here in Columbia City. You may also know it from the KUOW article from six hours ago that reported how Harrell may have interfered with a wage theft investigation into the Esquire Club back when he was city council president and on the club’s board. He also allegedly made his council staff do secretarial work for the club. You can’t do that, Bruce! (A spokesperson said Harrell didn't do anything unethical.)

Hosting his party here is now very funny to us. What’s even funnier is once again he did not actually tell us where the party was let alone invite us. We had to find out by asking into the void. Will he let us in? Will we be able to sit in those garishly festooned chairs? Only time will tell. 

Tanya Woo is here (it is said that her ghost appears on election night).

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6:50 p.m. Learning on The World Wide Web

BLUE BLOODBATH

What is the lesson at this moment? Virginia is now resoundingly a Dem state. The New Jersey’s governor race is looking, at 64 percent of the votes, like it will become 20 point spread by tomorrow. It looks like ICE beating up city people is not a great thing when the cost of living is skyrocketing for wage earners.

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6:45 p.m. King St. and 2nd Ave. in the CID

AND THEN THERE WAS LIGHT (ON THIS BALLOT BOX)

Election workers even added a magnetic flashlight pointing toward the slot. Brava. A slow, but steady stream of folks have passed through. A voter said she was voting tonight because, “Honestly?…I have bad time management and I thought so much about voting so it felt like I already did.” (They are not the same thing).

When asked who she picked for mayor, she said "Oh, Katie Wilson. I can’t wait to watch trump crash out.”

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6:40 p.m. El Centro de la Raza 

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE PHILOSOPHY OF STREAMERS." 

The Katie Wilson party hadn't started yet, but the doors were open and people were already trickling in. Someone brought a giant mylar balloon that looked like a slice of pizza. One volunteer was setting up a a table full of cards. "They're so people can write notes to Katie," she said. "It's like a wedding, not everyone is going to be able to talk to her." (She is getting married to us, maybe.)

Another volunteer teetered on a ladder, struggling with double-sided tape. "I don't understand the philosophy of streamers," he said to his spotter. I agreed with him. These streamers are a mess.

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6:33 p.m. Rough and Tumble

HERE'S JOE (MIZRAHI)

We asked School Board Director Mizrahi for pics from his election night party with candidate Vivian Song and sitting school board director (and candidate) Sarah Clark. We asked how he was feeling.

"Good! I'm confident," he texted. "More nervous about Katie and Girmay."

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6:30 p.m. Still In Beacon Hill

ACTION!

We walked to Baja Bistro and it felt like the action was all there, in downtown Beacon Hill. We run into a friend running to the Plaza Roberto Maestas, where Katie Wilson is holding her election night event. Then we run into Eddie Lin, who is standing in front of Beacon Hill Station fishing for remaining votes in the dusk. We talk, we take a pic. We will meet later at Baja Bistro, where he is holding his event.

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6:21 p.m. Beacon Hill

SMILING AT OUR PHONE

According to The Hill, "Mamdani wins NYC mayor’s race." This was declared on the first drop, which opened a 13% spread between Mamdani and Cuomo. As with Seattle, future drops are expected to maintain or expand this spread in a progressives favor. If we see those kind of numbers for Bruce Harrell, game is up. We will go to sleep like New York City: with a new mayor.

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6:04 p.m. The City That Never Sleeps, The Big Apple

OOOOOOOOOO

Polls just closed in New York City. According to the New York Times, turnout surged to 2 million. Will Zohran Mamdani win? Will someone else even more terrible endorse Andrew Cuomo? Will Curtis Sliwa discover other hats, such as the baseball cap?

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5:45 p.m. At Our House

CRYSTAL FINCHER DOESN'T REALLY MAKE PREDICTIONS BUT HERE ARE A FEW

Crystal Fincher, local political consultant and host of the Hacks & Wonks podcast, is “not a prediction person.” Just like all of us, she has no idea what’s going on in the King County Executive race. She’s “just looking to see what’s what.” 

But she has a few thoughts on the city races: Dionne Foster is a shoo-in for City Council. Erika Evans has City Attorney in the bag. “Those primary results really did seem to be incompatible with a general election victory for those incumbents,” Fincher says. (In politico speak, that means they are screwed).

Fincher doesn’t think mayoral candidate Katie Wilson will win by the same margin she did on primary night, but she expects her to still have “the edge” on Mayor Bruce Harrell. The race will be competitive, though, thanks in large part to the buckets of money Harrell spent “attacking Katie.” Other races didn't get as nasty.

“Certainly, Sara Nelson had attack ads against Dionne Foster, but we didn't see those on during, like, the World Series, right?” Fincher says, referring to the ads Harrell ran during the American League Championship Series, which many will very sadly point out is quite different from the World Series. Still, big games!

Those ads got a lot of eyeballs, Fincher says, “especially from people who may not be primary voters, who may not vote as often or be as tuned in.” Will it make the difference? 

That's a "tall order," she says.

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5:30 p.m. The Beacon Hill Branch

THE DARKEST PLACE ON EARTH

Outside the Beacon Hill Light Rail station, we met a line of Girmay Zahilay volunteers, who asked: “Have you voted? Have you voted? HAVE YOU VOOOTTTEEDDD???”

At block away, a steady stream of voters dropped off their ballots at a box outside the library. It was pitch black. Can someone please bring some glow sticks? A camp light? Anything? A lovely “parent age” couple told us that they were A) Using the Stranger’s Voting Guide and B) dropping their ballots off tonight to capture some of the buzz they miss from voting in-person “from waaay before you were born.” Again, it was very dark.

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5:03 p.m. Polar Bar at the Arctic Club Hotel

PROZAC LEVEL CALM BEFORE THE BALLOT DROP

Zero anxiety at state representative Brianna Thomas's (34th District-West Seattle) early election night party. Turns out running unopposed is great for your cortisol levels. Appointed  to fill Emily Alvarado's seat earlier this year, the third time has proven to be the charm for Thomas, who has struck out twice running for Seattle City Council.

"It's my third run for office, and being unopposed is certainly the best way to do it. Third time's the charm, that's what they say," she says.

Despite low voter turnout leading up to today, she says the folks who are showing up actually give a damn: "The people who are showing up actually care about our futures, and they're happy to hold us accountable." She also made light of her electoral hat trick: 

Gotta say, with former Vice President Kamala Harris a couple miles away giving a book talk at Benaroya Hall, it's a fitting reversal to start the night off with a victorious Black woman.

She reminded procrastinators there was still time to vote. "Please go directly to the ballot box." 

Spotted at the party: King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine, former Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, and OneAmerica Executive Director Roxana Norouzi.

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5:00 p.m. What We’re Watching for Tonight

A MAYORAL NAILBITER

This mayoral race? It’s going to be tight. That’s what the watchers on the wall, aka political consultants, say. However tonight goes, they do not think this will be an August Primary 2.0.

“The mayor's race is going to be a nail biter,” says local political consultant Stephen Paolini, who is involved with Katie Wilson’s PAC.

The warchest of millions of dollars Harrell’s funneled into negative messaging against Wilson have been working, Paolini fears. He’s heard people parrot the line about Wilson’s lack of experience. That’ll narrow the gap, but may not overcome it, Paolini says.

“It seems difficult from a math standpoint for Bruce Harrell to overcome a nine point gap in the primary with only 5 percent more people voting in a general election compared to the primary,” Paolini says. 

Turnout is the difference-maker here, for both Wilson and Harrell. And it remains low. Harrell will need to make up a ground that he can’t cover with his regular voter base. 

Paolini still thinks Wilson “pulls it out.” So do the political consultants the Seattle Times spoke to over the weekend. On Election Night, he’ll feel good if Wilson has 45 percent of the vote. Procrastinating progressives tend to vote later. Wilson will gain more votes in ballot drops throughout the week. “It would not be unusual for a progressive swing to account for five or six percentage points.”

Regardless, “this race is going to be really close.”

AN EXECUTIVE NAILBITER

The King County Executive race is gonna be tight. It’s progressive candidate (Grimay Zahilay) v. progressive-ish candidate (Claudia Balducci, who went moderate during the campaign) and according to recent polling, it’s a coin toss. Thirty-seven percent of voters said they’d vote for King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, while 35 percent said Councilmember Girmay Zahilay was their guy (he was our guy from the start). The rest couldn’t make up their mind. The survey’s margin of error was +/- 4 percent, meaning the race was at a statistical tie.

OUR NAILS ARE LONG

The races for Seattle City Council and Seattle City Attorney seem buttoned up for progressives. Incumbents Sara Nelson and Ann Davison appear cooked. Boiled. Roasted. Flambéd. They’re probably done. Out of here. Out of sight, out of mind. Maybe.

“I would be, at this point, really shocked if any of those other races were as close [as the mayor’s race],” local political consultant Stephen Paolini says.

It’s definitely difficult from a math standpoint. He’s anticipating the District 9 race between Dionne Foster and Nelson to end with a decisive Foster win. “I think she'll be over 50 in the first drop, and it will just get worse for Sarah over time,” he says.

He expects the same thing for Erika Evans in her race against City Attorney Davison. 

As for Eddie Lin’s race against skateboarder and DJ (and also candidate) Adonis Ducksworth, Paolini expects Lin to be in a comfortable position after tonight. But he’s not counting any skateboards before they ollie. “If I’m in Eddie Lin's shoes, I'm happy, I’m popping champagne if we're at like 48 percent,” he says.