Ed Murray Staying Out Of Seattle Mayoral Race, Endorses Durkan Instead

SEATTLE, WA - Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday morning announced that he would not re-enter the Seattle mayoral race via a write-in campaign. During the same announcement, held at the Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle, Murray endorsed candidate Jenny Durkan.

Durkan is largely seen as the front runner in the primary race, and the heir to Murray's political legacy. Durkan, the former U.S. Attorney in Seattle, entered the race within a few days of when Murray announced he would leave the the race after being sued over allegations of sex abuse.

Murray called the prospect of a write-in campaign "narrow and uncertain."

"After soul searching on my part, I decided it's not in Seattle's best interest to pursue a write-in campaign," Murray said, with Durkan standing beside him.

Murray was sued by a Kent man this spring over allegations of sex abuse. Murray dropped his reelection bid in May over those allegations - only to have the Kent man suspend the suit in June. Murray has said he suspects the suit was politically-timed.

Murray dropped out of the race before the filing deadline, so the only way he could have reentered the primary race is through a write-in campaign. He told reporters last week that he would do some polling to see if a write-in campaign would be feasible.

Even with the endorsement - and a considerable fundraising advantage - Durkan is competing against a number of other strong candidates: former mayor Mike McGinn; former state Rep. Jessyn Farrell; urban activist Cary Moon; state Sen. Bob Hasegawa; and community activist Nikkita Oliver.

The top two vote-getters in the August primary will advance to the general election.

In accepting Murray's endorsement, Durkan said she would try to continue Murray's record, although made it clear she would be her own mayor. She also took a moment to make it clear she would fight federal intrusion into Seattle.

"Neither Donald Trump or Jeff Sessions can define what [Seattle's] values are," she said.

If Durkan wins, she will be Seattle's first openly-gay female mayor. Murray was Seattle's first openly gay mayor.

Murray was asked at the announcement what he when his term ends in January. He ruled out running for any office in the future.

"This has been my life, but it's not going to be my life in the future," he said.

Image via Neal McNamara/Patch.com