Politics & Government
Seattle City Council 2019 General Election Latest
Wednesday's ballot drop brings voters one step closer to knowing what the future holds for the Seattle City Council.
SEATTLE, WA — With seven Seattle City Council seats in play, Tuesday's election promised a shakeup at City Hall, regardless of the final outcome. Four incumbents did not seek re-election. Three others faced staunch opposition amid growing disapproval over the council's performance and big political spending backing their challengers.
THURSDAY UPDATE: Seattle City Council 2019 Election: Kshama Sawant Gains Ground
In early results, two incumbents — Lisa Herbold (District 1) and Debora Juarez (District 5) — led their opponents. In District 3, Kshama Sawant trailed Egan Orion by more than 8 points. Overall, Wednesday's results showed only slight changes from early tallies. In District 7, Jim Pugel and Andrew Lewis are separated by just 20 votes.
Find out what's happening in Seattlefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Amazon and other groups have poured more than $1.5 million into the election, backing more moderate, business-friendly candidates and prompting backlash from progressives. The showdown attracted national attention and prompted two presidential candidates to weigh in.
Despite the money spent by businesses, and Seattle's Chamber of Commerce, its ultimate effectiveness remains to be seen. After Tuesday's ballot drop, Former Mayor Mike McGinn noted on social media that — if results hold — the new city council will have just two or three chamber-backed candidates, compared to five in 2017.
Find out what's happening in Seattlefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Tuesday night's first ballot drop provided an early indicator of how things are shaping up, but the numbers did not include last-minute ballots postmarked or put in dropboxes on Election Day. The Secretary of State's Office will release updated results daily, as additional votes are counted. King County Elections estimated 55 percent of ballots cast by Seattle voters were included in Wednesday's total.
Our estimate is about 55% of Seattle's results are reflected as of today's results posting based on the amount of late returns from drop boxes. Seattle represents about 40% of the ballots we have received thus far.
— King Co Elections (@kcelections) November 7, 2019
ELECTION RESULTS [Includes ballots counted as of 4 p.m. Wednesday]
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1
Lisa Herbold: 51.65%
Phil Tavel: 48%
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 2
Tammy Morales: 55.84%
Mark Solomon:43.65%
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3
Kshama Sawant: 45.78%
Egan Orion: 53.83%
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 4
Alex Pedersen: 57.43%
Shaun Scott: 42.25%
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 5
Debora Juarez: 57.59%
Ann Davison Sattler: 42%
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 6
Dan Strauss: 52.56%
Heidi Wills: 46.92%
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 7
Andrew J. Lewis: 49.73%
Jim Pugel: 49.83%
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