Everything is Political ... in South Seattle: Primary Results Lean Left

The Aug. 5 primary election is already being hailed as “a good night for the left,” which it absolutely was. It was also a good night for the two news outlets whose endorsements have a stranglehold on our primary elections. In every major Seattle race, candidates endorsed by The Seattle Times and The Stranger took the top two spots after the initial ballot drop.

At this point, only 21.9 percent of issued ballots have been counted. While turnout could be higher this year, if the last mayoral election is any indication, in which about 35 percent of the electorate voted, we’re almost two-thirds of the way there. That said, the amount by which the major-paper endorsees are leading is enough to tell us who we’ll be seeing in the general.

In King County, it’ll be Girmay Zahilay vs. Claudia Balducci. In Seattle, in District 2, it’s going to be Adonis Ducksworth vs. Eddie Lin. In District 9, it’ll be Dionne Foster vs. Council President Sara Nelson. In District 8, Alexis Mercedes Rinck smashed the competition with 76.56 percent of votes, but Rachel “Racist Zoom” Savage was comfortably ahead of any other candidates with 14.12 percent. For City Attorney, incumbent Ann Davison will be facing off against Erika Evans. Last but not least, the mayoral race will be between incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell and Katie Wilson.

While all of these results were pretty unsurprising, if you’re at all familiar with how lazy we’ve all become about relying on the two papers’ right- and left-lane endorsements to tell us how to vote, the amount of votes that some of the left-leaning candidates earned is another story.

Lin, for example, locked in 46.03 percent to Ducksworth’s 30.09 percent. That’s pretty significant on its own, but if you add in the two challengers left of Lin, Jamie Fackler and Jeanie Chunn, who earned 10.06 and 12.73 percent, respectively, Lin’s lead is astounding.

“We were getting great feedback at doors and through other voter outreach, but this was a wonderful surprise and certainly exceeded our expectations,” Lin said, reached via text.

Ducksworth, for his part, put on a good face (also via text): “We’re pleased by the results. We’ve been knocking on doors and connecting with voters. We feel good about the remaining primary votes and general election.”

While he would place himself on the left side of the political spectrum, Ducksworth’s endorsement from the conservative Seattle Times clearly hurt him here. District 2 has been historically the most progressive district in the city, and public opinion seems to be swinging left across the board this time around.

In the County Exec. race, both Zahilay and Balducci are current King County Councilmembers who line up on issues like housing, but Zahilay scored a Stranger endorsement while Balducci nabbed a nod from the Times. In a race with a handful of other candidates, Zahilay took the pole position with 41.62 while Balducci pulled in 30.09. Zahilay, who could become the first immigrant to lead the county, has already claimed victory, stating in an email that he had “decisively won the primary election for King County Executive.”

Indeed, for more evidence of the left’s resurgence, look at how bad things went for tough-on-crime incumbents Davison and Nelson.

Nelson got only 37.65 percent of the vote, while her challenger, nonprofit executive Dionne Foster, did much better, with 55.57 percent. The 3.18 percent of voters who chose Connor Nash, another Nelson critic, are likely to land on Foster for the general.

Things were even worse for Davison. Davison got 35.76 percent of the vote to progressive Erika Evans’ 52.98 percent. As if winning a majority of votes wasn’t enough, Evans will likely inherit votes from her fellow progressives Rory O’Sullivan and Nathan Rouse, who took home 6.12 and 4.89 percent, respectively. Davison is, as the kids say, cooked.

Is that because, after getting elected on promises to clean up the streets with more cops and harsher criminal penalties for drug users and homeless people, exactly none of that happened? I’d say yes. Nelson, Davison, and their fellow conservatives managed to give cops more money and increase criminalization of drug users, but that didn’t result in any significant net increase in officers or arrests. It especially didn’t result in any real reduction in visible homelessness or drug use, something that routinely clocks in as a top issue for voters.

Probably the most notable thing both politicians did was antagonize a lot of people. While most voters are probably not paying attention to the petty disputes within City Hall, it would be foolish to think that news about Nelson’s abrasiveness didn’t trickle down to even the most disengaged voters. Lord knows it garnered enough coverage. 

Certain reporters have absolutely been praying for Nelson’s potential downfall, and it seems their prayers were answered. Davison, for her part, has pursued some astonishingly unpopular prosecutions during her time in office. Her Republican Party membership has also been a hot-button issue in this deep-blue city.

Lastly, we’ve got to talk about the big one: Wilson’s slight edge over Harrell in the mayoral race. Is it a Zohran Mamdani-level coup? No, not really. Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo by 12 percent, ultimately, which is a lot more than the 47.97 to 43.49 percent lead Wilson currently holds over Harrell.

“We’re thrilled with these initial numbers,” Wilson said via text. “We expect our lead to grow significantly by the time all the ballots are counted. [...] People are ready for new leadership that will tackle the affordability crisis with energy and fight to make Seattle a city where working families can thrive.”

Does Wilson’s slight edge, along with the general leftward trend of Tuesday night’s primary, mean we’re getting the first truly progressive mayor since Mike McSchwinn? A lot of people hope so, but I don’t think the business lobby will let go so easily.

While having control of the Mayor’s office, the City Council, and the City Attorney’s office didn’t really net them any policy wins, that doesn’t mean they’re ready to relinquish those offices to people who want to tax the rich, decommodify housing, and give actual police alternatives a real try. It’s too soon to say much more about the general, but one thing is for sure: The attack ads are about to be brutal.

Editor's note: This article was updated on Aug. 6, 2025, to correct an editing error.