The months-long race for Seattle Mayor culminated Nov. 4, as voters rushed to the polls (or ballot drop boxes) to vote in the 2025 General Election. Progressive underdog Katie Wilson faced off against Democratic incumbent Bruce Harrell in a neck-and-neck race. Also on the ballot were close races for King County Executive, City Attorney and multiple City Council positions.

Shortly after 8 p.m., the first round of results was released. With just 180,000 ballots counted out of over 500,000 registered voters, the mayoral race was too close to call. Though Harrell took the lead with 53.32% of the vote to Wilson’s 46.18%, Wilson and her supporters remain optimistic.

“The reality is that this is going to be closer than we expected,” Harrison Jerome, a volunteer for Wilson’s campaign, said. “We don’t know how much the swing is going to be, it’s very possible that this will be a swing of eight points; we’ve seen that before in previous races.”

In Washington state, it’s not uncommon for left-leaning voters to cast their ballots towards the end of the voting period, leaving room for change in the coming days.

“We’ll be pulling out all the stops in the next couple weeks between now and when ballots are certified to make sure that every vote is counted,” Wilson said in a speech shortly after the first round of results was released. “I am so full of hope, because this is your city.”

Wilson’s election night watch party, hosted at Centro de la Raza Cultural Center, was packed with supporters and volunteers. Voters mingled both inside and outside the building, distributing campaign merchandise and discussing election results.

“There’s so much good faith here in this room, and so much enthusiasm and so many people that I can tell are willing to roll up their sleeves and help make our city as Katie describes it. I think it’s a very hopeful moment for Seattle,” Alouise Urness, an attendee of Wilson’s watch party, said. “It’s often young people, immigrants, folks whose votes [and] voices need to be heard, whose ballots don’t get counted in that first round. So I want to be a part of helping to make sure that that happens.”

Urness volunteers with the American Muslim Advancement Council (AMAC), an organization that encourages Muslims to participate in regional and national elections. AMAC was one of many organizations that endorsed Wilson’s mayoral campaign, and Urness was one of several attendees eagerly watching the votes be counted.

“It’s standing room only,” Andrea Brudnicki, a Wilson supporter and watch party attendee, said. 

Brudnicki said she was drawn to the progressive values of Wilson’s campaign. She was further encouraged on election night by Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani’s monumental win in New York City’s mayoral race.

“After seeing Mamdani’s win, I’m like, let’s go, let’s get a blue wave going,” Brudnicki said.

This “blue wave” could be seen elsewhere on the ballot as well. For the role of City Attorney, former federal prosecutor and progressive candidate Erika Evans beat Republican incumbent Ann Davison with an overwhelming 62.44% of the vote.

“I’m feeling so excited and really encouraged. The future of Seattle is so bright,” Evans said.

Evans will take office in early January and plans to focus on increasing public safety and to “fight back” against current President Donald Trump’s administration. Evans left her position as federal prosecutor shortly after Trump’s reelection in 2024, citing concerns regarding the rollback of diversity initiatives within the federal government. 

The race for King County Executive, one of the highest-ranking offices, was similarly close to the mayoral race and has yet to be called. Former County Executive Dow Constantine resigned earlier this year to serve as the CEO of Sound Transit after serving in the executive role for 15 years, leaving the election to two new faces.

Voters chose between former Bellevue Mayor and current King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci and King County Council Chair Girmay Zahilay. Both candidates are Democrats and prioritize increasing safety and affordability in Seattle. 

Interlake High School student Ananya Deokar interned with Balducci’s campaign and was drawn to Balducci’s emphasis on expanding and improving public transportation. Deokar attended Balducci’s election watch party alongside numerous other supporters and volunteers. 

“It’s kind of a culmination of all our hard work. It would hopefully be really nice to see it pay off,” Deokar said. “The energy in a room like this, where everybody is so committed to a cause, is really electric, and I definitely want to be a part of it now and in the future.”

Because Constantine retired from the role before his term ended, the next elected executive will be sworn in Nov. 25, the day after election results are certified. As of publishing, the race for King County Executive has not been called. Zahilay currently leads with 50.56% of the vote, though Balducci is close behind with 48.17%.

“I was wondering for a long time how it was going to feel,” Balducci said “We’ve been at this for a year, and I have to say, in the moment, I feel like we did what we needed to do: made a really good effort, put our message out to the voters and now it’s really in the voters’ hands to let them decide, so I feel good. I feel calm.”

The ballot included a race between Eddie Lin and Adonis Ducksworth for District 2 City Councilmember as well. Lin took home 68% of the vote, an overwhelming victory over Ducksworth’s 31.58%.

“We were hopeful, we’ve been hearing great feedback from voters, but we had no idea we were going to get this result,” Lin said “I’m gonna take about a day off to sort of reflect on what this all means, then, for our position, we’ll be sworn in at the end of November, so we’ll be focused on getting ready to take office.”

Lin plans to focus on increasing affordability in the city, a common thread between candidates in all positions. City Council positions in Districts 8 and 9 were won by Alexis Mercedes Rink and Dionne Foster, respectively, two progressive candidates.

This progressive wave swept through the country, with major Democratic wins in New York, Virginia and California. These results have left voters like Urness and Brudnicki optimistic, though that optimism may not have translated into polling results.

Voter turnout for this year’s general election was historically low, with youth voters consistently trailing behind in registration and ballot numbers. This may be a contributing factor to the tight margins seen in several races in this election.

“I’ve loved to see that we have some youth that are super engaged, but we need to expand on that,” Councilmember-elect Lin said. “Some of the top issues, like affordability, are impacting our younger generations the most. I’m excited that we have some young, progressive champions being elected, and hopefully that inspires people.”

Evans emphasized the importance of youth voter turnout.

“People have died for this right for us to vote. Our voice matters, and our voice is shown when we vote, so we have to get these numbers up,” Evans said.

As of publishing, the results of the Mayoral and King County Executive elections have yet to be announced. Currently, Harrell leads the mayoral race with 53.84% of the vote, and Zahilay leads the Executive race with 50.56%. Results will be updated each day by 4:30 p.m. until ballots are certified Nov. 25, and can be found on the King County Government website.