Democrats notch major wins in Washington state
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Democrats were winning up and down the ballot in Washington state in early results from Tuesday's election, while three Republican-backed ballot measures failed.
Why it matters: The initial returns reinforce Washington's deep-blue reputation at the state level, even as the Associated Press reported that Republicans would retake the U.S. Senate and the White House.
The big picture: In the presidential race, Harris won the state, capturing 58.6% of the first ballot count, compared to 39.1% for Trump.
Zoom in: Democrats were also leading in all nine races for statewide elected positions in Washington.
- Democrat Bob Ferguson won the governor's race, per the Associated Press, continuing Democrats' 40-year winning streak for that office.
- And Democrat Nick Brown, a former U.S. attorney for western Washington, defeated Republican Pete Serrano in the race to succeed Ferguson as state attorney general.
- Brown will be the first Black person to serve as Washington state's top lawyer.
In races for Congress, Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell won a fifth term, fending off a challenge from Republican Raul Garcia, the AP reported.
- U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier led Republican Carmen Goers by about 8 percentage points in the 8th Congressional District, one of two Washington races considered important in deciding control of the U.S. House.
Yes, but: In southwest Washington, the rematch between state Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican Joe Kent in the 3rd Congressional District — one of only about two dozen toss-up House races in the country — remained too close to call as of early Wednesday morning.
- Gluesenkamp Perez held a lead of 4 percentage points.
Locally, in Seattle's sole City Council race, Alexis Mercedes Rinck was leading incumbent Tanya Woo by about 15 percentage points in initial returns.
- A citywide transportation levy also appeared to be passing easily.
What we're watching: The next batch of election results in King County is expected to be released at 4pm Wednesday.
- Additional results from all of Washington's 39 counties will come in throughout the week.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional results.