Several Seattle incumbents trail in early primary results
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Progressive organizer Katie Wilson led incumbent Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell in early results from Tuesday's primary election.
The big picture: While many ballots remain to be counted, Wilson's early primary lead signals that Harrell is in for a tough battle to keep his seat in November.
By the numbers: After the first round of vote counting, Wilson — the general secretary of the Transit Riders Union — was capturing about 46.2% of the primary vote to Harrell's 44.9%.
- Both candidates looked as if they would easily advance to the November general election, edging out half a dozen other contenders.
- More ballots from the vote-by-mail election will be counted in the coming days, which could shift the results.
Zoom out: Incumbents in two other Seattle races also were trailing in early returns.
- City Council President Sara Nelson had 39.1% of the vote on Tuesday — lagging challenger Dionne Foster, the former executive director of the Washington Progress Alliance, who had 53.7%.
- And, in the race for Seattle city attorney, incumbent Ann Davison was winning 37.2% of the vote, while challenger Erika Evans captured 51.1%.
- The only Seattle incumbent who wasn't behind on election night was City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who was capturing 75.2% of the early vote in her bid to retain her citywide seat.
Separately, in the four-way race for the council's open District 2 seat, assistant city attorney Eddie Lin was in the lead with 45.7% of the vote, followed by Adonis Ducksworth, a city transportation policy adviser, who had 30.6%.
- A ballot measure to renew Seattle's Democracy Voucher Program was also ahead, capturing 55.6% of the early vote.
What's next: The two candidates who get the most votes in each race will appear on the ballot in November.