This afternoon King County Elections tallied up a little more than 102,000 ballots in the 2023 general election, leaving about 100,000 more to count after today, including about 45,000 in Seattle, specifically. Turnout in Seattle hit 44.6%, compared to 49% in 2019 when the district city council seats were last up for grabs. Countywide, we reached 36.6% turnout, a number that may tick up a liiiiittle bit as some mail votes trickle in.
Later votes tend to lean progressive in King County, and this year is no different. Let's take a look.
As expected, incumbent Seattle City Council Member Dan Strauss took the lead in the contest for District 6 against Fremont Chamber of Commerce guy Pete Hanning. Strauss now leads 50 to 49, proving Ballard > Fremont, at least in terms of local political power branding.
Worker advocate Maren Costa trails vapid tech lawyer Rob Saka in District 1, 42.5% to 57%, gaining only 1.5 points with this drop.
In District 2, incumbent Seattle City Council Member Tammy Morales improved her standing by a little more than 2.5 points. She now trails Tanya Woo 48% to 51.5%. Morales took 55% of the votes counted today, so if she does that again at the next tally then she'll pull ahead.
Former Transportation Choices Coalition Executive Director Alex Hudson still trails cannabis business owner Joy Hollingsworth by a mile, 43.4% to 56%, adding a little more than a point to her vote share.
In District 4, urbanist father Ron Davis still trails City insider Maritza Rivera, 47% to 53%. Davis added a little more than two points to his Wednesday tally.
There's still no hope for equity consultant ChrisTiana ObeySumner in their race against former King County Superior Court Judge Cathy Moore in District 5. ObeySumner did add a little more than three points to their vote share, though. Now they only trail Moore 33% to 66.5%
In the race to represent downtown Seattle, incumbent Seattle City Council Member Andrew Lewis still trails former community councilor Bob Kettle, though he did add a couple points to his score. Lewis now is now only losing 46% to 53.4%.
With lots of votes still left to count, it's not inconceivable to think that Morales and mayyyyybe Davis could push ahead, but I don't see it happening for anyone else.
In better but more expected news, it's really looking like Seattle City Council Member Teresa Mosqueda will be the first Latina elected to King County Council. She now leads Burien Mayor Sofia Aragon 52 to 47. She'll join Jorge Barón, who is on track to being the first Latino elected to the County Council. He increased his lead over Assistant Attorney General Sarah Reyneveld and now leads 58% to 41.5%.
The Stranger still rules the school board, and the only real news to report here is that Stranger-backed Evan Briggs increased her lead over Seattle Times-backed Ben Gitenstien. She now leads 53% to 46%. All of our other picks—Seattle School Board Vice President Liza Rankin, incumbent Seattle School Board Member Lisa Rivera Smith, and Gina Topp are all still winning by wide margins.
In a major victory for renters in Tacoma, a sweeping tenants bill of rights measure is now leading the vote count, with "yes" coming in at 51% and "no" at 49%. That trend should persist. According to the Seattle Times, the measure would "require more advance notice of rent increases, limit evictions during the winter months and the school year, and require landlords to pay tenants who move out after certain rent hikes."
