Ninety-one votes.
Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson is now ahead in this nail-biter of an election count. Incumbent Bruce Harrell had been ahead on Election Day by just over 7 points, his lead dramatically reduced by Friday night.
By Monday, Katie Wilson had 49.83% of the vote; Bruce Harrell 49.79%.
Wilson’s campaign said it was “elated” by the results.
The last time a Seattle mayoral race was this close was 2001, when Greg Nickels defeated Mark Sidran by 3,158 votes.
There remain 6,400 votes to count, according to Halei Watkins, communications director for King County’s elections department. She added that counting would continue Tuesday, despite the Veterans Day holiday.
The incumbent mayor led the count on election night, and widened his lead marginally the following day. But on Thursday and Friday, Wilson picked up enough ballots to get within 4,300 votes of Harrell. This was expected, as later vote counts in Seattle tend to favor the more progressive candidate.
Wilson ran a populist campaign centered on the city’s affordability crisis, while Harrell, the moderate in the race, attacked her for lacking experience in government.
Ballot counting continues until all votes are counted – usually a week or two after an election. The Secretary of State’s office will certify the results of the election on Nov. 25. A potential recount would take place after certification.
Past elections with ballot shifts
A mandatory recount would occur in the Seattle mayor’s race if less than 2,000 votes separate the candidates and less than one-half of 1% of the total votes cast for both.
To avoid a recount, Wilson would need to win roughly 65% of the remaining 6,400 ballots.
That’s a tall order given that on Monday, she got 55.6% of the ballots counted that day.
There hasn’t been a recount in a Seattle mayoral race in recent memory. In 2004, the race for governor between Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi went to recount. Gregoire ultimately prevailed by 129 votes.
A spokesperson for Harrell’s campaign responded to a request for comment Monday evening, writing: “We are grateful to our volunteers who are working to ensure that every vote is counted. This is important work, and essential in a close race.”
This story has been updated with a response from the Harrell campaign.
