Overview
- King County Elections shows Wilson leading by 1,976 votes, 50.19% to 49.48%, with only a small number of challenged or late-arriving ballots left to resolve.
- Under Washington law, an automatic recount requires a margin under 2,000 votes and under 0.5%; Wilson meets the vote threshold but exceeds the percentage, though a paid recount could still be requested after certification.
- Harrell conceded at City Hall and said his team is prepared to begin the transition, calling his conversation with the mayor-elect “delightful.”
- Washington’s all-mail system allowed late-arriving ballots, which historically lean liberal in King County, to erase Harrell’s early lead and flip the race after Nov. 7.
- Wilson, 43, founded the Transit Riders Union and has not held elected office; her platform emphasizes housing affordability, stronger renter protections, transit reforms, and proposals such as city-run grocery stores and a city-level capital gains tax, with certification scheduled for Nov. 25.