The early returns for the 2019 November General Election have been posted as of 8pm this evening. Counting will continue over the coming weeks, usually with daily counts being released after 4pm. Generally progressive candidates gain in late returns, so a small deficit (e.g., 5%) tonight, may actually signal victory for a progressive candidate.

The Urbanist Elections Board made endorsements in several Seattle and King County races last month as well as Initiative 976. Some of our endorsed candidates are cruising to victory. Among them, Seattle City Council candidates Tammy Morales, Debora Juarez, and Dan Strauss all appear headed to election. Girmay Zahilay also appears to pulled off the upset of long-time incumbent Larry Gossett. However, sitting Councilmember Kshama Sawant is a bit under water in the early returns, a testament to the impact of corporate money from Amazon. The Tim Eyman initiative to cut transportation funding also appeared to be leading statewide in the initial returns, despite losing 56-44 in King County.

Below is a roundup of the early results, including non-endorsed races, across King County, Pierce County, and Snohomish County as well as key statewide issues.

Key: Bold Text = leading, I = Incumbent, * = Endorsed Candidate/Measure

Washington State

  • Initiative 976 – Transportation Revenue: Yes 54.5%, No* 45.5%
  • Referendum 88 – Affirmative Action: Approved 49.5%, Rejected 50.5%

King County

  • Council District No. 2: Girmay Zahilay* 57%, Larry Gossett (I) 43%
  • Council District No. 4: Abigail Doerr* 26%, Jean Kohl-Welles (I) 73%
  • Council District No. 6: Claudia Balducci* (I) 77%, Bill Hurt 23%
  • Council District No. 8: Joe McDermott* (I) 82%, Michael Neher 17%
  • Director of Elections: Julie Wise (I) 79%, Mark Greene 21%

City of Seattle

  • Council District No. 1: Lisa Herbold* (I) 51%, Phil Tavel 48%
  • Council District No. 2: Tammy Morales* 56%, Mark Solomon 43%
  • Council District No. 3: Kshama Sawant* (I) 46%, Egan Orion 54%
  • Council District No. 4: Shaun Scott* 42%, Alex Pedersen 58%
  • Council District No. 5: Debora Juarez* (I) 57%, Ann Davison Sattler 42%
  • Council District No. 6: Dan Strauss* 52%, Heidi Wills 47%
  • Council District No. 7: Andrew Lewis* 49%, Jim Pugel 50%

Port of Seattle

  • Commissioner Position No. 2: Sam Cho* 57%, Grant Degginger 43%
  • Commissioner Position No. 5: Fred Felleman* (I) 69%, Garth Jacobson 30%

Seattle Public Schools

  • Director District 1: Liza Rankin (I) 51%, Eric Blumhagen 48%
  • Director District 3: Chandra Hampson 66%, Rebeca Muniz 34%
  • Director District 6: Leslie S. Harris (I) 66%, Molly E. Mitchell 34%

City of Bellevue

  • Council Position 1: John Stokes (I) 69%, Holly Zhang 31%
  • Council Position 3: Jeremy Barksdale 62%, Stephanie Walter 38%
  • Council Position 5: Janice Zahn (I) 67%, JD Yu 32%
  • Council Position 7: Jennifer Robertson (I) 63%, James Bible 36%

City of Tukwila

  • Council Position 2: Kathy Hougardy (I) 64%, Nancy J. Mano 35%
  • Council Position 4: Dennis Martinez 46%, Cynthia Delostrinos Johnson 53%
  • Council Position 6: Tosh Sharp 44%, Kate Kruller (I) 55%

City of Redmond

  • Mayor: Angela Birney 59%, Steve Field 40%
  • Council Position 1: Hank Myers (I) 55%, Varisha M. Khan 44%
  • Council Position 3: Jessica Forsythe 52%, Dayle ‘Hank’ Margeson (I) 48%
  • Council Position 5: Vanessa Kritzer 71%, Eugene Zakhareyev 29%
  • Council Position 7: David Carson (I) 57%, Carlos Jimenez 42%

City of Shoreline

  • Council Position 2: Keith Patrick Scully 67%, Vivian Collica 33%
  • Council Position 4: David Chen 50%, Doris McConnell 49%
  • Council Position 6: Betsy Robertson 75%, Luis Berbesi 25%

City of Everett

  • Council Position 4: Liz Vogeli (I) 62%, Marian LaFountaine 37%
  • Council Position 5: Joseph Erikson 36%, Scott Bader (I) 63%

City of Tacoma

  • Council District 1: John Hines 55%, Nathe Lawver 45%
  • Council District 2: David Combs 36%, Keith Blocker (I) 63%
  • Council Position 7: Conor McCarthy (I) 72%, Courtney Love 27%
  • Council Position 8: Kristina Walker 56%, John O’Loughlin 43%

City of SeaTac

  • Council Position 1: Senayet Negusse 49%, Tony Anderson 50%
  • Council Position 3: Peter Kwon (I) 57%, Damiana Merryweather 42%
  • Council Position 5: Stanley Tombs (I) 50%, Takele Gobena 49%
  • Council Position 7: Mohamed Ali Egal 41%, Erin Sitterley (I) 59%

City of Renton

  • Mayor: Marcie Maxwell 45%, Armondo Pavone 54%
  • Council Position 3: Valerie O’Halloran 51%, James Alberson 49%
  • Council Position 4: Ryan McIrvin (I) 70%, Maria Spasikova 30%
  • Council Position 7: Kim-Khanh Van 62%, Thomas Trautmann 38%

Snohomish County

  • Council District 2: Anna Rohrbough 48%, Megan Dunn 52%
  • Council District 3: Stephanie Wright (I) 79%, Willie Russell 20%

Other Local Measures

  • Federal Way Initiative No. 19-001 – Renter Rights: Yes 55%, No 45%
  • Federal Way Advisory Proposition No. 1 – Banning Retail Marijuana: Yes 45%, No 55%
  • Shoreline Proposition No. 1 – Parks Bonding: Yes 52%, No 48%
  • King County Proposition No. 1 – Medic One Reauthorization: Yes 79%, No 21%
  • Snohomish County Nonbinding Advisory Proposition No. 1 – Urban Fireworks Restrictions: Yes 61%, No 39%
Article Author
Elections Committee

The Urbanist was founded in 2014 to examine and influence urban policies. We believe cities provide unique opportunities for addressing many of the most challenging social, environmental, and economic problems. We serve as a resource for promoting urbanism, increasing political participation, and improving the places we live. The Elections Committee consists of community volunteers and staff members of The Urbanist and is a standing body representing the political values of our organization.