Washington state got its first look at primary election results last night shortly after polls closed, and library levies in Seattle and the Sno-Isle Library system covering Snohomish and Island counties were both cruising to victory. Both measures were endorsed by The Urbanist Elections Committee (on which I serve).
So far, more than 71% of Seattle voters have backed the city's library levy, despite the Seattle Times Editorial Board coming out against the proposition and a centrist councilmember generating some very serious handwringing about the levy's growing size. Mayor Katie Wilson proposed a $410 million package in the spring, which the Seattle City Council ultimately increased to $480 million before placing it on the ballot.
The seven-year levy will provide about $68 million per year for Seattle Public Libraries, providing a bump for maintenance, building upgrades, and a wide range of programming, including story times and classes. The measure is set to cost the owner of a median-value home around $193 per year, composing less than 3% of the average Seattleite's property tax bill. All told, the levy makes up a third of the library system's overall budget, with a loss at the polls likely to bring severe cuts to services and library operating hours.
Voters in the special election for Seattle City Council's District 5 seat also appear to be in a progressive mood, with just shy of 50% backing Nilu Jenks, who had a wide range of progressive backing, including The Urbanist endorsement. If Jenks prevails in November against apparent second-place finisher Julie Kang, she will provide another reliable progressive vote on council for Wilson's agenda.
The winner will replace interim Councilmember Debora Juarez, who often votes with the centrist bloc and has been a sharp critic of the mayor, especially around her recent decision to ask for her police chief's resignation. Juarez was appointed to the seat after Cathy Moore resigned a year and a half into her term.
The library levy win and the likely addition of another progressive vote on council will provide a feather in the cap for Wilson, who also saw some of her endorsed candidates fizzle on election night. Wilson endorsed two progressive challengers of entrenched Democratic establishment figures who both face uphill battles.
Progressives get varied results in state legislative races
Hannah Sabio-Howell (who served as chair of The Urbanist Election Committee in 2024 and 2025) took on Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen in the 43rd Legislative District. Ron Davis, meanwhile, challenged long-time State Representative Gerry Pollet in the 46th LD. Both had endorsement of Wilson and The Urbanist Election Committee, but not The Stranger. Both came up short.
Sabio-Howell was trailing Pedersen 18% to 71% in election night returns, while Davis appears pinched out of the primary. So far, Pollet is bringing in 54%, lawyer Will Dreher is pulling 31%, and Davis is coming in just under 14%.
Unlike in the New York primary where endorsements from Mayor Zohran Mamdani helped propel progressive challengers to victory, Wilson's coattails don't appear to extend quite as far. Washington voters don't seem to be universally on board with supporting more progressive challengers against longtime incumbents, albeit with some exceptions.
Since Washington is a vote-by-mail state, only roughly half of ballots are typically counted on election night, with the rest coming in over the coming week as election officials get caught up tabulating last-minute returns. This pattern has led to some dramatic comebacks in past since last-minute votes swing are weighted toward younger voters and usually swing strongly toward progressives. Mayor Wilson herself was an example of a late comeback, trailing by eight points in early returns last November, but ultimately winning by 0.7 points or 2,011 votes.
Generally, incumbents who hold on to more than 50% of the vote in the primary survive the top two matchup in the general election. Pollet could end up slipping below 50% of the primary vote with a progressive shift in late returns. Nonetheless, he does not appear as vulnerable as some observers thought, with Pedersen holding his own to an even greater degree.
In the 37th LD, Kelabe Tewolde is running much closer with incumbent Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, trailing by about eight points on election night. Expect that margin to narrow in later returns, with Tewolde having a reasonable shot of pulling ahead. Tewolde's endorsements include The Urbanist, The Stranger, and King County Executive Girmay Zahilay.
On the Eastside, incumbent Shelley Kloba looks poised to survive a challenge from Bothell Councilmember and urbanist Jenne Alderks in the 1st LD, while Redmond Councilmember Jessica Forsythe looks well positioned in her race in the 48th LD against Amy Walen, a more conservative Democrat who opposed the tax on millionaires greenlit earlier this yar.
Two close races in LD32
In an interesting state Senate matchup in the 32nd LD, Urbanist-endorsed incumbent Jesse Salomon is running neck and neck with Cindy Ryu, who has a slight edge in early returns. Ryu is a state representative looking to make the jump to state Senate at the cost of her longtime political nemesis and seat mate. Ryu's lead could vanish if the majority of the 20% of votes that went to Republican Ira McBee shift toward Salomon.
In a wide open race for the Position 1 state House seat that Ryu vacated, some combination of Urbanist-endorsed Danica Noble, Seattle Times endorsed Keith Scully, and Republican Lisa Rezac will make it through to the primary, with all currently in the low to mid 20-point range. Scully, a longtime Shoreline City Councilmember, fared much better in the King County portion of the district, while the two Edmonds Councilmembers in the race – Jenna Nand and Will Chen – totally fizzled.
Incumbent Lauren Davis is running well ahead of Urbanist-endorsed challenger Imraan Siddiqi in the Position 2 race in LD32. She holds a 75% to 22% edge in early returns.
Could be a status quo Congress
Democratic incumbents in U.S. House of Representative races generally fared well, although Marie Gluesenkamp Perez clearly is in for a tough race in her southwest Washington district.
- Suzan DelBene won 54% of the vote on election night in CD1, with Republican Mary Silva on course to advance with 27% of the vote.
- Rick Larsen won 45% on election night, with Edwin Feller set to advance with 33% of the vote in CD2. Urbanist-endorsed Tomas Scheel won 11.7% of the initial drop.
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez won 38.9% of the vote to 38.7% for Republican John Braun in CD3.
- Emily Randall dominated, grabbing 60% of election night returns in CD6. She will face off with Republican Teresa Fox, who has won 25% thus far.
- Pramila Jayapal won 83% of the election night count in CD7. She will face Republican Nirav Sheth.
- Kim Schrier won 54% of the election night vote in CD8. It's not yet clear which Republican challenger she will face.
- Adam Smith has thus far won 51% of the vote and it would appear he will face Republican Doug Basler after three left-wing challengers split the vote. So far, socialist Kshama Sawant has won 12.5%, leftist Melissa Chaudhry has grabbed 11.4%, and Jacob Perasso of the Socialist Workers Party has pulled in 1.1%. With Basler winning 23.8% so far, it appears a unified left vote could have edged him out of the primary.
- Marilyn Strickland has so far taken 49% of the vote in CD10 and will face Republican Chris Chung, who is at 33% as it stands.
King Council Council continues progressive trend
Meanwhile in a hotly contested race for King County Council in District 2, Rebecca Saldaña has the edge over Seattle Port Commission President Toshiko Hasegawa, winning 52% to 39% in election night returns. Saldaña was endorsed by The Urbanist, while Hasegawa snagged the endorsement of the Times.
County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda is cruising to reelection in District 8, with nearly 63% of the vote so far. Mosqueda had The Urbanist's endorsement. She will face "common sense Democrat" Nick Duda, who was also endorsed by the Seattle Times Editorial Board.
Spokane Transit comes down to the wire
Urbanists across the state are watching Spokane, where Spokane Transit Authority went to voters to ask for a renewal of its existing 0.2% sales tax to fund transit for another 20 years. The measure should be uncontroversial, allowing the agency to maintain service and continue expanding its bus rapid transit network up Division Street, but it faced opposition from well-funded Spokane conservatives who wanted to see the measure defeated.
As of Tuesday night, the measure was narrowly winning, with 50.36% of the vote. That lead could widen in the coming days, allowing transit supporters to stop sweating.
The Urbanist will continue to monitor results as later returns come in and publish an update as the dust settles.
Ryan Packer contributed to this story.
Elections Committee
