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And then there were two — the top two candidates in the race for Seattle mayor are now headed for the general election in November.

Progressive challenger Katie Wilson currently leads incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell by 4.5%, or about 5,100 votes.

“I didn’t expect to be in first place on primary night, and we expect the numbers will only get better as more votes are counted,” Wilson said. “I think it really shows that Seattle voters are ready for a change. I think people are frustrated with a lack of progress from the current administration on affordability, on homelessness, on safety.”

Wilson and Harrell are by far the top two vote-getters and will go head-to-head in November.

“We knew this would be a challenging race, but we saw a similar close race in 2021 and a large margin of victory in the general election,” Harrell shared.

Seattle mayor race heats up between Harrell and Wilson

Harrell believes he has a proven track record of 18 years in Seattle government, supporting families and fighting crime in the city. He said as the candidates and voters move closer to November, the differences between him and his opponent will become clear.

“We are confident that once voters know more about my personal story and proven commitment to an affordable and safe community, and they see a future we are building,  compared to my opponent’s thin resume and history of fringe politics, we will prevail in November,” Harrell said.

Wilson believes her campaign’s biggest challenge will be money — money needed to get her name out to the public and let voters know her plans for the future of the city.

“We are going to be competitive on the fundraising, but the corporate PAC money that lines up behind the mayor is going to be big and we’re just going to have to match that with our ground game and our people,” Wilson said.

The general election in Washington is on November 4.

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