Seattle city council incumbents likely headed to general election

All three incumbents running in Seattle’s City Council primary election appeared likely to advance to the general election, as of Tuesday night.

More mail-in ballots will be tallied later this week, and these results could change in the days ahead. But for now, things are looking good for Tammy Morales (District 2: South Seattle), Dan Strauss (District 6: Ballard area) and Andrew Lewis (District 7: Downtown and Queen Anne). All three are currently serving their first term on the council.

Strauss had 8,754 votes (50.8%), as of the first ballot drop — the most of any candidate for City Council so far.

Lewis had 4,894 (40.9%), and Morales had 5,624 (48.1%).

A total of 45 candidates are vying for seven council seats in this primary race. The top-two vote-getters in each district will advance to the general election this November. City Council seats are non-partisan, meaning candidates don’t have to declare a political party affiliation.

In District 2, which includes the Chinatown-International District and stretches down to Beacon Hill, Tanya Woo was also leading on election night with 5,305 votes (45.4%). A third candidate in that district, Margaret Elisabeth, was also on the ballot in this district. They’d received 694 votes (5.9%) as of Tuesday night.

Pete Hanning was also top of the pack in District 6 – which includes Magnolia, Greenlake, Ballard, Fremont and others – with 5,106 votes (29.6%) on election night. Four other candidates are running in this district.

District 7’s other top-vote getter on election night was Bob Kettle, with 3,947 votes (33%). This district includes the downtown core, Belltown, Queen Anne and other neighborhoods. An additional four candidates are also on the ballot in District 7.

Four City Council incumbents didn’t seek re-election this year: Lisa Herbold (District 1: West Seattle), Kshama Sawant (District 3: Central Area), Alex Pedersen (District 4: Wedgwood and University District), Deborah Juarez (District 5: Northeast).

Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, whose District 8 (at large) seat is not up for election until 2025, is running for a seat on the King County Council this year. (The county seat she's seeking is also a "District 8.")

She had 54.8% of the County Council seat vote on Tuesday night. If she wins the general election in November, the Seattle City Council would appoint someone to take over her former seat temporarily, and sometime next year a special election will be held for a replacement to serve out the term.

Check out our results page to see preliminary results in each of those districts, here.