2021 Seattle mayoral election
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Turnout | 54.57%[1] | ||||||||||||
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Harrell: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% González: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Tie: 40–50% 50% | |||||||||||||
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Elections in Washington |
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The 2021 Seattle mayoral election was held on November 2, 2021, to elect the Mayor of Seattle. It was won by former Seattle City Council President Bruce Harrell, who defeated then-current President Lorena González; both candidates had advanced from a nonpartisan primary election on August 3.[2]
Incumbent mayor Jenny Durkan initially sought reelection to a second term in office in February 2020, but withdrew that December due to backlash from her handling of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic in Seattle as well as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest during the George Floyd protests.[3]
Harrell held a 24-point lead over González when she conceded on November 4; his margin of victory was the largest of a non-incumbent candidate in a Seattle mayoral race since the 1969 election of Wesley C. Uhlman.[2][4] Harrell took over as mayor on January 1, 2022, having previously held the position as acting mayor for five days in September 2017 upon the resignation of Ed Murray; due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, he was sworn in privately the prior week and held a small inauguration ceremony on January 4.[5][6]
The 2021 election was the first in which mayoral candidates were eligible to use Seattle's democracy vouchers program,[7] which has captured the interest of other cities.[8]
Primary election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Clinton Bliss, medical doctor and small business owner[9]
- Henry Dennison, rail worker and candidate for Governor in 2020[9]
- James Donaldson, activist, former Seattle SuperSonics player, and candidate for mayor in 2009[9]
- Colleen Echohawk, executive director of the Chief Seattle Club[10][11]
- Jessyn Farrell, state representative for the 46th district (2013–2017), candidate for mayor in 2017[12]
- Lorena González, president of the Seattle City Council (2020–present), at-large city council-member (2015–present)[13]
- Bruce Harrell, former acting mayor (2017), former president of the Seattle City Council (2016–2020), former city council-member (2008–2016; 2016–2020), candidate for mayor in 2013[5]
- Andrew Grant Houston, renter, small business owner, and activist[14]
- Arthur K. Langlie, businessman and grandson of former mayor of Seattle and governor of Washington Arthur B. Langlie[15]
- Stan Lippman, disbarred attorney and perennial candidate[9]
- Don L. Rivers, King County Metro worker[9]
- Lance Randall, executive director of Southeast Effective Development Seattle[9]
- Casey Sixkiller, deputy mayor of Seattle[16]
- Omari Tahir-Garrett, activist and candidate for Seattle City Council District 2 in 2019[9]
- Bobby Tucker, author[9]
Withdrew
[edit]- Jenny Durkan, incumbent mayor[17][3]
Declined
[edit]- Gordon McHenry Jr., president and CEO of the United Way of King County[18]
- Cary Moon, activist, urban planner, and runner-up for mayor in 2017[19]
- Teresa Mosqueda, city councillor[20] (endorsed Lorena Gonzalez)
- Joe Nguyen, state senator (running for King County Executive)[21]
- Nikkita Oliver, Attorney, community activist and candidate for mayor in 2017 (running for Seattle City Council)[22]
- Rebecca Saldaña, state senator[18] (endorsed Lorena Gonzalez)
- Girmay Zahilay, member of the King County Council[18]
Endorsements
[edit]Mayors
- Mike McGinn, former mayor of Seattle[23]
Seattle city councilmembers
- Sally Bagshaw, former Seattle city councilmember[23]
- Sally Clark, former Seattle city councilmember[24]
- Dan Strauss (co-endorsement with Jessyn Farrell)[23]
Organizations
- Young Democrats at the University of Washington[23]
- Washington Stonewall Democrats[23]
Statewide officeholders
- Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands[23]
State legislators
- David Hackney, State Representative (District 11)[23]
- Brady Pinero Walkinshaw, CEO of Grist, former state representative, and general election-advanced candidate for Washington's 7th congressional district in 2016[25]
- Cindy Ryu, State Representative (District 32)[24]
- Gerry Pollet, State Representative (District 46)[24]
- Strom Peterson, State Representative (District 21)[24]
- June Robinson, State Senator (District 38)[24]
Seattle city councilmembers
- Dan Strauss (co-endorsement with Colleen Echohawk)[23]
Federal officeholders
- Julian Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, and candidate for President of the United States in 2020[23]
- Pramila Jayapal, U.S. Representative from Washington's 7th congressional district[26]
- Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont, former candidate for President of the United States in 2020[27]
- Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, former candidate for President of the United States in 2020[28]
State senators
- Rebecca Saldaña, State Senator (District 37)[23]
State Representatives
- Liz Berry, State Representative (District 36)[24]
- Nicole Macri, State Representative (District 43)[24]
- Kirsten Harris-Talley, State Representative (District 37)[24]
Seattle city councilmembers
- Lisa Herbold, Seattle City Council member (District 1)[23]
- Andrew Lewis, Seattle City Council member (District 7)[23]
- Tammy Morales, Seattle City Council member (District 2)[23]
- Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council member (District 8)[23]
- Mike O'Brien, former Seattle City Council member (District 6)[24]
- Jim Street, former Seattle City Council member (District 6)[24]
Individuals
- Jorge Barón, executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project[23]
Organizations
- Latino Victory Fund[29]
- UFCW21[24]
- Working Families Party[30]
Media
Federal officeholders
- Gary Locke, former United States Secretary of Commerce, former governor of Washington[23]
- Marilyn Strickland, U.S. Representative from Washington's 10th congressional district[26]
- Adam Smith, U.S. Representative from Washington's 9th congressional district[31]
State legislators
- Steve Bergquist, State Representative (District 11)[24]
- Reuven Carlyle, State Senator (District 36)[23]
- Jamie Pedersen, State Senator (District 43)[32]
- Jesse Salomon, State Senator (District 32)[24]
- Sharon Tomiko Santos, State Representative (District 37)[24]
Seattle city councilmembers
- David Della, former Seattle City Council member (District 7)[24]
- Jan Drago, former Seattle City Council and King County Councilmember (District 4)[24]
- Abel Pacheco, former Seattle City Council member (District 4)[24]
- Tom Rasmussen, former Seattle City Council member (District 6)[24]
Mayors
- Norm Rice, former mayor of Seattle[23]
- Wes Uhlman, former mayor of Seattle[23]
Organizations
Media
Federal officeholders
- Derek Kilmer, U.S. Representative from Washington's 6th congressional district[23]
- Neighborhoods for Smart Streets[23]
Polling
[edit]Graphical summary
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[b] |
Margin of error |
Colleen Echohawk |
Jessyn Farrell |
Lorena González |
Bruce Harrell |
Andrew Grant Houston |
Casey Sixkiller |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Change Research (D)[35][A] | July 12–15, 2021 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 10% | 6% | 12% | 20% | 6% | 4% | 9%[c] | 32% |
Washington Research Group (D)[36][B] | July 13–14, 2021 | 524 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 5% | 4% | 8% | 17% | 4% | 3% | 5%[d] | 55% |
ALG Research (D)[37][C] | May 10–16, 2021 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 7% | 7% | 11% | 23% | 3% | 5% | 3% | 41% |
GQR Research (D)[38][D] | March 23–28, 2021 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 9% | 6% | 19% | 20% | – | – | 8% | 38% |
Forum
[edit]No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||||||
Colleen Echohawk | Lorena González | Bruce Harrell | Arthur Langlie | Lance Randall | Casey Sixkiller | |||||
1 | Jun. 29, 2021 | Downtown Seattle Association |
Chris Daniels Essex Porter |
YouTube | P | P | P | P | P | P |
Results
[edit]By August 6, Echohawk, Farrell, and Houston had all conceded, and Harrell and González were viewed as the winners of the primary.[39][40]
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Bruce Harrell | 69,612 | 34.00 | |
Lorena González | 65,750 | 32.11 | |
Colleen Echohawk | 21,042 | 10.28 | |
Jessyn Farrell | 14,931 | 7.29 | |
Arthur Langlie | 11,372 | 5.55 | |
Casey Sixkiller | 6,918 | 3.38 | |
Andrew Grant Houston | 5,485 | 2.68 | |
James Donaldson | 3,219 | 1.57 | |
Lance Randall | 2,804 | 1.37 | |
Clinton Bliss | 1,618 | 0.79 | |
Omari Tahir-Garrett | 391 | 0.19 | |
Bobby Tucker | 377 | 0.18 | |
Henry Dennison | 347 | 0.17 | |
Stan Lippmann | 323 | 0.16 | |
Don Rivers | 189 | 0.09 | |
Write-in | 386 | 0.19 | |
Total votes | 206,814 | 100.00 |
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Lorena González, city council president
- Bruce Harrell, former city council president
Endorsements
[edit]Endorsements in bold were made after the primary election.
Federal officeholders
- Julian Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, and candidate for President of the United States in 2020[23]
- Pramila Jayapal, U.S. Representative from Washington's 7th congressional district[26]
- Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont, candidate for President of the United States in 2016 and 2020[27]
- Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, candidate for President of the United States in 2020[23]
State senators
- Rebecca Saldaña, State Senator (District 37)[23]
State Representatives
- Liz Berry, State Representative (District 36)[24]
- Nicole Macri, State Representative (District 43)[24]
- Kirsten Harris-Talley, State Representative (District 37)[24]
Mayors
- Mike McGinn, former mayor of Seattle[23]
Seattle city councilmembers
- Lisa Herbold, Seattle City Council member (District 1)[23]
- Andrew Lewis, Seattle City Council member (District 7)[23]
- Tammy Morales, Seattle City Council member (District 2)[23]
- Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council member (District 8)[23]
- Dan Strauss, Seattle City Council member (District 6)[23]
- Mike O'Brien, former Seattle City Council member (District 6)[24]
- Jim Street, former Seattle City Council member (District 6)[24]
Individuals
- Jorge Barón, executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project[23]
Organizations
- Latino Victory Fund[29]
- UFCW 21[24]
Media
Federal officeholders
- Gary Locke, former United States Secretary of Commerce, former governor of Washington[23]
- Marilyn Strickland, U.S. Representative from Washington's 10th congressional district[26]
- Adam Smith, U.S. Representative from Washington's 6th congressional district[31]
State legislators
- Steve Bergquist, State Representative (District 11)[24]
- Reuven Carlyle, State Senator (District 36)[23]
- Jessyn Farrell, former State Representative and candidate for Mayor of Seattle in 2017 and 2021[43]
- Jesse Salomon, State Senator (District 32)[24]
- Cindy Ryu, State Representative (District 32)[24]
- Sharon Tomiko Santos, State Representative (District 37)[24]
- Steve Bergquist, State Representative (District 37)[24]
- Jamie Pedersen, State Senator (District 43)[32]
Seattle city councilmembers
- David Della, former Seattle City Council member (District 7)[24]
- Jan Drago, former Seattle City Council and King County Councilmember (District 4)[24]
- Abel Pacheco, former Seattle City Council member (District 4)[24]
- Tom Rasmussen, former Seattle City Council member (District 6)[24]
Mayors
- Norm Rice, former mayor of Seattle[23]
- Wes Uhlman, former mayor of Seattle[23]
- Charles Royer, former mayor of Seattle[23]
Organizations
- Washington Technology Industry Association[23]
- Washington State Council of County and City Employees[44]
- IAFF Local 27 (Firefighters Union)[45]
Media
Polling
[edit]Graphical summary
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[b] |
Margin of error |
Lorena González |
Bruce Harrell |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Change Research (D)[46][A] | October 12–15, 2021 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.1% | 32% | 48% | 2%[e] | 18% |
Strategies 360 (D)[47] | September 13–16, 2021 | 450 (RV) | ± 4.6% | 33% | 40% | – | 27% |
287 (LV) | ± 5.8% | 37% | 48% | – | 15% | ||
GQR Research (D)[48][D] | September 11–14, 2021 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 45% | 45% | – | 10% |
Elway Research[49] | September 7–9, 2021 | 400 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 27% | 42% | 7% | 24% |
Debates
[edit]No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
Lorena González | Bruce Harrell | |||||
1 | Oct. 14, 2021 | KCTS9 TVW Washington State Debate Coalition |
Mary Nam | [50] | P | P |
2 | Oct. 28, 2021 | KCTS9 TVW Washington State Debate Coalition |
Essex Porter | YouTube | P | P |
Results
[edit]Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Bruce Harrell | 155,294 | 58.56 | |
Lorena González | 109,132 | 41.15 | |
Write-in | 777 | 0.29 | |
Total votes | 265,203 | 100.00 |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Some district(s) also include precincts outside of Seattle.
- ^ a b Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - ^ Art Langlie with 4%; Lance Randall with 3%; James Donaldson and Bobby Tucker with 1%; Omari Tahir-Garrett, Clinton Bliss, Henry C. Dennison, Stan Lippmann, and Don L. Rivers with 0%
- ^ Art Langlie with 3%; Lance Randall with 2%
- ^ "Would not vote" with 2%
Partisan clients
- ^ a b This poll was sponsored by the Northwest Progressive Institute
- ^ This poll was conducted by Seattle-based Democratic political consultants John Wyble and Bill Broadhead, who support Colleen Echohawk for mayor
- ^ This poll was sponsored by Farrell's campaign
- ^ a b This poll was sponsored by González's campaign
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Election Results – November 02, 2021" (PDF). King County Elections. November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- ^ a b Beekman, Daniel (November 4, 2021). "Bruce Harrell has won race for Seattle mayor, defeating M. Lorena González, as vote count continues". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
- ^ a b Beekman, Daniel; Brunner, Jim (December 7, 2020). "Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan won't run for reelection". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "General and Special Elections". Seattle Municipal Archives. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- ^ a b Gutman, David (March 16, 2021). "Bruce Harrell, former Seattle City Council president, is running for mayor". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Taylor, Sarah Grace (December 30, 2021). "Citing spike in COVID cases, Seattle Mayor-elect Bruce Harrell to forgo public inauguration". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Beekman, Daniel (September 6, 2021). "Seattle candidates again vie for 'democracy vouchers' as they pivot to November election". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- ^ Kliff, Sarah (November 5, 2018). "Seattle's radical plan to fight big money in politics". Vox. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cassidy, Benjamin (July 29, 2021). "Who's Running for Mayor in Seattle?". Seattle Met. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Kroman, David (January 25, 2021). "Colleen Echohawk joins race for Seattle mayor". Crosscut. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Golden, Hallie (February 3, 2021). "Colleen Echohawk aims to be Seattle's first indigenous mayor: 'We have to find ways to change'". The Guardian. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
- ^ Gutman, David (March 18, 2021). "Jessyn Farrell, former state representative, announces run for Seattle mayor". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Gutman, David (February 3, 2021). "Seattle City Council President M. Lorena González is running for mayor". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Dubicki, Ray (January 22, 2021). "Andrew Grant Houston is Running for Mayor of Seattle on a Bold Urbanist Platform". The Urbanist. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Brunner, Jim (May 11, 2021). "Art Langlie, grandson of former Seattle mayor and governor, announces mayoral run". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Beekman, Daniel (May 4, 2021). "Casey Sixkiller, a Seattle deputy mayor, launches bid for mayor". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Beekman, Daniel (February 7, 2020). "Seattle Mayor Durkan launches bid for reelection". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ a b c Beekman, Daniel; Gutman, David (December 9, 2020). "Jenny Durkan won't run for reelection. What's it take to become Seattle mayor – and how might that be changing?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Graham, Nathalie (December 7, 2020). "Durkan Won't Run for Mayor in 2021". The Stranger. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
- ^ Kroman, David (January 6, 2021). "Teresa Mosqueda will seek reelection, not Seattle mayor's office". Crosscut. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Santos, Melissa (April 27, 2021). "Joe Nguyen challenging Dow Constantine for King County executive". Crosscut. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Gutman, David (March 10, 2021). "Nikkita Oliver announces run for Seattle City Council, lays out vision for big changes". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an "Endorsements roll in for Seattle mayoral, council races". July 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "Mayoral election in Seattle, Washington (2021)".
- ^ Smith, Rich. "Jessyn Farrell Is Running for Mayor". The Stranger. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Gutman, David (April 1, 2021). "Rep. Pramila Jayapal endorses Lorena González for Seattle mayor". The Seattle Times.
- ^ a b "Former Council President Bruce Harrell leading Seattle's mayoral primary race". August 4, 2021.
- ^ "Seattle mayoral candidates González, Harrell to face off in debate focused on public health and safety". The Seattle Times. October 28, 2021. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has endorsed González as has another progressive East Coast senator, Bernie Sanders.
- ^ a b Rayes, Nathalie (March 30, 2021). "Latino Victory Fund Endorses Lorena González in Historic Bid for Seattle Mayor". Latino Victory.
- ^ "Our Candidates".
- ^ a b Wilson, Reid (July 30, 2021). "Angst grips America's most liberal city". The Hill. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ a b "Harrell, González lead in low-turnout Seattle mayoral primary". August 5, 2021.
- ^ a b "The Times recommends: Bruce Harrell for Seattle mayor". The Seattle Times. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ "Seattle businesses and politicians are at odds. The new Chamber CEO is calling a truce". April 10, 2021.
- ^ Change Research (D)
- ^ Washington Research Group (D)
- ^ ALG Research (D)
- ^ GQR Research (D)
- ^ "First candidates concede as November showdown for Seattle mayor takes shape". August 5, 2021.
- ^ "Bruce Harrell, M. Lorena González eye November race after dominating Seattle's mayoral primary". August 8, 2021.
- ^ "August 3, 2021 Primary".
- ^ "King County August 3, 2021 Primary".
- ^ "Who supports who in Seattle's mayoral election?: This week in politics". August 20, 2021.
- ^ "Major Public Employees Union Endorses Bruce Harrell for Seattle Mayor". August 12, 2021.
- ^ "Firefighters, Democratic Party groups make picks in Seattle mayoral race as PACs rake in cash". September 28, 2021.
- ^ Change Research (D)
- ^ Strategies 360 (D)
- ^ GQR Research (D)
- ^ Elway Research
- ^ YouTube
External links
[edit]Official campaign websites
- Doctor Bliss for Mayor of Seattle
- Colleen Echohawk for Mayor Archived March 12, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- Jessyn Farrell for Mayor Archived March 18, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- Lorena Gonzalez for Mayor
- Bruce Harrell for Mayor
- Andrew Grant Houston for Mayor Archived March 17, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- William Kopatich for Mayor Archived January 21, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- Art Langlie for Mayor Archived May 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- Lance Randall for Mayor Archived January 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- Casey Sixkiller for Mayor