SEATTLE — Early primary election results show there could be some competitive races for Seattle City Council during the November general election.
With only three incumbents seeking reelection, at least four new faces will be coming to Seattle City Council.
Early primary results show the three incumbents trying to keep their seats, which are Tammy Morales in District 2, Dan Strauss in District 6, and Andrew Lewis in District 7 will most likely advance to the general election.
But Seattle University Politics Professor Patrick Schoettmer said incumbents who receive less than 50% of the vote in the primary should be concerned. Early results, as of Wednesday evening, show District 7's Andrew Lewis in the low 40's.
“If a majority of people in the primary aren't saying, I'm going to stick with the incumbent, that's a big warning sign that they're not really happy with what you've done in the last cycle,” said Patrick Schoettmer.
Schoettmer said District 3’s Kshama Sawant stepping down from her seat will change Seattle city politics due to her being the most progressive councilmember.
“She would stake out really strong positions on the left, which would give other progressive, but not quite as far left members of the council, room to maneuver and appear to compromise, while still staking out a really progressive position,” said Schoettmer.
Schoettmer said primary numbers show strong competition in District 2, between current Councilmember Tammy Morales and community activist Tanya Woo.
“It just tells us that, when it comes to November, that is going to be one of the races to watch,” said Schoettmer.
Councilmember Morales said she feels like her lead will widen as more votes arrive, and that she plans to focus on public safety, affordable housing, and small businesses if re-elected.
“Our Office of Economic Development has been working with me to start to develop some community wealth building strategies,” said Morales. “So that's going to be important because it's not just our residents who are getting pushed out of the city, it's our small businesses as well.”
District 2 challenger Tanya Woo said she has worked in the community for years trying to improve the issue of affordable housing by creating workforce housing and creating a community watch group to improve public safety.
“We kind of consider ourselves the alternative to policing,” said Woo of the Chinatown–International District Community Night Watch, which she launched in 2020. “At the same time, we work with first responders. We go out into encampments and provide mutual aid and meals.”
Woo said they try to connect people in the encampments to services and resources.
As the counting of primary election votes continues, Schoettmer said votes that come in later tend to benefit progressive candidates.
“So, we really have wait and see, at least until the end of the week, maybe even into early next week, before we start flashing any warning signs for any of them,” said Schoettmer.
The results for the primary races must be certified two weeks after the election. Then, the top two candidates from each race will campaign for the general election in November.