Girmay Zahilay

This candidate participated in a 2025 battleground election. Click here to read more about that election.

Girmay Zahilay is a member of the King County Council in Washington, representing District 2. Zahilay assumed office on January 8, 2020. Zahilay's current term ends on January 1, 2028.

Zahilay ran for election for King County Executive in Washington. Zahilay won in the general election on November 4, 2025.

Biography

Zahilay received a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a business attorney before founding Rising Leaders, Inc. in 2015, which was a mentorship nonprofit for low-income middle school students.^[1]^[2]

2025 battleground election

See also: County executive election in King County, Washington (2025)

Ballotpedia identified the November 4, 2025, general election as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.

Girmay Zahilay defeated Claudia Balducci in the nonpartisan general election for county executive of King County, Washington, on November 4, 2025. The county executive leads county employees, manages the biennial budget, and delivers services to county residents.^[3]

This was the first election since 2009 in which former incumbent Dow Constantine was not on the ballot. Constantine resigned in March 2025 to become CEO of Sound Transit. The King County Council appointed Shannon Braddock interim county executive on April 1, 2025. Braddock did not run for election following her appointment.^[4]^[5]

Zahilay and Balducci advanced from the primary on August 5, 2025. They defeated six other candidates, with Zahilay receiving 44.2% of the vote and Balducci 29.8%. Though the position was officially nonpartisan, both Zahilay and Balducci were Democrats.^[6]

Zahilay and Balducci served on the King County Council. The Cascadia Advocate's Henry Leyden wrote, "[Balducci and Zahilay] have repeatedly voiced agreement on values, principles, and policy directions. Both are emphasizing housing, public safety and transportation as priorities in their campaigns, and both would govern as progressives. That has led many Democratic activists and nonprofit leaders to conclude that King County will be in good hands regardless of which frontrunner prevails."^[7]

Despite these similarities, Democrats and progressive organizations split their endorsements between the two. Notable endorsements for Zahilay included Gov. Bob Ferguson (D), Washington Attorney General Nick Brown (D), U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D), and Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.^[8] Notable endorsements for Balducci included Washington Auditor Pat McCarthy (D), U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D), The Seattle Times, and SEIU Local 925.^[9]

Zahilay was a business attorney and was elected to King County Council District 2 in 2019. The council unanimously appointed him chair on January 14, 2025.^[10] He said he was running "because he believes we can extend safety and opportunity to every resident. ... He will work to attract major employers while nurturing a supportive landscape for small businesses. He will champion safe neighborhoods so that small businesses can thrive and cut red tape so they can prosper. He will support strong labor standards and good pay, and do everything possible to promote a healthy workforce."^[11]^[12]

Balducci was a labor attorney and was elected to King County Council District 6 in 2015. She said, "We deserve to feel and be safe in our communities – which is why I have delivered public safety solutions from support for law enforcement to crime prevention, and behavioral health responses. Our communities are growing increasingly expensive – which is why I fight for expanded access to affordable housing and convenient, sustainable transportation options. I’m excited for the opportunity to bring my experience, perseverance and proven record to the office of County Executive."^[13]^[14]

The county executive serves four-year terms. However, the winner of this election only served a three-year term following the passing of Amendment 1 in 2022, which moved King County elections from odd years to even years. The winner of the county executive election in 2028 returned to serving a four-year term.^[15]^[16]

Elections

2025

General election

General election for King County Executive

Girmay Zahilay defeated Claudia Balducci in the general election for King County Executive on November 4, 2025.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Girmay Zahilay (Nonpartisan)	53.2	258,558
	Claudia Balducci (Nonpartisan)	45.5	221,087
	Other/Write-in votes	1.2	5,910

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 485,555
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for King County Executive

The following candidates ran in the primary for King County Executive on August 5, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Girmay Zahilay (Nonpartisan)	44.0	202,007
✔		Claudia Balducci (Nonpartisan)	29.8	136,479
		Derek Chartrand (Nonpartisan)	11.5	52,626
	Submit photo	John Wilson (Nonpartisan)	8.1	37,109
	Submit photo	Rebecca Williamson (Nonpartisan)	2.1	9,459
		Amiya Ingram (Nonpartisan)	1.8	8,353
		Bill Hirt (Nonpartisan)	1.6	7,209
		Don Rivers (Nonpartisan)	0.9	4,205
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	1,224

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 458,671
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Election campaign finance

Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. Click here to access those reports.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[17]^[18]^[19]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate
Claudia Balducci Girmay Zahilay

Endorsements

Zahilay received the following endorsements.

Legis. District 1, Wash., Democratic Party
Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates
Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates of Washington
Seattle Transit Riders Union
Washington Conservation Action
Washington Education Association