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Katie Wilson defeated incumbent Bruce Harrell in the November 4 general election for mayor of Seattle.

Although Seattle’s mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan, both candidates were Democrats. This race was one of several 2025 mayoral contests that media outlets and political observers said highlighted splits in the larger Democratic Party, in this case between self-described Democratic socialist Wilson and the more centrist or moderate Harrell.^[1]

Wilson, a community activist and executive director of Seattle’s Transit Riders Union, described herself as both a Democratic socialist and a progressive Democrat.^[2] Wilson's campaign website said, “The incumbent mayor has been a fixture in city hall since 2008. More people are sleeping unsheltered on our streets than ever before. Working families are struggling to stay afloat. We can do so much better. And as we face unprecedented national threats, we must do better.”^[3]^[4] Several local Democratic organizations, including the King County Democrats, and Seattle’s 34th, 36th, 37th, and 43rd District Democrats endorsed Wilson. The Transit Riders Union, PROTEC17, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 3000 also endorsed Wilson.^[5] ^[6]

Harrell was first elected in 2021, when he defeated M. Lorena González 58.6%-41.2%. Before he was elected mayor, Harrell was a lawyer and a member of the Seattle City Council from 2008 to 2020. According to the Seattle Times, Harrell was the city's longest-serving politician.^[7]Media outlets described Harrell as a moderate or centrist Democrat.^[8] In interviews, Harrell said he had a record of sponsoring progressive legislation on the city council.^[9] Harrell ran on his record. His campaign website said, “We’ve delivered public safety solutions, kept parks and sidewalks open and accessible while moving people into shelter and housing with services, made historic investments in affordable housing, prioritized a transportation system focused on safety, and passed nation-leading climate legislation. But there is more work to do – this is the time for proven leadership.”^[10] Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg (D), Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D), Attorney General Nick Brown (D), and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) endorsed Harrell. ^[11]

Wilson's win made Harrell the city’s fourth consecutive mayor to serve a single term. The last incumbent to win re-election was Greg Nickels in 2005.^[12]

Ballotpedia reports: Harrell vs. Wilson, Seattle mayoral election, 2025

On September 11, 2025, City Inside/Out hosted a debate between Wilson and Harrell. During the debate, the candidates discussed housing, public safety, the city budget, and the mayor's role in responding to the Trump Administration's policies.^[13]

One issue the candidates differed on was funding for the city's new social housing developer, a public development authority created to develop, own, and maintain social housing in Seattle. On Feb. 11, Seattle voters approved Proposition 1A, a citizen initiative that established a new tax on payroll expenses to fund the social housing developer.^[12]^[13]

During the debate, Wilson said, "Seattle voters have twice told us now overwhelmingly that they want the city to build permanently-affordable, publicly-owned, mixed-income housing. ...We need city leadership that's going to fight to make it work. And Harrell … has done nothing but try to undermine that project."^[13]

Harrell said, "We have supported social housing corporation from the beginning. The only issue was how can it be funded. ... We wanted it to be funded in the existing payroll expense tax because we need those businesses to stay in Seattle."^[13]

Another topic the candidates differed on was the proposed use of CCTV surveillance technology in the city, which Harrell supported and Wilson opposed.^[13]

Wilson said, “The necessity of fighting Trump and protecting our immigrant and refugee communities and other vulnerable communities is exactly why I have grave concerns about the CCTV surveillance legislation, which our mayor supports and has transmitted to council. Because that proposal is to greatly increase the cameras around our city at a very sensitive time.”^[13]

Harrell said, “People of color and people from immigrants and refugees communities … are asking me for tools to become safe. We will address all of the concerns about federal overreach… I will never allow my community to be over-surveilled by government technology. The safeguards are in place… and I will issue another executive order to assure those people that have concerns that their issues are addressed.”^[13]

Seattle also held elections for city attorney and city council on November 4, 2025.

The filing deadline for this election was May 9, 2025.

This article covers the general election. For more information about the nonpartisan primary, click the link below:

Mayoral election in Seattle, Washington, 2025 (August 5 nonpartisan primary)

Candidates and election results

Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.

Candidates and results

	← 2021
2025 Seattle elections
Election dates
	Filing deadline: May 9, 2025
	Primary election: August 5, 2025; General election: November 4, 2025
Election stats
	Offices up: Mayor
	Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections);
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General election

General election for Mayor of Seattle

Katie Wilson defeated incumbent Bruce Harrell in the general election for Mayor of Seattle on November 4, 2025.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Katie Wilson (Nonpartisan)	50.4	138,489
	Bruce Harrell (Nonpartisan)	49.6	136,513

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 275,002
= 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 Mayor of Seattle

The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of Seattle on August 5, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Katie Wilson (Nonpartisan)	50.7	98,562
✔		Bruce Harrell (Nonpartisan)	41.2	80,043
		Joe Mallahan (Nonpartisan)	4.4	8,538
		Ry Armstrong (Nonpartisan)	1.1	2,120
		Clinton Bliss (Nonpartisan)	1.1	2,046
	Submit photo	Isaiah Willoughby (Nonpartisan)	0.4	817
		Joe Molloy (Nonpartisan)	0.4	799
	Submit photo	Thaddeus Whelan (Nonpartisan)	0.4	716
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	588

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 194,229
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Alexander Barickman (Nonpartisan)
David Tuniman (Nonpartisan)

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Washington elections, 2025

What's on your ballot?

Click here to find out!

February 11, 2025

April 22, 2025

King County, Washington, Proposition 1, Property Tax Levy for Regional Automated Fingerprint Identification System Measure (April 2025)

August 5, 2025

November 4, 2025

Voting information

See also: Voting in Washington

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: November 4, 2025
By mail: Received by October 27, 2025
Online: October 27, 2025

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

Washington is an all-mail voting state. In Washington, every voter receives a mail-in ballot by default. Voters may submit completed ballots by mail or place them in a ballot drop box. Voters can also vote in person at a voting center.

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: November 4, 2025
By mail: Postmarked by November 4, 2025

Was early voting available to all voters? Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates? October 17-November 4, 2025

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required? Non-photo ID required

When were polls open on Election Day? 8:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Bruce Harrell

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office:

Mayor of Seattle, Washington (Assumed office: 2022)
Mayor of Seattle, Washington (2017-2017)
Seattle City Council District 2 (2008-2020)

Biography: Harrell earned a bachelor's degree and a J.D. from the University of Washington. His career experience includes working as chief legal advisor to the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund and chief counsel to US West.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Harrell ran on his record, saying, "We’ve delivered public safety solutions, kept parks and sidewalks open and accessible while moving people into shelter and housing with services, made historic investments in affordable housing, prioritized a transportation system focused on safety, and passed nation-leading climate legislation."

Harrell's campaign website said his top priority was public safety: "We’ve made great strides– rebuilding our police department to reduce crime, improve response times, decrease gun violence, and increase police staffing (highest application rate in a decade). ... We’ll accelerate these strategies to bring peace of mind to every resident."

Harrell's campaign website said he would focus on affordable housing and homelessness: "We’ve dedicated over $1 billion toward affordable housing, cutting red tape to accelerate new housing, doubling housing capacity over the next decades, and reducing unauthorized tent encampments by 80% with record numbers of shelter referrals, placements, and connections to service."

Show sources

Sources: Bruce Harrell 2025 campaign website, "Home," accessed June 30, 2025; LinkedIn, "Bruce Harrell," accessed June 30, 2025

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Seattle in 2025.

Katie Wilson

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography: Wilson studied physics and philosophy at Oxford University. Her career experience included working as the co-founder and executive director of the Transit Riders Union (TRU). Her other experience included being a political columnist for Cascade PBS, PubliCola, The Urbanist, and The Stranger.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Wilson ran on her experience as an activist. Her campaign website said, "I have a proven record of bringing together powerful coalitions, taking on corporate interests, and winning major victories that improve ordinary people’s lives. Over the past fourteen years of organizing in Seattle and across King County, I've learned how city hall works — and how it too often fails to work for us."

On housing, Wilson's campaign website said she would "open 4,000 new units of emergency housing and shelter in four years," "pursue a $1 billion bond for union-built affordable housing" and "clamp down on bad-actor landlord practices."

On public safety, Wilson's campaign website said she would "improve the City’s record on violence prevention and response", "address drug and disorder hotspots by scaling up proven programs," "expand alternative crisis response and other civilian roles, so police can focus on policing," and focus on"policing that is responsive, trustworthy, and accountable."

Show sources

Sources: Katie Wilson 2025 campaign website, "Home," accessed June 30, 2025;Katie Wilson 2025 campaign website, "Affordable and Abundant Housing," accessed June 30, 2025;Katie Wilson 2025 campaign website, "Get Results on Homelessness," accessed June 30, 2025;Katie Wilson 2025 campaign website, "Public Safety," accessed June 30, 2025; Katie Wilson 2025 campaign website, "About," accessed June 30, 2025

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Seattle in 2025.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign ads

Bruce Harrell

Progress

Supporters

Affordable Housing Investments

View more ads here:

Katie Wilson

This is Your City!

View more ads here:

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Election spending

Campaign finance

Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the Washington State 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.^[14]^[15]^[16]

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.

Election context

Ballot access requirements

Information on ballot access requirements for candidates can be found here.

Election history