2021 Seattle City Attorney election

Last updated

2021 Seattle City Attorney election
 2017November 2, 20212025 
Turnout54.57% [1]
  3x4.svg Nicole Thomas Kennedy 36th District Democrats Endorsement Interview.jpg
Candidate Ann Davison Nicole Thomas-Kennedy
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Popular vote132,638122,947
Percentage51.5%47.7%


City Attorney before election

Pete Holmes
Democratic

Elected City Attorney

Ann Davison
Republican

The 2021 Seattle City Attorney election was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent City Attorney Pete Holmes sought reelection to a fourth term in office, but came third place in the officially nonpartisan August 3 primary election and failed to advance to the general election, with both Nicole Thomas-Kennedy and Ann Davison finishing ahead of Holmes in the primary. Davison defeated Thomas-Kennedy in the general election.

Contents

Primary election

Candidates

Declared

Withdrawn

Endorsements

Pete Holmes
Statewide officeholders
State legislators
Judges
Local officeholders
Seattle city councilmembers
Organizations
Individuals

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [lower-alpha 2]
Margin
of error
Ann
Davison
Pete
Holmes
Nicole
Thomas-Kennedy
OtherUndecided
Change Research (D) [upper-alpha 1] July 12–15, 2021617 (LV)± 4.3%14%16%14%4% [lower-alpha 3] 53%

Results

Nonpartisan primary results [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Nicole Thomas-Kennedy 71,367 36.39
Nonpartisan Ann Davison 64,179 32.72
Nonpartisan Pete Holmes (incumbent)60,09330.64
Write-in 5000.25
Total votes196,139 100.00

General election

Candidates

Declared

Debate

2021 Seattle City Attorney debate
No.DateHostModeratorLink Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Ann Davison Nicole Thomas-Kennedy
1Oct. 7, 2021Seattle ChannelBrian Callanan YouTube PP

Endorsements

Ann Davison
Federal officeholders
  • Daniel J. Evans, former U.S. Senator (1983–1989) and Governor of Washington (1965–1977) [11]
Governors
Mayors
Seattle city councilmembers
Judges
  • Bobbe Bridge, former Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court [18]
  • Phil Talmadge, former Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court (Democrat) [18]
  • Ronald Cox, former Presiding Chief Judge of the Washington Court of Appeals [18]
  • Ann Schindler, former Presiding Chief Judge of the Washington Court of Appeals [18]
  • Bruce Hilyer, former Presiding Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Laura Inveen, former Presiding Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Sharon Armstrong, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Greg Canova, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Terrence Carroll, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • John Erlick, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Deborah Fleck, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Michael Heavey, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • J. Kathleen Learned, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Barbara Linde, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Nicole MacInnes, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Barbara Mack, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • George Mattson, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Richard McDermott, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Jeffrey M. Ramsdell, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Palmer Robinson, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Carol Schapira, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Mariane Spearman, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Julie Spector, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Jay White, former Judge of the King County Superior Court [18]
  • Kimi Kondo, former Presiding Judge of the Seattle Municipal Court [18]
  • Ed McKenna, former Presiding Judge of the Seattle Municipal Court [18]
  • Judith Montgomery Hightower, former Judge of the Seattle Municipal Court [18]
Local officeholders
Organizations
Media
Individuals
  • Scott Lindsay, former Public Safety Advisor for Seattle mayor Ed Murray and candidate for Seattle City Attorney in 2017 [21]
Nicole Thomas-Kennedy
State legislators
Mayors
Seattle city councilmembers
Local officeholders
Organizations
Media
Individuals

Campaign finance

Candidate totals raised are as of filings on or before November 2, 2021 and totals spent reflect expenditures up to October 25, 2021. Independent expenditures are up-to-date as of filings on or before November 1, 2021.

CandidateCampaign committeeIndependent expenditureReferences
RaisedSpentForAgainst
Ann Davison $439,216.26$370,194.11$9,930.34$14,000.00 [42] [43] [44] [45]
Nicole Thomas-Kennedy$428,408.98$348,061.48$1,176.29$425,462.86 [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55]

Polling

Graphical summary
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [lower-alpha 2]
Margin
of error
Ann
Davison
Nicole
Thomas-Kennedy
OtherUndecided
Change Research (D) [upper-alpha 1] October 12–15, 2021617 (LV)± 4.1%43%24%2% [lower-alpha 4] 30%
Strategies 360 (D) September 13–16, 2021450 (RV)± 4.6%19%16%65%
287 (LV)± 5.8%26%19%55%
Elway Research September 7–9, 2021400 (LV)± 5.0%26%22%8% [lower-alpha 5] 45%

Results

General election results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Ann Davison 132,638 51.49
Nonpartisan Nicole Thomas-Kennedy122,94747.73
Write-in 2,0040.78
Total votes257,589 100.00

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Some districts also include precincts outside of Seattle.
  2. 1 2 Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  3. "Would not vote" with 4%
  4. "Would not vote" with 2%
  5. "Neither One" And "No Opinion" with 4%
Partisan clients
  1. 1 2 This poll was sponsored by the Northwest Progressive Institute

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Official campaign websites