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The 2025 Seattle mayoral election is scheduled to be held on November 4, 2025, with a primary election that was held on August 5, 2025. [1] Incumbent mayor Bruce Harrell is running for re-election to a second term. He is being challenged by community organizer Katie Wilson, who placed first against Harrell in an upset during the August nonpartisan primary. [2] The two advanced to the general election amidst a field of six other candidates.
Harrell announced his campaign for a second term in December 2024, and entered the race with the endorsement of numerous Washington government officials. [3] Harrell was initially considered to be heading to an easy re-election. [4] [5] If re-elected, Harrell would become the first Seattle mayor elected to a second term since Greg Nickels in 2005.
In a February 2025 special election, Seattle voters passed Proposition 1A, which created a new business tax to fund social housing, over Proposition 1B, an alternative proposal endorsed by Harrell and business leaders that would have pulled funding for social housing from an existing tax. [6] [7] The result was widely considered to be a victory for Seattle's progressive wing, and a rebuke of Harrell heading into an election year. [8]
Community organizer and activist Katie Wilson's entry into the race in March was considered to be a significant progressive challenge to Harrell. Wilson, the co-founder and general secretary of the Seattle Transit Riders Union and a former columnist for Cascade PBS, had led activist campaigns for expanded public transportation access, minimum wage increases, and tenant protections across the Seattle area. Wilson said the passage of Proposition 1A had inspired her campaign. [4] As of the campaign filing deadline in May, Wilson was the second-highest fundraising candidate in the race, after Harrell. [9] Another high-profile progressive challenger was actor Ry Armstrong, the only candidate other than Harrell and Wilson to raise more than $100,000 in funding by the campaign filing deadline in mid-May. [9]
Around the May filing deadline, several additional candidates entered the race. Joe Mallahan, former T-Mobile US vice president and runner-up in the 2009 Seattle mayoral election, became another high-profile entrant. Mallahan lost to Mike McGinn by just 7,200 votes in 2009. [10] Capitol Hill business owner Rachel Savage cited Mallahan's entry and wealth as her reason for bowing out of the race and running for Seattle City Council District 8 instead. [11] Harrell would ultimately face seven primary challengers, including Wilson, Armstrong, and Mallahan. [12]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Bruce Harrell | Joe Mallahan | Katie Wilson | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change Research (D) [48] [A] | July 23–25, 2025 | 651 (LV) | ± 4.1% | 29% | 3% | 27% | 1% [b] | 24% |
| 33% [c] | 3% | 31% | 3% [d] | 27% |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katie Wilson | 98,562 | 50.75 | |
| Bruce Harrell (incumbent) | 80,043 | 41.21 | |
| Joe Mallahan | 8,538 | 4.40 | |
| Ry Armstrong | 2,120 | 1.09 | |
| Clinton Bliss | 2,046 | 1.05 | |
| Isaiah Willoughby | 817 | 0.42 | |
| Joe Molloy | 799 | 0.41 | |
| Thaddeus Whelan | 716 | 0.37 | |
| Write-in | 588 | 0.30 | |
| Total votes | 198,071 | 100.00 | |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Bruce Harrell | Katie Wilson | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change Research (D) [54] [A] | July 23–25, 2025 | 651 (LV) | ± 4.1% | 37% | 40% | 24% |
| Change Research (D) [55] [A] | May 10–14, 2025 | 522 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 25% | 18% | 56% |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Harrell (incumbent) | |||
| Katie Wilson | |||
| Write-in | |||
| Total votes | 100.00 | ||
Any favorable reshuffle grew even less likely for Harrell on Wednesday, when businessman Joe Mallahan, who took a distant third place with 4%, endorsed Wilson.
