Establishment mayor of Seattle to face a Mamdani style activist in November runoff

The longtime progressive activist Katie Wilson will face the outgoing mayor Bruce Harrell during the general elections of November after obtaining the first two places in the non -partisan primary mayor on Tuesday.

Wilson obtained approximately 46% of the 45% votes of Harrell, according to reports Fox 13.

“Tonight, we have obtained even better results that we hoped, and it will probably be to improve,” wrote Wilson on X. “Seattle, you have presented yourself! It is clear that the voters want change. It’s your city. Join the campaign, and do that!”

Widely known for its role in the creation and continuation of directing the left -wing transit union, Wilson Champions of progressive positions such as minimum wage increases, the best access to public transport and affordable housing. She also undertook to “resist Trump” the city of Seattle, and was compared to Zohran Mamdani of New York by political experts.

Harrell, who sat at the Seattle Municipal Council for more than a decade before being elected mayor in 2021, was considered the candidate of the establishment in the race.

The candidate for the town hall of Seattle comes to “bypass” the elected city

Progressive activist Katie Wilson and Mayor Bruce Harrell head to the general elections to be the next mayor of Seattle. (Katie Wilson campaign; Getty Images)

The two candidates have raised much greater campaign war chests than the other seven candidates who ran in Tuesday primary, according to Seattle Ethics and Record Elections.

Harrell, who has received nearly 100 mentions from current elected officials, has narrowly defeated Wilson with regard to fundraising before the primary, reports just over $ 500,000, according to documents. Wilson, on the other hand, reported about $ 475,000 in contributions to the campaign.

Going to the general elections, Wilson hopes to prevent Harrell from becoming the first mayor of Seattle to win the re -election in two decades.

The Democratic Party needs “generational change”, says the former White House official

Meanwhile, Wilson criticized Harrell for being more focused on the dismantling of homeless camps than strengthening the availability of shelters and accused him of being part of the political status quo.

The Democratic candidate for town hall Zohran Mamdani speaks during a rally at the headquarters of the hotel and game shops in New York on July 2, 2025. (AP photo / Richard Drew)

“We need leadership that will listen to the voters and govern in the interest of people in the city and not contributors,” Wilson said, referring to Harrell, in a March interview with PBS. During the interview, Wilson cited Harrell’s work on affordable housing, arguing that he was “the face of the campaign to undermine” a proposal that would have stimulated the development of affordable housing.

But Harell defended his record as mayor, praising the local news of my northwest that his administration “reported more than a billion dollars in affordable housing”.

Image of the Seattle Horizon line from 2017. (Reuters / Chris Helgren)

“My re -election is supported by more than 100 current and old elected officials, work and affordable housing, environment, community and transport leaders,” Harrell wrote on social networks last week. “I am proud of the broad and diversified coalition that we built to advance Seattle.”

Click here to obtain the Fox News app

The next general elections that will see Wilson and Harrell will face the head are scheduled for Tuesday, November 4.

Paul Steinhauser from Fox News Digital and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.