Seattle Elects Democratic Socialist

Seattle’s election of Katie Wilson as mayor comes days after New York chose Zohran Mamdani, giving two major cities socialist leaders.

People take in a view of the skyline in Seattle, Washington on June 10, 2021. David Ryder/Getty Images

Seattle will be led by a democratic socialist after incumbent Bruce Harrell, a Democrat, conceded the city’s mayoral race on Nov. 13 following the counting of final ballots to self-described socialist Katie Wilson.

Wilson pulled ahead as later-arriving mail ballots were tallied under Washington’s all-mail election system, which allows ballots postmarked by Election Day, which was Nov. 4, to be counted.

In an interview on Nov. 14 with CNN’s Erin Burnett after the race was called, Wilson said that while she does not “shy away from the label” socialist, she “certainly didn’t run on it,” and said voters “care a lot less about labels than they do about results.”

For her, she said, “being a socialist is really, first of all, it’s about a belief in good governance,” adding that it is “really damaging when people lose faith in the ability of their government to successfully tackle big challenges, when they lose faith in their government’s ability to deliver services for the people.”

Wilson officially took the lead in the race on Monday, Nov. 10, from which Harrell never bounced back. The latest unofficial election results, updated on Nov. 17, had Wilson just over 2,000 votes ahead.

Harrell spoke to supporters in a speech on Nov. 13, saying he had called “Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson to congratulate her on a hard-fought victory.” He told the crowd that his administration would “begin the transition work without hesitation” and said he looked forward to welcoming Wilson to City Hall “in the near future.”

Harrell said his loss is part of a broader shift in who is participating in Seattle politics. Citing voter turnout, he said there were “12,000 more ballots of people who voted, new people with new ideas” and “over 15,000 new registered voters” since his win in 2021.

“We have to listen to these young voices,” he said, saying that many feel “their voices are not being heard.”

Wilson, speaking a short time later, described her victory as a mandate for “a new direction” on affordability and governance. She told supporters that when the year began, she “had no intention of running for any type of political office,” but decided to launch a campaign nine months ago because she believed “the people of Seattle and its government were out of step, that voters were in search of a new direction, and that our problems required new leadership.”

She described the campaign as a grassroots effort “funded through Seattle’s pioneering democracy voucher program and powered by volunteers.”

Wilson laid out an agenda centered on homelessness, housing costs, child care, and public transit.

“I want everyone in this great city of ours to have a roof over their head,” she said.

She called for universal child care, expanded mass transit, and more community control of land and wealth, and said working people were “ready for something new, something more hopeful and just and equitable.”

Wilson claimed wealthy interests “poured nearly $2 million into a political action committee to prevent my election.”

“They might have the money, but we had the people,” she said.

She said volunteers knocked on “over 52,000 doors since the primary election.”

Her win comes days after New York City elected Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state lawmaker and self-described democratic socialist, as mayor.

Mamdani publicly welcomed Wilson’s win. On X, he wrote, “Congratulations to Seattle’s Mayor-elect @wilsonformayor! Seattle voters made their voices heard: they want a new kind of politics—one that rejects corporate PAC money and delivers for working people. From one Mayor-elect to another, wishing you the best. Seattle is in great hands.”

Wilson replied that she was proud to join Mamdani “in the fight” for a democracy built around affordability, housing, and safety, adding, “From NYC to Seattle: this is your city.”

Wilson said she would govern as both mayor and community organizer.

“I will not stop being a community organizer when I step into the mayor’s office,” she said.

She pledged to “be a mayor for everyone” and said what she can deliver will “depend on the support and the pressure and the people power” residents build in the years ahead.

Seattle faces a sizable budget deficit, and Wilson signaled she will pair spending reviews with new taxes aimed at higher-income residents and businesses.

She said her administration would examine “the ways that the city is spending money” and was “not averse to ending spending on programs” that are not meeting their goals.

“We will need to pursue new progressive revenue in order to fund our priorities and make sure that we’re delivering services to the people of Seattle,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.