Bruce Harrell concedes to Katie Wilson in race for Seattle mayor

Bruce Harrell concedes Seattle mayoral race to Katie Wilson

Incumbent Bruce Harrell has conceded to Katie Wilson in the 2025 Seattle mayoral race, as the latest election results continued to have the challenger leading.

SEATTLE - Bruce Harrell on Thursday conceded to Katie Wilson in the race for Seattle mayor, after one of the closest mayoral contests in city history.

Harrell made the announcement during a press conference at City Hall on Thursday, more than a week after election night. The incumbent Bruce Harrell led Wilson by around 8% the day after polls closed, but in the following days, Wilson rapidly shrunk that lead and eventually overtook him by Monday, Nov. 10.

Bruce Harrell gives address

What they're saying:

"I just spoke with Mayor-elect Katie Wilson to congratulate her on a hard-fought victory," Harrell said. "I let her know that our team is standing by to […] begin the transition work without hesitation and that I look forward to welcoming her to City Hall in the near future, and I wish her well, and it was a very delightful conversation […] and I feel very good about the future for this country and city, still."

Harrel joked that he was both the 54th and 57th Mayor of Seattle — alluding to his five-day stint at the head of city government in 2017 after then-Mayor Ed Murray's resignation.

"I've said repeatedly that this job does not belong to one person, it certainly didn't belong to me. I simply borrowed the title of the Mayor to enjoy the wonderful opportunity to serve the public, and it's been my absolute honor, the honor of my lifetime to serve in this role," said Harrell.

Who is Bruce Harrell?

Bruce Harrell speaks on early lead in 2025 election

Bruce Harrell speaks with FOX 13 following his early lead in the Seattle mayoral race, currently beating challenger Katie Wilson by over 8,000 votes.

Harrell ran in 2021 on a platform of public safety and boosting police funding, following the 2020 George Floyd protests in Seattle. He also ran on addressing homelessness, though the Wilson campaign has accused him of grossly inflating the numbers of affordable housing units built under his watch.

Harrell helped Seattle navigate out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw an influx of jobs and federal dollars return to the city, as well as the sunsetting of pandemic-era policies like the eviction moratorium and mask mandates.

Before he was mayor, Harrell served as Seattle City Council President from 2016–2020, and before that as a Seattle City Councilmember from 2008–2016. He previously ran for mayor in 2013 against incumbent Mike McGinn, then dropped out to endorse Ed Murray. In 2017, in the wake of several child sex abuse allegations, Murray resigned and Harrell served as acting mayor for five days.

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