Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell concedes to progressive activist Katie Wilson
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 - Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell conceded the election to Katie Wilson during an address Thursday afternoon at City Hall.
In a concession speech at City Hall on Thursday afternoon, Harrell said he had congratulated Wilson in a "delightful" call.
"I feel very good about the future of this country and this city still," he said.
It was the first time the public was hearing from Harrell following projections that challenger Katie Wilson will unseat him in one of the closest mayoral contests in recent city history.
Harrell, a Democrat who previously served three terms on the City Council, led in early results. But Washington conducts all-mail elections, with ballots postmarked by Election Day. Later-arriving votes, which historically trend more liberal, broke heavily in Wilson's favor, adding to a progressive shift to the left nationally.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell concedes election to Katie Wilson
Bruce Harrell on Thursday conceded to Katie Wilson in the race for Seattle mayor, after one of the closest mayoral contests in city history.
Local perspective:
But Trump’s return to office, and his efforts to send in federal agents or cut funding for blue cities, helped reawaken Seattle’s progressive voters. The lesser-known Wilson, a democratic socialist, ran a campaign that echoed some of the themes of progressive mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in New York. She trounced Harrell by nearly 10 percentage points in the August primary and quickly became favored to win the mayor's office.
Wilson, 43, has never held elected office, and she will be working with a relatively new City Council: Only two of the seven council members have served more than one term.
Wilson studied at an Oxford University college in England but did not graduate. She founded the small nonprofit Transit Riders Union in 2011 and has led campaigns for better public transportation, higher minimum wages, stronger renter protections and more affordable housing. She herself is a renter, living in a one-bedroom apartment in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, and says that has shaped her understanding of Seattle’s affordability crisis.
Wilson criticized Harrell as doing too little to provide more shelter and said his encampment sweeps have been cosmetic, merely pushing unhoused people around the city. Wilson also painted him as a City Hall fixture who bore responsibility for the status quo.
Harrell, 67, played on the Rose Bowl champion University of Washington football team in 1978 before going to law school. His father, who was Black, came to Seattle from the segregated Jim Crow South, and his mother, a Japanese American, was incarcerated at an internment camp in Minidoka, Idaho, during World War II after officials seized her family’s Seattle flower shop — experiences that fostered his understanding of the importance of civil rights and inclusivity.
During the campaign, Harrell said Wilson, who has no traditional management experience, wasn’t ready to lead a city with more than 13,000 employees and a budget of nearly $9 billion.
Both candidates touted plans for affordable housing, combating crime and attempting to Trump-proof the city, which receives about $150 million a year in federal funding. Both want to protect Seattle’s sanctuary city status.
Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson delivers victory speech
Katie Wilson will become the next mayor of Seattle, unseating Bruce Harrell after making a major comeback in the race, shocking many Seattle voters.
Wilson has proposed a city-level capital gains tax to help offset federal funding the city might lose and to pay for housing; Harrell says that idea is ineffective because a city capital gains tax could easily be avoided by those who would be required to pay it.
Wilson scheduled a news conference for later Thursday.
Harrell's full remarks and Wilson's conference can be watched on fox13seattle.com, on the FOX LOCAL app for TV and mobile devices, and on FOX 13 Seattle’s TikTok and YouTube channel.
Keep reading to learn more about the Seattle 2025 mayoral race.
Tight race for Seattle mayor appears decided after latest ballot count
By the numbers:
As of Thursday, Wilson held 50.2% of the vote compared to Harrell’s 49.47%, a margin of 2,018 votes, according to King County Elections.
Officials said nearly all ballots have been counted, with only a few late-arriving and challenged ballots still being processed.
Latest Seattle mayoral election results
The race currently doesn't fall within the threshold to trigger a mandatory recount, as Wilson leads by over 2,000 votes and exceeds the 0.5% voting difference requirement.
Election results are scheduled to be certified Nov. 25, after which either candidate could request a recount within two business days.
Katie Wilson's path to victory
Wilson’s projected win caps a steady comeback since election night, when Harrell led by more than 7%. Late-counted ballots, historically leaning progressive in Seattle, shifted heavily in her favor over several days.
Once certified, Wilson will become the third woman to serve as mayor of Seattle, following Bertha Knight Landes and Jenny Durkan.
Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson delivers remarks after election win
Seattle Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson addressed the public following Bruce Harrell's announcement that he was conceding the mayoral race.
Who is Katie Wilson?
What we know:
Before entering the mayoral race, Katie Wilson was best known as the co-founder and executive director of the Transit Riders Union, where she helped design the ORCA LIFT program to provide reduced fares for low-income riders.
Her campaign centered on housing affordability, homelessness, tenant protections, and climate action. Wilson also pledged to limit home purchases by private equity firms and "Trump-proof" Seattle by reinforcing local progressive policies.
Wilson’s endorsements included labor unions, housing advocates, and several former City Councilmembers, including the Transit Riders Union, UAW 4121, and Seattle Subway.
Bruce Harrell's tenure, campaign
Local perspective:
Mayor Harrell, who took office in January 2022, campaigned on public safety, economic recovery, and accountability after navigating Seattle through the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A former Seattle City Council president and council member from 2008 to 2020, Harrell was elected mayor after a decisive 2021 victory. His administration focused on police recruitment, downtown revitalization, and efforts to reduce visible homelessness.
His 2025 campaign emphasized "results-driven leadership," but Wilson’s supporters accused the incumbent of overstating progress on affordable housing.
Seattle mayor race recount unlikely
Dig deeper:
Under Washington law, a mandatory recount occurs if the difference between candidates is less than 2,000 votes and less than 0.5% of total ballots cast.
Wilson’s lead of 2,018 votes and percentage margin of 0.73% meets both conditions, meaning there currently would not be an automatic recount.
Either candidate can still request a recount, though they must pay the cost: $0.25 per ballot for a hand recount or $0.15 per ballot for a machine recount.
King County officials say all ballots currently at their facilities have been counted, but about 1,320 ballots with signature challenges remain. Voters have until Nov. 24 at 4:30 p.m. to resolve those issues.
Looking ahead to the transition in Seattle
What's next:
If results are certified later this month, Wilson will take office in January 2026, as Seattle’s next mayor.
Her administration will immediately face pressure to deliver on promises of housing, climate action and public safety reform in a city still grappling with affordability challenges and the lingering effects of the pandemic.
FOX 13 Seattle will provide live coverage of Harrell's event, with analysis and updates throughout the day on-air, online and through the FOX LOCAL app.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the city of Seattle, Mayor Bruce Harrell and his campaign and Katie Wilson and her campaign, The Associated Press, and FOX 13 Seattle's election projection and analysis.