In the early days of 2025, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell was viewed as the overwhelming favorite to win reelection. His polling numbers were decent, his possible challengers were few and he’d consolidated support from both moderate and progressive figures in Washington politics.

Then came Tuesday’s primary election.

Harrell is trailing Katie Wilson, general secretary of the left-wing Tenant Riders Union. The results, which are likely to worsen for Harrell as more ballots are counted, threw out any notion that a second Harrell term was inevitable and, in fact, made him the underdog heading into the general election. As of Wednesday, Wilson was at 48% and Harrell at 43.5%.

Sandeep Kaushik, political consultant and lobbyist, said everything changed for Harrell when President Donald Trump was

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