KING COUNTY, Wash. — The race to lead King County, one of the most powerful local offices in Washington state, remains too close to call as the first ballot returns were released Tuesday night .

Girmay Zahilay and Claudia Balducci are vying to replace former Executive Dow Constantine, who announced he would not seek reelection after nearly 15 years in office. The new executive will oversee 18,000 county employees and a multi-billion-dollar budget, steering policy on housing, public safety, transportation and homelessness across the region.

With early results within a two-point margin, the race was tantamount to a coin flip as of Tuesday night.

"Our message was simple: government has to work! That means delivering on affordable housing, high quality public transit, food security, and

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