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Democrat Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell cruised towards reelection in a heavy blue city in the Pacific Northwest earlier this year, hoping to become Seattle’s first mayor to win reelection in 20 years.
However, after long-time progressive organizer Katie Wilson jumped into the race in March, Harrell’s path to securing a second term has become much more steep.
Political commentators compared to New York City’s Zohran Mamdani were soon on the forefront of many of the mayor’s challengers.
Progressive champion Warren says Mamdani “takes a walk”
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell will face eight challengers on August 5, 2025 at the primary. (Matt Hayward/Getty Images)
Tuesday’s primary will reduce the current nine candy date field to two in the November general election.
“My re-election is supported by over 100 current and former elected officials, labor and affordable housing, environment, community and transportation leaders,” Harrell wrote on social media last week. “We are proud of the wide and diverse coalition we have built to keep Seattle moving forward.”
Harrell was elected in 2021. This is because Seattle was beginning to recover from the violent protests and riots that shook the city after the murder of George Floyd.
During his tenure as mayor, he has worked to improve public safety, tackle homelessness, and help struggling businesses recover. The mayor has highlighted a decline in crime throughout the city since he took office.
But Wilson, a transit activist and co-founder of the Transit Rider Union, criticizes Harrell and argues that he is focusing on demolishing homeless encampments rather than boosting shelters. Wilson argues that Harrell, who served three terms on the city council before winning the election as mayor, is part of the political status quo that allowed the city’s cost of living to skyrocket.
Senator Top Dem reveals how socialist Mamdani should look: “You’re a bet”
Like Mamdani, a democratic socialist who shook the country’s political world by topping former government Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates in late June to acquire a mayoral reserve player for New York City, Wilson is in the spotlight on affordable prices.
“Since Bruce Harrell first took over, housing costs have doubled,” she emphasized in a social media post.
However, unlike Mamdani, Wilson does not identify him as a democratic socialist.
Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist seen at a press conference on July 30, 2025, shook the national political world in late June with his future victory, winning the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City. (Photo of Kyle Mazza/Anadoru via Getty Images)
Wilson remains competitive with the incumbent mayor in the campaign’s fight for cash. The latest polls at the race showed a close contest between Harrell and Wilson, with former T-Mobile executive and 2009 mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan a very distant third.
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Ry Armstrong, the executive director of an actor running a progressive campaign and environmental nonprofit, as well as five other candidates in the poll, barely signed up in the recent poll.
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in swing state in New Hampshire. He covers campaign trails from coast to coast. ”
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