Source: Brad Boswell, CleanTech Alliance Lobbyist, November 5, 2019. 206.300.6270, brad@boswellconsulting.org.
Ballots have been cast and preliminary results are now available for the 2019 Midterm General Election. Although ballots are still being processed and will not be considered official until the end of the week, we have a fairly clear picture of the results tonight.
This year, at the state level there were two special elections. Senator Liz Lovelett, appointed in January to fill the seat vacated by Kevin Ranker, is seeking reelection to complete the remainder of her term in the 40th legislative district (Whatcom County). In the 13th district (Yakima), Representative Alex Ybarra is seeking to complete the remainder of his term after stepping into the House seat vacated by Matt Manweller at the beginning of the 2019 legislative session.
Additionally, the ballot contained two notable and contentious measures. I-976, an initiative brought forward by Tim Eyman would cap car tab fees in Washington to thirty dollars, significantly limiting funding for building and maintaining statewide transportation projects. The other measure, Referendum 88, would allow allow Initiative 1000, which passed the legislature in May, to go into effect. I-1000 would officially allow affirmative action policies in the state.
There has also been a lot of action at the local level, most notably in the Seattle City Council races, which has emerged as the most expensive election in Seattle’s history. All seven of the districted city council seats were up this year, and the election has turned largely into a showdown between business backed democratic candidates and further left progressives, who have received attention from progressive national leaders like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Several other local jurisdictions have seen similarly contested races including King County Council and Bellevue City Council.
Currently the state-wide voter turnout is at 21.72% and we are expecting voter turnout to climb to around 40%. Most counties generally report once a day around 4:00 pm and we will continue to update results accordingly for the next several days. Here are the initial results of key races:
WA State – Special Elections
40th District (Whatcom County) – Senate
- Liz Lovelett (D): 68.29%
- Daniel Miller (R): 31.4%
13th District (Yakima) – House
- Alex Ybarra (R) : 75.66%
- Steve Verhey (D): 24.04%
Measures on the ballot
Referendum No. 88 Affirmative Action
- No: 51.18%
- Approve: 48.82%
Initiative 976 Car Tabs
- Approve: 55.41%
- No: 44.59%
Seattle City Council
District 1 (West Seattle/South Park)
- Lisa Herbold: 51.29%
- Phil Tavel: 48.32%
District 2 (Southeast Seattle/Georgetown)
- Tammy Morales: 56.06%
- Mark Solomon: 43.47%
District 3 (Central Seattle)
- Egan Orion: 53.99%
- Kashama Sawant: 45.61%
District 4 (Northeast Seattle)
- Alex Pedersen: 57.78%
- Shaun Scott: 41.88%
District 5 (North Seattle)
- Debora Juarez: 57.24%
- Ann Davison Sattler: 42.28%
District 6 (Northwest Seattle)
- Dan Strauss: 52.27%
- Heidi Wills: 47.14%
District 7 (Pioneer Square to Magnolia)
- Jim Pugel: 50.32%
- Andrew J. Lewis: 49.14%
King County Council
District 2
- Girmay Zahilay: 56.85%
- Larry Gossett: 42.75%
District 4
- Jeanne Kohl-Welles: 73.46%
- Abigail Doerr: 25.90%
District 6
- Claudia Balducci: 76.96%
- Bill Hirt: 22.74%
District 8
- Joe McDermott: 82.13%
- Michael Robert Neher: 17.34%