Spend Election Night with MyNorthwest, KIRO Radio

Live Election Results:

Follow the live Election Day results on MyNorthwest.com. Find out if Washington’s gun laws will change, whether there will be any Congressional upsets, if Seattleites want to pay for preschool, and whether Republicans gain control of the Senate.

Listen and Watch:

Celebrate Election Night and get updated on the results with KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz and Dave Ross, and KTTH’s Michael Medved. They host our Election Night coverage from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. heard on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM. The experts will break down what all these results really mean to the country and Washingtonians. You’ll hear the jubilation and heartbreak as our team learns about the winners and losers.

Watch the LIVE in-studio stream to find out what happens in the studio on one of the biggest nights of the year. Hands will be flying, papers will be torn, and tempers are sure to flare. You don’t want to miss seeing the KIRO Radio studio behind-the-scenes.

Hosting KIRO Radio 97.3 FM’s Election Night:

Jason Rantz – Running the show on Election Night, Jason promises to analyze every issue at every angle.

Dave Ross – The Crusader of Common Sense looks at every issue and candidate with a non-partisan approach.

Michael Medved – National host for KTTH, Michael is confident the country needs more Republicans in the Senate.

Mobile:

Use your phone to check LIVE results and listen in or watch our team of experts break down the results on Election Night.

What matters on Election Night:

Two competing gun initiatives top this week’s election, when voters will also weigh in on congressional and legislative contests across Washington state.

The measures that are drawing the most attention — and money — are the competing gun measures, Initiatives 594 and 591.

Initiatives:

I-594 — which brought in more than $10 million, including donations from prominent figures like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg — is seeking to expand the state’s current background check laws to require checks on private transactions, including private sales at gun shows.

I-591 would prevent any such expansion from occurring, prohibiting government agencies from conducting any checks beyond the national standard, which requires the checks for sales or transfers by licensed dealers but not for purchases from private sellers. It also would prohibit the confiscation of weapons without due process.

Voters also will decide on Initiative 1351, which would set lower class sizes at every grade level.

Candidates:

While there are no statewide offices on the ballot, the matchup that is getting the most attention is the 4th Congressional District race between Republicans Dan Newhouse and Clint Didier to replace U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, who is retiring after two decades in the seat.

Newhouse, a former state legislator and director of the state Department of Agriculture has outraised Didier, a former NFL star and now a farmer and tea party candidate. Newhouse has also secured support from most mainstream conservatives and the National Rifle Association.

The remaining nine U.S. House seats are also contested, with the incumbents seeking re-election. In the Legislature, all 98 House seats are in the mix, as are 25 Senate seats. Currently in the Legislature, a mostly Republican coalition holds a 26-23 advantage in the Senate, and Democrats hold a 55-43 advantage in the House.

The combined amount raised by all of the legislative races has exceeded $25 million, with several million focused on a handful of key Senate races.

Sen. Andy Hill, a Republican from Redmond who is the key budget writer in that chamber, has raised the most of any candidate this year — nearly $1 million — in his race against Democratic challenger Matt Isenhower in the Senate’s 45th District.

Justices:

Four state Supreme Court justices are seeking re-election this year, but only two face opponents.

Justice Mary Yu is running unopposed to fill out the two years remaining in the term of retired Justice James Johnson. Yu is a former King County Superior Court judge who was appointed to the high court by Gov. Jay Inslee In May.

Justice Mary Fairhurst, who has served on the court since 2003, also faces no opposition in her bid for a third six-year term.

Justices Debra Stephens and Charles Johnson face nominal opposition in their bids for re-election. Stephens’ opponent is John “Zamboni” Scannell, a disbarred attorney, and Johnson is opposed by Pierce County attorney Eddie Yoon.

Seattle preschool:

Voters will also weigh in on local races and other measures, including in Seattle, where voters are being asked to decide whether they want to see a new preschool program in their city, and then are asked to choose just one of two proposals.

Proposition 1B would establish a new local property tax to pay for a pilot program that aims to make education free for 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families and would subsidize preschool for others. It would also put money into teacher training and try to help more schools reach the state quality standards.

Proposition 1A would take money out of the city’s existing budget to be used for teacher training and for a study on how to make preschool more affordable for all.

Voter turnout:

Voters started receiving their ballots in the middle of October and have until Tuesday night to get them postmarked or to put them in specialized drop boxes around the state. Of the 3.9 million ballots sent to registered voters, about 25 percent had been returned by Saturday.

David Ammons, a spokesman for Secretary of State Kim Wyman, said that even absent top-of-the-ballot statewide races like a governor’s race to drive turnout, “there’s plenty of good reason to vote this year.”

Ammons said that they are predicting that voter turnout will end up at about 62 percent — lower than the 71 percent during the last midterm election in 2010, but better than 56 percent in 2002, the last midterm without a Senate race.

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The Associated Press’ Rachel La Corte contributed to this report.