Former, current council presidents lead early polling in race for Seattle mayor
Jul 16, 2021, 3:25 PM | Updated: Jul 19, 2021, 1:06 pm
Bruce Harrell (left) and Lorena Gonzalez (right), candidates for Seattle mayor. (Photo credit: Associated Press / Facebook)
(Photo credit: Associated Press / Facebook)
New polling numbers for Seattle’s major election races were released by the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) on Friday, with former and current city council presidents leading the way in a hotly-contested mayoral race.
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Change Research — on behalf of NPI — surveyed 617 respondents online between July 12 and July 15, asking who they plan to vote for in August’s primary election. For those who said they were undecided, they were then asked who they would vote for “if they had to choose.”
In initial polling, 15% said they plan to vote for former Seattle Council President Bruce Harrell. Another 8% said they would vote for current Council President Lorena Gonzalez for Seattle mayor, while 6% threw their support behind Chief Seattle Club Executive Director Colleen Echohawk. Former state lawmaker Jessyn Farrell and architect Andrew Grant Houston rounded out the top five at 4% and 3% respectively.
After the 54% who said they were undecided were asked to choose a candidate, Harrell ended up with a combined 20% of total votes, followed by Gonzalez at 12%, Echohawk at 10%, and Farrell and Houston at 6% each. Deputy Mayor Casey Sixkiller and Art Langlie — the grandson of former Washington Governor Arthur Langlie — garnered 4% each, followed by economic developer Lance Randall at 3%.
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Demographically, the NPI reports that Harrell was “favored by older voters” for Seattle mayor and “appears well positioned to move on the November general election.” For Gonzalez, her hold on the second spot is believed to be “more tenuous,” with Echohawk trailing close behind.
Harrell also recently took the lead in total fundraising dollars for the first time since the election cycle began, having now pulled in over $430,000 in contributions as of July 13. Echohawk and Houston continue to pull in significant funds as well, having raised $413,000 and $412,000 respectively. Gonzalez has raised roughly $382,000, while Farrell has brought in $241,000.
