Girmay Zahilay officially next King County executive as Claudia Balducci concedes

King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay is officially the next King County executive.

King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci conceded Friday, congratulating her former opponent.

“I want to congratulate my colleague, Executive-Elect Zahilay, on the victory and thank him for a spirited contest of ideas about how to lead King County through these tumultuous times,” Balducci wrote in a prepared statement. “He has my full support, and I look forward to continuing working with him going forward. Throughout this campaign, we heard frequently that voters thought highly of both candidates. This puts us in a rare position in politics today to end an election campaign unified rather than divided and well-aligned to work in tandem for the best interest for all of King County going forward.”

Zahilay gained even more ground over Balducci on Monday with 53.9% of the vote (320,259 votes), while Balducci had 44.8% of the vote (266,201 votes).

“I’m grateful and humbled that so many voters placed their trust in me in these tumultuous times,” Balducci continued in her statement. “Our message was simple: government has to work! That means delivering on affordable housing, high quality public transit, and public safety. This message resonated throughout all corners of the county, and it is what I plan to continue working for on the council. I know Executive-Elect Zahilay will too in his administration.”

On Thursday, Zahilay held 51.7% of the vote (202,623 votes), while Balducci had 47.0% (184,304 votes).

Zahilay grew his initial lead on Wednesday, garnering 50.5% of the vote (160,021 votes), while Balducci had 48.1% (152,455 votes).

Balducci remains hopeful in King County executive race after first results

In the first results Tuesday night, Zahilay took 50.0% of the vote (133,804 votes), while Balducci had 48.4% (129,459 votes).

“There’s a lot left to count, and it is so much closer than it was on primary night,” Balducci told KIRO Newsradio after results dropped. “And I think we have to wait and see what the trend is over the next few days.”

But even though Balducci didn’t win, serving the community will always be at the forefront.

“No matter what happens, we’re both going to be leaders at King County, and we need the county to succeed for the people we represent, which means we need each other to succeed, and we’re going to have to work well together, and I expect that we will absolutely continue to work well together,” she said.

Dow Constantine announces he is not seeking reelection

Last November, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced that he is not seeking reelection in 2025, after holding the title for 15 years — the longest anyone has served as executive in King County since 1968. Constantine officially became the CEO of Sound Transit four months later.

Zahilay took a sizeable lead in August’s primary election. He earned 202,007 votes (44.0%) compared to Balducci’s 136,479 votes (29.8%).

But, according to a Civic Heartbeat Survey commissioned by the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI), Balducci holds a slight lead (37% to 35%) over Zahilay. According to a conversation with The Seattle Times, Andrew Villeneuve, director of NPI, revealed that the poll’s result was one of the “closest results we’ve ever seen in our polling.”

Zahilay left corporate law to serve on the King County Council, a position he has held for the past six years. Balducci’s background in government roles is dense, with her career starting as the director of King County’s Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention after she worked as a lawyer for the Northwest Women’s Law Center.

Balducci then served on the Bellevue City Council and the King County Council for more than a decade each. She was even the mayor of Bellevue for two years.

Both candidates are self-described “progressive Democrats,” vying for more affordable housing, more efficient public transit, and more protections against the Trump administration’s flurry of executive orders.

Gov. Bob Ferguson, state Attorney General Nick Brown, and U.S. Reps have endorsed Zahilay. Pramila Jayapal and Adam Smith.

Balducci has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer, and 19 different King County mayors.

John Wilson bows out of race for King County executive

King County Assessor John Wilson suspended his campaign for King County executive in June after he was arrested last week for allegedly violating a restraining order filed by his ex-fiancée, Lee Keller.

Although Wilson was arrested, no charges were filed against him. In October, Wilson announced, via a prepared statement, that the case between him and his former fiancée had been dropped.

He also announced that he is not seeking reelection as assessor because “the county deserves better.” Several King County council members were calling for Wilson’s resignation after he was arrested.

Follow @http://twitter.com/Mynorthwest