GOP strategist: ‘Depressingly low turnout’ shows lack of voter excitement

The first batch of results for several general election races across Washington has been released, with key races, including the Seattle mayor’s race, still undecided.

As ballots continue to be counted and more information is released for who will lead different parts of the state in various positions, Republican strategist Randy Pepple joined “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio to gauge the city’s participation in the election and which party has been more enthusiastic about casting their ballot.

“I see an electorate that is not very excited. Once again, we have a depressingly low turnout for races that are important,” Pepple said. “Seattle mayor, King County Executive, multiple city races, and you’re just not seeing voter interest. And so to that degree that there was any voter motivation on this side, it certainly appears to be on the left.”

As of this reporting, the incumbent mayoral candidate, Bruce Harrell, holds a nearly 10,000-vote lead on the challenger Katie Wilson. Harrell holds 53.32% of the vote against Wilson’s 46.18%, with additional results to be revealed at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

“It certainly helped that [Harrell] started telling voters that they could be put at risk by electing somebody who really has no experience to do the job,” Pepple said. “I certainly think that Mayor Harrell should be concerned because he’s at 53%. In the last decade, it’s become much more common for the late ballots that come in after election night to go vastly toward the most liberal candidate in the field. That’s what I think Harrell needs to be concerned about.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.