The 2021 Seattle mayoral election was held on November 2, 2021, to elect the

Mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the Head of government, head of the executive branch of the Government of Seattle, city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, a ...

. It was won by former

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-larg ...

President

Bruce Harrell Bruce Allen Harrell (born October 10, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 57th and current Mayor of Seattle, mayor of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. He was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2008 to 2020. ...

, who defeated then-current President Lorena González; both candidates had advanced from a nonpartisan

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

on August 3. Incumbent mayor

Jenny Durkan Jenny Anne Durkan (born May 19, 1958) is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor, and politician who served as the 56th mayor of Seattle, Washington. She is the daughter of Martin Durkan. Durkan is a member of the Democratic Party. Afte ...

initially sought reelection to a second term in office in February 2020, but withdrew that December due to backlash from her handling of the economic fallout from the

COVID-19 pandemic in Seattle The first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States was announced by the state of Washington (state), Washington on January 21, 2020. Washington made the first announcement of a death from the disease in the United S ...

as well as the

Capitol Hill Occupied Protest The Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), also known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, originally Free Capitol Hill, later the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), was an Occupation (protest), occupation protest and self-declared Autonomo ...

during the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

. Harrell held a 24-point lead over González when she conceded on November 4; his margin of victory was the largest of a non-incumbent candidate in a Seattle mayoral race since the 1969 election of Wesley C. Uhlman. Harrell took over as mayor on January 1, 2022, having previously held the position as acting mayor for five days in September 2017 upon the resignation of Ed Murray; due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, he was sworn in privately the prior week and held a small inauguration ceremony on January 4. The 2021 election was the first in which mayoral candidates were eligible to use Seattle's

democracy voucher Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

s program, which has captured the interest of other cities.

Primary election

Candidates

Declared

*Clinton Bliss, medical doctor and small business owner *Henry Dennison, rail worker and candidate for Governor in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* James Donaldson, activist, former

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

player, and candidate for mayor in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

*Colleen Echohawk, executive director of the Chief Seattle Club * Jessyn Farrell,

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

for the 46th district (2013–2017), candidate for mayor in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

* Lorena González, president of the

(2020–present),

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

city council-member (2015–present) *

, former acting mayor (2017), former president of the

(2016–2020), former city council-member (2008–2016; 2016–2020), candidate for mayor in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

*Andrew Grant Houston, renter, small business owner, and activist *Arthur K. Langlie, businessman and grandson of former

mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the Head of government, head of the executive branch of the Government of Seattle, city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, a ...

and governor of Washington

Arthur B. Langlie Arthur Bernard Langlie (July 25, 1900 – July 24, 1966) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Seattle, Washington and was the List of governors of Washington, 12th and 14th governor of the Washington (state), U.S. state of W ...

*Stan Lippman,

disbarred Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal conduc ...

attorney and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...

*Don L. Rivers, King County Metro worker *Lance Randall, executive director of Southeast Effective Development Seattle *Casey Sixkiller,

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

of Seattle *Omari Tahir-Garrett, activist and candidate for

District 2 in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

*Bobby Tucker, author

Withdrew

, incumbent mayor

Declined

* Gordon McHenry Jr., president and CEO of the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

of King County * Cary Moon, activist, urban planner, and runner-up for mayor in

* Teresa Mosqueda, city councillor ''(endorsed Lorena Gonzalez)'' * Joe Nguyen, state senator (''running for

King County Executive The King County Executive is the elected county executive of King County, Washington. The office was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968. Previously the powers of the county executive w ...

'') * Nikkita Oliver, Attorney, community activist and candidate for mayor in

''(running for

)'' *

Rebecca Saldaña Rebecca Jae Saldaña (born April 1, 1977) is an American politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate from the 37th district, representing parts of Seattle and Renton, Washington. She was appointed by the King County Council to ...

, state senator ''(endorsed Lorena Gonzalez)'' *

Girmay Zahilay Girmay Hadish Zahilay ( ; born May 6, 1987) is an American politician and lawyer who is a member of the King County Council from District 2 in Seattle, Washington. He was elected in 2019, defeating longtime incumbent Larry Gossett. Early life ...

, member of the

King County Council The Metropolitan King County Council, the legislative body of King County, Washington, consists of nine members elected by district. The Council adopts laws, sets policy, and holds final approval over the budget. Its current name and structure is ...

Endorsements

Polling

Graphical summary

Forum

Results

By August 6, Echohawk, Farrell, and Houston had all conceded, and Harrell and González were viewed as the winners of the primary.

General election

Candidates

* Lorena González, city council president *

, former city council president

Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the primary election.

Polling

Graphical summary

Debates

Results

Notes

Partisan clients

References

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Seattle mayoral

Primary election

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Forum

Results

General election

Candidates

Endorsements

Polling

Debates

Results

See also

Notes

References

External links