Two King County Councilmembers, Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay, are engaged in a competitive race to become the county’s next executive.
Last November, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced he would not seek reelection in 2025 after holding the position 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 secured a substantial lead in August’s primary election. He earned 202,007 votes (44.0%) compared to Balducci’s 136,479 votes (29.8%).
However, according to a Civic Heartbeat Survey commissioned by the Northwest Progressive Institute, Balducci holds a slight lead (37% to 35%) over Zahilay. According to conversations, Andrew Villeneuve, director of NPI, revealed that the poll’s result represented 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 extensive, 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 Bellevue’s mayor for two years.
Both candidates are self-described “progressive Democrats,” advocating for more affordable housing, more efficient public transit, and more protections against the Trump administration’s executive orders.
Governor Bob Ferguson, state Attorney General Nick Brown, and U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Adam Smith have endorsed Zahilay.
Balducci has been endorsed by U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland, Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer, and 19 different King County mayors.
King County Assessor John Wilson suspended his campaign for King County executive in June after he was arrested for allegedly violating a restraining order filed by his ex-fiancée.
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 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.
The tight polling between Balducci and Zahilay despite his commanding primary lead demonstrating the volatility of general election campaigns, with Balducci’s post-primary momentum erasing the 14.2 percentage point deficit through aggressive campaigning, effective messaging, or demographic shifts as lower-turnout primary voters give way to broader general electorate.
Dow Constantine’s 15-year tenure representing the longest King County Executive service since 1968 creating enormous institutional shoes to fill, with his departure ending an era of Democratic governance that saw Sound Transit expansion, progressive criminal justice reforms, and regional coordination that his successor must either continue or redirect.
Constantine’s transition to Sound Transit CEO four months after his retirement announcement providing convenient landing spot leveraging his transit advocacy experience, with the move ensuring Constantine remains influential in regional transportation policy while creating executive vacancy triggering the competitive race between two sitting councilmembers.
Zahilay’s 44.0% primary performance compared to Balducci’s 29.8% suggesting he entered the general election as prohibitive favorite, with the nearly 15-point margin typically proving insurmountable in races where the top two primary finishers advance to November ballot.
The Northwest Progressive Institute Civic Heartbeat Survey showing Balducci ahead 37% to 35% representing dramatic reversal from primary results, with the two-point margin well within typical polling margins of error creating genuine toss-up where either candidate could prevail depending on voter turnout and late-deciding voters.
NPI Director Andrew Villeneuve’s characterization as the “closest results we’ve ever seen” emphasizing the race’s competitiveness, with the neck-and-neck polling suggesting that King County voters remain deeply divided between the two progressive candidates whose policy differences appear minimal requiring voters to distinguish based on experience, leadership style, or endorsements.
Zahilay’s corporate law background before joining the council representing private sector experience less common among progressive politicians, with his six-year council tenure providing governmental experience while his legal training potentially informing his policy approaches to contracts, regulations, and institutional frameworks.
Balducci’s “dense” government experience spanning multiple roles demonstrating deep public sector expertise, with her career trajectory from corrections director to Northwest Women’s Law Center attorney to Bellevue Council to King County Council creating comprehensive knowledge of county operations that Zahilay’s shorter tenure cannot match.
The Adult and Juvenile Detention directorship providing Balducci with firsthand criminal justice system experience, with her leadership of county jail operations potentially informing her perspectives on incarceration, bail reform, and alternatives to detention that represent contentious progressive policy debates.
The Northwest Women’s Law Center legal work establishing Balducci’s progressive credentials on gender equity issues, with the nonprofit’s advocacy for reproductive rights, workplace discrimination, and domestic violence potentially resonating with female voters who comprise majority of King County electorate.
The decade-plus service on both Bellevue City Council and King County Council demonstrating Balducci’s electoral durability, with her repeated reelection victories suggesting constituent satisfaction and political acumen surviving scrutiny across multiple campaigns in both suburban Eastside and countywide contexts.
The two-year Bellevue mayorship providing executive experience directly relevant to the county executive role, with her leadership of Washington’s fifth-largest city offering management credentials that Zahilay lacks having never served in executive governmental positions.
The “progressive Democrats” characterization by both candidates reflecting King County’s leftward political orientation, with the label signaling alignment on most policy issues making the race less about ideological differences than competence, experience, and coalition-building abilities.
The affordable housing emphasis representing crucial issue for King County where median home prices exceed $800,000 and homelessness affects thousands, with both candidates’ housing advocacy reflecting voter priorities though their specific approaches to zoning, subsidies, and developer regulations may differ in implementation details.
The public transit efficiency focus acknowledging Sound Transit’s struggles with cost overruns and construction delays, with the next county executive inheriting responsibility for regional coordination as light rail expansion continues requiring integration with bus systems, parking, and land use planning.
The Trump administration protections emphasis demonstrating how federal politics shapes local races, with both candidates positioning themselves as bulwarks against immigration enforcement, environmental rollbacks, and civil rights threats that progressive King County voters fear from the Republican administration.
Governor Bob Ferguson’s endorsement of Zahilay carrying substantial weight given his popularity in King County, with the governor’s backing potentially influencing Democratic voters who admire Ferguson’s legal challenges to Trump during his previous attorney general tenure.
Attorney General Nick Brown’s Zahilay endorsement adding statewide Democratic establishment support, with the backing suggesting Zahilay has cultivated relationships with state leadership that could facilitate county-state coordination on shared priorities.
U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Adam Smith representing the progressive and moderate wings of King County’s Democratic congressional delegation, with their joint Zahilay endorsement creating unusual unity bridging the party’s internal ideological spectrum.
U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland’s Balducci endorsement providing South Sound perspective, with the Tacoma-area congresswoman’s support potentially resonating with Pierce County voters in southern King County suburbs who identify more with Strickland’s pragmatic progressivism than Seattle’s further-left politics.
Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer’s endorsement adding statewide elected official support for Balducci, though the insurance regulator’s lower profile compared to governor or attorney general potentially limiting the endorsement’s impact on voter decision-making.
The 19 King County mayors backing Balducci representing powerful coalition of local elected officials, with the municipal support suggesting that city leaders who would work closely with the county executive prefer Balducci’s collaborative approach and trust her based on her Bellevue mayoral experience.
John Wilson’s campaign suspension following restraining order violation arrest creating third-wheel dynamic that disappeared, with his exit from the race potentially redistributing his supporters between Balducci and Zahilay though his relatively weak showing before withdrawal suggests limited impact.
The no charges filed outcome leaving ambiguity about the allegations’ validity, with Wilson avoiding criminal prosecution but suffering political consequences that ended both his executive campaign and assessor reelection bid demonstrating how scandal affects careers regardless of legal outcomes.
Wilson’s “the county deserves better” resignation statement acknowledging that his continued service would create distractions, with the self-aware departure potentially preserving some dignity while council members’ resignation calls indicated his political position had become untenable regardless of criminal case dismissal.
