Sara Nelson conceded in the Seattle City Council Position 8 race, leaving top vote-getter Teresa Mosqueda to face Jon Grant in the Nov. 7 finale.
Sara Nelson conceded the Seattle City Council Position 8 race Thursday, leaving top vote-getter Teresa Mosqueda to face Jon Grant in the Nov. 7 finale.
In what had been a tight battle for second and a spot on the general-election ballot, Grant dramatically extended his edge over Nelson to 3,567 votes in Thursday returns. His advantage stood at 877 votes Wednesday.
“Because it is unlikely that I will be able to make up sufficient votes in subsequent drops to proceed to the general election, I am conceding the race,” Nelson said in an emailed statement early Thursday evening.
A business owner and former council aide, Nelson was supported by business interests including the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
She had hoped after Wednesday’s returns to flip the conventional wisdom that late votes tend to break for left-leaning candidates. But Thursday’s returns dealt her a tough hand, as it appeared Grant’s lead would grow in coming days.
She said he hoped her campaign would “inspire other like-minded folks” to run for council in 2019.
Mosqueda’s advantage over Grant grew to 8,100 votes Thursday as she reached 32 percent of the vote. Grant’s share was 25 percent.
Mosqueda is a labor-movement leader backed by Democratic Party groups, while Grant, an affordable-housing activist is supported by socialist groups.
Incumbent M. Lorena González increased her share of the vote to 63 percent for council Position 9. Neighborhood activist Pat Murakami has a lock on second with 20 percent, as no other candidate in the race has topped 9 percent.