Former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan led urban planner and waterfront activist Cary Moon by 20 percentage points in the Seattle mayoral race Tuesday evening as the first election returns came in.
Durkan just over 60 percent of the vote as Tuesday while Moon had just under 40 percent. That's more than 22,000 votes between them.
"I have to tell you we are feeling really, really good about where we are," Durkan said to a crowd of supporters at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle.
Before the drop, Moon's campaign said they would have been comfortable with a 10 point deficit. But in a speech Tuesday night, Moon did not concede the race, saying she looked forward to the next few days.
"Seattle late voters may surprise everyone. We believe the ballot counts will swing in our direction over time, and we're not out of the race yet," Moon said in an emailed statement.
Ever since The Seattle Times first reported about men coming forward to say that former Mayor Ed Murray sexually abused them decades ago, this race has been fiercely competitive. Murray has denied the allegations, but dropped out of the race earlier this spring, which prompted a crowded 21-candidate primary.
Durkan and Moon emerged from the August primary. Murray resigned from office a month later.
The candidates differ somewhat in their positions on issues such ashousing,homelessness and policing.
Because of the resignation, the winner will take office as soon as the election results are certified on Nov. 28 instead of in January.
Whoever wins will also be the first woman to be mayor since Bertha Knight Landes, who served from 1926 to 1928.
