Race Tightens as Votes Tallied for Seattle Mayor

City Atty. Mark Sidran has closed King County Councilman Greg Nickels’ lead in the Seattle mayor’s race to 1,640 votes, King County election officials said.

Sidran won about 14,000, or 57%, of the nearly 25,000 ballots counted in the latest tally. Overall, Nickels has 50.6% of the vote, or 67,674, to Sidran’s 49.4%, or 66,034.

An estimated 35,000 to 45,000 absentee ballots remain to be counted. If the final results show the candidates to be within 0.5 percentage points of each other, there will be an automatic recount. Final results were to be certified Nov. 21.

Nickels had led by 7,200 votes, 54% to 46%, on election night.