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Editor’s Note: About than an hour after we published this story, Spokane County had an early ballot drop, changing the results in some cases. We have noted the races where the new data changed the leader, but not rewritten the story to encompass any of the new numbers. The next ballot drop is schedule for Nov. 10, 2025.
Across the state and the country, the takeaway as results roll in from Election Day on Tuesday is that Democrats and their policies are winning big.
From Zohran Mamdani’s victory against establishment candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican red-beret-wearing Curtis Sliwa in the New York mayoral race to victories for Democrats in the approval of California’s Proposition 50 to fight gerrymandering in Texas with gerrymandering of their own and landslide victories in two gubernatorial races, it was coined “the night Democrats finally stopped losing,” by Politico.
Here in Washington, the blue wave continued. Seattleites voted for a sharp turn from ostensibly business-focused-technically-Democrats to truer, bluer progressives in their city council races and could still see progressive mayoral candidate Katie Wilson (heralded as the more awkward West Coast Mamdani) overtake more moderate incumbent Bruce Harrell, if late votes continue to go her way. Across the state, Democrat incumbents are winning most legislative races.
While the blue bump didn’t seem to shift the balance of power in most of the races in the more rural areas of the county, Spokane city saw the same trend: liberals, progressives and their policies carried the polls.
Spokane City Council races
Spokane City Council District 1
Outcome: WAY too close to call
Update: Shortly after the publication of this story, more ballots dropped. Dixit now leads Bingle 5,732 votes to 5,679. The next ballot tabulation is 11/102025.
While the victor of the race is still close to call, Spokane’s District 1 saw the biggest shift to the left of all city races, where progressive challenger Sarah Dixit currently sits less than 1% behind conservative incumbent Jonathan Bingle.
When Bingle originally won his seat in 2021, it was by a hefty margin of 13 points. His seatmate, fellow conservative Council Member Michael Cathcart won his reelection bid in 2023 by a similar margin — about 12%.
In the first ballot drop Tuesday night, Dixit was down 202 votes, a full 2.5%. But in both subsequent drops, Dixit has won the majority of ballots. On Wednesday, she closed the gap to 184 votes and on Thursday, she won about 60% of the votes counted in that batch, bringing her just 68 votes behind Bingle.
Dixit is the only progressive city council candidate to have gained points in the subsequent ballot drops after election night.
Though it voted for presidential candidate Kamala Harris in 2024 by 5 points, District 1 is thought of as the last red stronghold in the city, sending the only two conservative reps to the council.
It’s also the most economically disadvantaged and transit-reliant district in the city, which could explain some of Dixit’s surprising success: her campaign echoed nationwide messaging putting affordability at the forefront. A huge contrast point between her and Bingle was her support of public transit and transit-oriented development, while Bingle suggested at a forum that the region should contract with Uber instead and has opposed bus rapid transit.
Other interesting notes in this race, regardless of how it swings: Dixit raised less money than both her opponent, and the two other Democratic party-endorsed candidates in city races. In fact, despite claims that it was outside influence in the form of Seattle donor dollars boosting her campaign, Dixit raised less money than every other candidate running for city council this year.
This race also had the lowest independent expenditure (IE) spending of all the races, with less than $10,000 of independent money going in. It was a sharp drop off for Bingle, who received nearly $150,000 of IE money in his favor when he ran in 2021.
Whether the progressive gain in the district can be attributed to the nationwide blue bump, a grassroots ground game or something else entirely, this race is one we’re keeping a very close eye on.
Unless more ballots arrive, there are roughly 3,000 votes left from District 1 left to count, which means if Dixit wins more than 51% of what’s left, she could flip the council seat. Even if she loses, the margin will be slim — perhaps so slim that a recount would be mandated, if Dixit and Bingle are separated by less than 1%.
Spokane City Council District 2
Outcome: Telis win
It looks like District 2 will never get to find out if candidate Alejandro Barrientos actually met the residency requirements, because in the race without an incumbent, Democratic party-endorsed Kate Telis has notched a decisive victory.
On election night, 60.66% of the vote in D2 went in Telis’ favor, with Barrientos sitting at 38.82%. In subsequent ballot drops, Telis’ lead has shrunk, but only marginally, and she’s now winning 59.82% of the vote.
While both Telis and Barrientos identified as aligned with the Democrat Party, Barrientos saw a wave of financial support from conservatives. The county Republican party posted in support of him on social media, and political action committees that have traditionally supported conservatives in local races dumped more than $168,000 into IEs in his favor.
So if you consider Telis the more liberal of the two, her current margin of victory also marks a leftward swing: progressive Council Member Paul Dillon won his 2023 election in that district with 53% of the vote against conservative/independent (depending on who you ask) candidate Katey Treloar.
Spokane City Council District 3
Outcome: Zappone win
Incumbent Zack Zappone will be representing District 3 for another four years (or less, if he does end up running for a higher office).
Election night numbers showed Zappone up 54.52% to challenger Christopher Savage’s 45.05%, and while Savage has gained a little bit of ground in subsequent ballot drops, Zappone still sits at 53.78%, a decisive 8-point lead.
Of the three Democrat Party-endorsed candidates, Zappone received the most IE support in his favor, with $22,335.08 from Eastern WA Freedom for All PAC, Fuse Votes and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Greater WA supporting him.
His showing isn’t quite as strong as his seatmate Council Member Kitty Klitzke’s was in 2023, when she won 59.40% of the votes against conservative Earl Moore in her race for an open seat, but it is stronger than his first run in 2021, when he beat conservative Mike Lish by just 262 votes.
Together Spokane
Parks Levy – Prop 1
Outcome: Passing
The Parks Levy part of the “Together Spokane” package is passing, with voters approving it at 55.15% to 44.81% as of Thursday night’s ballot drop. The levy needs 50% of votes to pass. Earlier in the week, results were hovering at just above 54%, so approval is trending up as we get more ballots counted. The levy will raise $240 million over the next 20 years to fund new park projects and improvements throughout the city.
School Bond – Prop 1
Outcome: Likely to pass
The school bond part of the combo package is a little less certain, but does appear poised to pass. The bond needs 60% of votes to pass, and as of Thursday’s ballot drop, is at 61.12% to 38.83%. This is up from the 60.7% range it’s been holding the entire week, so it’s likely to hold. The bond will raise $200 million over the next 20 years to build new schools, renovate old ones and accomplish a lot of projects with the city’s parks department.
Spokane Valley City Council
The four races for the Spokane Valley city council favored conservatives and incumbents with the sole exception of seats without an incumbent. Well start with that one:
Council Position No. 1
Outcome: Mike Kelly win
This seat was vacated by Rod Higgins, the retiring conservative council member and former Spokane Valley mayor perhaps most known for his unflinching defense of former state Representative Matt Shea when Shea was found by an independent investigation to have engaged in domestic terror. Kelly, also a conservative who sits on Spokane Valley’s planning commission, campaigned on a platform of limited government. Last month, he seemed to break with those conservative values during a forum for candidates to weigh in on local climate change policies: he advocated for “European-style” zoning policies that allow businesses and multi-family housing to coexist in city buildings. This would alleviate sprawl in the notorious spread out Spokane Valley, which is characterized by wide and fast streets that are dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. His winning margin, as of November 6, sat at 58.05% against his opponent Kristopher Pockell’s 41.45%. Write-ins accounted for the remaining .33%.
Now, for the incumbents:
Council Position No. 4
Outcome: Ben Wick win
Wick has served on the council since 2012, with the exception of one year. He also served a stint as mayor from 2020 to 2021. He works in IT and several other fields at Spokane Industries, and campaigned on an anti-tax platform — with one caveat. He was a vocal defender of the city council’s historic push to increase the size of the Spokane Valley Police Department, which added 12 positions last year and continues to hire new officers and pour resources into the department. That effort is partly funded through a ballot measure approved by voters in August that created a new public safety sales tax of .1%. He was one of two votes on the seven-member council against a controversial resolution this year that declared “Spokane Valley is not a sanctuary city,” meaning that, if it didn’t break state law, the council would want the SVPD to help federal agents enforce immigration law. As of Thursday’s ballot drop, Wick had earned 67.42% of the vote, against his opponent Daryl Williams’ 31.71%. Voters wrote in .69%.
Council Position No. 5
Outcome: Pam Haley win
Haley currently serves as mayor — a seat position that in Spokane Valley sits on the council and is chosen every two years by the body — was elected to the Position 5 seat. During her time in that office, Haley ran unsuccessfully in the primary for the District 4 state Senate seat in 2024. She has served on the council since 2016 and, like Wick, campaigned on a platform promoting an increase in the size of the police department and lower taxes. Haley voted in favor of the council sanctuary city resolution, saying the move brought the city in line with state law. Last year, Haley nominated a slate of candidates to the city’s planning commission without vetting them. As of November 6, she had received 54.31% of the vote to challenger Catherine Nelson’s 43.92%. Write-ins represented 1.52%.
Council Position No. 7
Outcome: Laura Padden win
Padden, a lifelong Valleyite and wife of former state Senator Mike Padden of District 4, won reelection on a platform that — surprise, surprise — elevated expanding the city’s police department above every other issue. She also roped into her public safety messaging heavy promotion of a crackdown by the city council on illicit massage parlors in the Valley, which she touts on her campaign website as “the strongest in the state.” She and Mike Padden endorsed Kelly for the seat he won on Tuesday, but her campaign seemed to break with his stance on housing, saying she helped lobby the state for looser restrictions on city growth boundaries — which would have the opposite effect of density that the mixed-use zoning Kelly had advocated on sprawl. As of November 6, she had earned 61.56% of the vote to her opponent Brad Hohn’s 36.54%, with the remaining 1.7% going to write-ins.
Municipal Judge: Logan v. Smithson
Outcome: Mary Logan win
Judge Mary Logan bested her first ever challenger, former city attorney Lynden Smithson, since she was appointed to the post in 2009 — the first year municipal judges were organized under the city of Spokane. At the heart of the race was harsher penalties for crimes associated with homelessness, which often stem from underlying conditions the perpetrators face in their daily lives. Logan emphasized her role in creating the city’s system of therapeutic courts, which are designed to provide resources to people convicted of low-level crimes to alleviate conditions that encourage criminal behavior. Logan won with 59.74% of the vote to Smithson’s 40.02%, with the remaining .41% of the vote going to write-ins.
Municipal Judge: Ochoa Bruck v. Freedman
Outcome: Gloria Ochoa-Bruck win
Judge Gloria Ochoa-Bruck, who’s been in the municipal court’s Position 3 seat since she beat incumbent Matthew Antuch, won against challenger Sarah Freedman on a platform of experience and bringing a “balanced approach” to the city’s justice system — which is often the first contact a person has with the criminal justice system and can lead to decades of incarceration. She said that while she supports therapeutic approaches to criminal justice, she also said victims of crimes need to be considered. Freedman had campaigned on the same issue a different way, saying their wishes should be considered in decision on whether to prosecute domestic violence cases, rather than only the wishes of prosecutors, who have sole discretion in whether to bring a case to court. As of the November 6 ballot drop, Ochoa-Bruck was carrying 74.17% of the vote to Freedman’s 24.84%. Write-ins accounted for .79%.
Resolution 8201
Outcome: Likely to pass
The resolution to change the state’s constitution to allow Washington’s long-term care program to invest in the stock market looks likely to pass, according to the latest statewide update at 11:08 am Friday. Tuesday’s results were showing it passing 56.8% to 43.2% and now it’s at 56.7% to 43.3%.
Spokane County voters also appear to be supportive of the measure, with approval votes hovering around 52% the entire week.
Other interesting races
There are a few other interesting races across the region that we haven’t been able to follow as in-depth.
In Cheney, two races are extremely close. The two candidates running for mayor are separated by just 78 votes, with challenger Elsa Martin currently leading incumbent Chris Grover. Martin appears to be slightly more conservative than Grover, receiving an 82/100 alignment on the “We Believe We Vote” voter’s guide. However, Grover also scored relatively high, with a 74/100, so this race looks like it’s less about political alignment and more about change versus incumbency.
Update: Shortly after the publication of this story, more ballots dropped. Long now leads Steiner by 5 votes. The next ballot tabulation is 11/102025.
The other close race in Cheney sees progressive challenger Rebecca Long less than 30 votes behind the more conservative Timothy Steiner. This is software engineer Long’s second try at a council seat after losing to an incumbent two years ago and retired firefighter Steiner’s first run. This is definitely a race to watch, as it could be tight enough to go to a recount.
Two races for positions on the Central Valley School Board — which has been a hotbed for anti-trans policy as of late — are also interesting. Allen Skidmore, the more moderate candidate in a race for an incumbent-less seat, took a win over the more conservative Brandon Arthur. The other race hasn’t been called yet, and though it looks likely to go in the favor of conservative incumbent Pam Orebaugh, moderate challenger Mark Bitz is only down by about 3 points.
Editor’s Note: This story has been edited to reflect details of a new ballot drop that happened shortly after publication and to correct a typo in the District 1 section. Bingle was originally elected in 2021.
