Katie Wilson wins Seattle mayor race, compared to NYC’s socialist Mamdani

A little more than a week after New York’s socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani took the reins of the nation’s largest city, Seattle voters elected a socialist who has been compared to Mamdani to lead the West Coast’s fifth-largest city by population.

Katie Wilson, a progressive activist who runs a small nonprofit called Transit Riders Union, beat Democratic Mayor Bruce Harrell in an election so close it took more than a week to decide. Harrell conceded Thursday that the vote totals virtually guaranteed a victory for Wilson, who, like Mamdani, identifies as a “democratic socialist.”

Like Mamdani, Wilson has been criticized for her past support for defunding the police, including through her support for a “solidarity budget” that would have cut Seattle’s police force by 50 percent.

“There is a strong case for simply disbanding the police department and starting afresh,” Wilson wrote in a statement. Opinion article from June 2020.

SEATTLE MAYOR CONCEEDS TO MAMDANI-STYLE “SOCIALIST” WHO CALLED ON HIS PARENTS FOR MONEY DURING HIS RACE

Seattle elected Katie Wilson, who has been compared to Zohran Mamdani, as its next mayor. (Getty)

Similar to Mamdani, Wilson I came back her past statements on defunding the police and distanced herself from the “abolish the police” movement in a debate under pressure from Harrell.

Ahead of Tuesday night’s election, Wilson vowed to ‘put Trump to the test’ City of Seattle and has also been compared to New York’s Mamdani by political pundits on this score.

Wilson, like Mamdani, proposed policies such as the creation of government-run grocery stores. She pledged to explore government-backed grocery stores if elected this fall after accepting the endorsement of grocery workers union UFCW 3000, Washington’s largest union. private sector union. New York voters, meanwhile, saw a similar argument from Mamdani.

“Yes, Seattle voters want to tax the rich,” Wilson wrote in February this year, echoing a leading socialist program championed by Mamdani to increase the tax burden on wealthier residents.

Before the creation of the Transit Riders Union in 2011, Wilson held several jobs in various unrelated industries, including as a barista, shipyard worker, apartment manager, lab technician, baker, construction worker and legal assistant.

Several progressive activist groups and unions that supported Mamdani’s campaign also supported Wilson, including the Working Families Party, Planned Parenthood affiliates, and SEIU affiliates.

SEVERAL DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS LINE UP TO SUCCEED MAMDANI

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to the media at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Wilson thanked her parents for helping her run her mayoral campaign.

“They send me a check periodically to help pay for child care,” Wilson told Seattle’s PubliCola, noting that day care for her children costs about $2,200 a month. Wilson didn’t say how much her parents contribute, emphasizing that she doesn’t keep track. However, when asked for more details, Wilson reportedly said the money came every few months.

“Before I decided to run for office, my husband and I were just juggling our child,” Wilson continued of the child care expenses her parents help with. “We didn’t put her in daycare because it’s too expensive. But when I decided to run, we said we really need daycare.”

Affordability was a key factor in Wilson’s campaign, like Mamdani’s in New York, and after her victory she continued to outline these goals.

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Katie Wilson, longtime progressive organizer and new mayor of Seattle. (Katie Wilson for Seattle)

“There are an awful lot of things I want to accomplish as mayor,” Wilson said in her first speech since becoming mayor. “I want everyone in our great city to have a roof over their head. I want universal child care and free summer care for grades K-8. I want world-class public transportation. I want large, safe public spaces where children can run around tirelessly. I want stable, affordable housing for renters.”

“I want public housing. I want more land and wealth to be owned and managed by communities rather than corporations. I want a robust economy, with thriving small businesses, decent-wage jobs, and strong worker rights. I want a city where everyone has the basics of a dignified life, including healthy food, access to health care, and community support. I want a city where your health, your life expectancy, and your children’s future do not depend on your zip code or your race.

Alec Schemmel of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.