Support for Sawant goes to 1.01 in this map of Election Night totals by precinct created by @gardnerphil
Kshama Sawant has secured her City Council job for four more years, and with it a new challenge: representing an extremely polarized District 3. Maps of election night-only returns show the “Capitol Hill divide” was in full effect in the race between Sawant and challenger Pamela Banks.
Capitol Hill and the Central District, representing nearly all of apartment-dense precincts in the district, went solidly for Sawant. In fact, early returns show Sawant took nearly every precinct west of 31st Ave and south of Roy St. Sawant also made inroads north of the Republican St divide that characterized the 2013 mayoral race between Mike McGinn and Ed Murray.
As expected, Banks’s base lay along the more affluent District 3 permitter neighborhoods of Madrona, Madison Park, and Montlake. Sawant did manage to win one precinct in solid Banks territory — the Montlake business district near 25th Ave E and E McGraw St and and the blocks surrounding it.
In most CD precincts, areas Banks considered her home turf, Sawant won with at least 60% of the vote. District 3’s slice of First Hill was a checkerboard. Banks posted strong wins in three dense First Hill precincts while Sawant won the more hospital-heavy areas.
To a degree, the Sawant-Banks divide also fell along the District’s racial, household income, and political donation lines. Neighborhoods that are whiter, have a median household income of at least $110,000, and donate heavily to political campaigns went solidly for Banks.
It was a repeat of sorts from the August primary, when Sawant took home 61% of the vote on Capitol Hill, 64% in the CD, and only 6% in Broadmoor, according to analysis from Benjamin Anderstone. Broadmoor’s private golf club probably won’t be extending a membership to Sawant any time soon after she only managed to get 13 votes in the precinct compared to Banks’s 170.
As Sawant’s lead grew to 10 points Friday, Banks conceded the race Friday night.
Position 8 candidate Jon Grant also found a strong cluster of support on Capitol Hill that mimicked Sawant’s. However, outside of the densest parts of Fremont and Ballard, Grant was unable to gain enough of a foothold to oust Council President Tim Burgess. Central District neighborhood activist Bill Bradburd only managed to win a Yesler Terrace precinct and two others in the Position 9 race against Lorena Gonzalez.
You can see the Election Night maps created by Phil Gardner for all the districts and City Council races here.
UPDATE: Here are the top 5 precincts by percentage for each candidate. We haven’t hunted around the map to identify where they all fall, yet.
Welcome to Precinct SEA 43-2547, the “reddest” in District 3:
And, yeah, Banks really cleaned up in Broadmoor:
UPDATE 4:20 PM: If you’re still keeping track, Sawant’s total is now up to 55.5%
