LIVE: The Stranger’s 2026 General Election Night Coverage

📌 IT’S HAPPENING. IT IS ELECTION NIGHT.

Finally, we have come to the night of the year that will quiet all those solicitous text messages. It is the night of nights. Election Night. The US Senate is in the balance, and it’s all anyone wants to talk about. What will happen in Michigan? Will a Dan Sullivan win in Alaska? There are other big national questions. Will Californians lick the boots of billionaires or boot them out of the state with a one-time tax? Is Ohio going to choose a governor who is evil or one who is actually good? Why is this night different from all other nights? And which state gun will Idaho choose? 

We will have all those answers for you, but not on this blog tonight. No. Tonight is for the locals, the freaks who pay attention to what happens in this Washington and not the bad one over in Delmarva. King County, you’re turning out the vote. King County Elections has turnout pegged at 44.8 percent right now. That number will continue to rise as you procrastinating progressives drop your ballots off into the night. The full turnout total from the 2025 general election in King County was 45.7 percent. Seems like we’re poised to blow those numbers out of the water. 

We have some important decisions to pay attention to. Like the ideological balance of Washington’s State Supreme Court? Some of these races have raised over a million dollars between both candidates. It’s these wizards who will decide the fate of the Millionaires Tax—that is, so long as the tax survives the ballot initiative designed to kill it. Seeing as how the Millionaires Tax is the first wave in a long-overdue attempt to rewrite the most unequal tax code in the nation, it’s the local ballot issue progressives ought to keep their eyes on. We’ll be keeping tabs on that and on the other bad initiatives—like the one that would enact the strictest trans sports ban in the country—and the one good one (the Seattle Transit Measure). ‘

Did we mention there are all those candidates vying for election or reelection too? Will newcomer Kelabe Tewolde unseat longtime incumbent Sharon Tomiko Santos? Will Rep. Cindy Ryu defeat the weirdest guy in the Legislature, Sen. Jesse Salomon, to rule over Shoreline? Please, oh, please, will Seattle City Council District 5 elect someone who is not a walking business suit? 

The SECB has mixed a bit of LSD into the leftover Nerds Gummy Clusters we binged for dinner, and are ready to ride this wave. We are hoping it is so blue. We will be flitting around to election parties around town tonight. We will force Jamie Pedersen to be our tripsitter. If we see any political consultants around, we will make them hand-feed us grapes. Follow along? 

By the way, here are our 2026 General Election endorsements and our accompanying cheat sheet. Ballots are due at 8 p.m.!

THE SEATTLE CENTRAL BALLOT BOX IS FULL
5:46 p.m.

And there is currently a line forming down the block while voters patiently wait for election workers to empty the box. How polite of them!

WHO YOU CALLIN’ HUSKY?
5:44 p.m.

The line for voter registration and replacement ballots wrapped around the Husky Union building on the UW campus.

It was the poll tax for people who didn’t get their shit together. Didn’t change address. Bathed with their ballots. Had owned a printer since 2021.

There are no snacks. There are no drinks. Welcome to husky hell.

Luckily, the person in front of me played chess on his phone using the same app. I challenged him and instantly regretted it. Between my moves, he swiped through and vanquished other remote opponents, like some Tinder-trolling Gary Fisher.

Was this Democracy in action? This chessboard is feudalism, and I quickly tipped my king to the floor.

These kids filled in their fresh ballots, voting against the millionaires tax like good little communists. One applied to seven jobs recently, and is sad that Trader Joe’s turned him down.

A sign on the wall reads “HUSKY EMPOWERMENT.”

We are hungry, we are thirsty. We are not in the mood for body positivity.

A few pimples behind us in line, a youth ate fries out of a white plastic Raising Cane’s bag. We smelled chicken. We saw toast.

We are ready to mingle with the Ravenna elites who will run this show and be old enough to share a mojito with as they plot our AI future.

PEOPLE ARE VOTING EARLY
5:15 PM

As of 8 a.m., more than 44 percent of King County voters already returned their ballots! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Trump has attempted to undermine these election results at every turn there is free candy on at least one ballot box in Crown Hill?

The post LIVE: The Stranger’s 2026 General Election Night Coverage appeared first on The Stranger.