I think it is also worthwhile to look at whether the person The Stranger endorsed actually goes on to win the general election. There was a time when it was pretty much guaranteed. Lately though, the record hasn't been especially good. I don't think that The Stranger editorial team has moved to the left or right, they have simply been worse at picking candidates.

A good example is District 9, the at-large race that occurred a couple years ago. There were two progressives running. Brianna Thomas was more experienced, and had real accomplishments under her belt (e. g. the $15 minimum wage). The Stranger endorsed Nikkita Oliver. The policy differences between the two were minimal -- The Stranger just seemed to like Oliver. In contrast, former Stranger writers Erica C. Barnett and Josh Feit endorsed Thomas (several other progressive organizations did as well). But Oliver advanced, to face the far more conservative Sara Nelson. In the general election, Nelson won fairly easily against the less experienced Oliver. I have no doubt that Thomas would have won.

The same thing happened with the city attorney race. The Stranger is not being practical with their endorsements, and people just assume they have the wisdom they had in the past. If Obeysumner and Moore advance, it would not surprise me in the least if Moore ends up winning the race. That would be the third time in two elections that the Stranger editorial staff played a key role in moving local government to the right.

This guy is a serial trespasser. I can't wait for him to lose so he'll stop breaking into my apartment.

It’s notable that our famously awful Tim Burgess, when he “retired” in 2017 (he now runs a big chunk of the Harrell admin of course) deliberately endorsed Teresa Mosqueda to be his successor despite that she is to his left, rather than the more like minded Sara Nelson, because he feared that Nelson would lose a general election to Jon Grant. That was a big deal because the 2017 august primary in that race was very close to being a three-way tie.

I also think it is worthwhile to look at the number of contributions, not just the money raised. Since we have vouchers, this is a pretty good early assessment of support. Here is the one for District 5: https://web6.seattle.gov/ethics/elections/campaigns.aspx?cycle=2023&type=contest&IDNum=206&leftmenu=collapsed. Jenks has got the most contributions, but ObeySumner is not that far behind. Moore is actually behind Reed, which I think is surprising. If Moore advances, she can definitely credit The Seattle Times editorial board.

With District 3, it looks wide open. Hollingsworth has the most contributions, but three other candidates are very close (Cooley, Hudson and Ashiofu). There are four candidates with over 1,000 contributors, while only one in District 5, none in District 7 (where Lewis is assumed to win) and two in every other race.

@2: Ross, as already recounted elsewhere, in the August 2032 primary election, Nelson and Oliver EACH received over three times as many votes as did Thomas. Just on these numbers alone, it is highly unlikely the Stranger’s endorsement could have pushed Thomas past either Oliver or Nelson into the general election. (The Stranger hates Nelson, and did everything it could to defeat her, but she got onto the general election ballot anyway, where she won easily.)

Unlike Thomas, Oliver entered the race for District 9 with a high profile, due to her very close defeat in the August 2017 Mayoral primary election. After that defeat, Oliver had famously refused to work with Cary Moon, the general-election candidate who had barely defeated Oliver in the primary. Rather, Oliver did everything possible to ensure Moon’s defeat in the general election. Why do you believe Oliver would have behaved differently toward Thomas four years later, especially if Thomas had just replicated Moon’s defeat of Oliver?

@7: And Mosqueda has taken the hint. She now seeks to fail upwards to the King County Council, before the well-known and well-financed challenger(s) she would likely face next time can terminate her political career.

ChrisTiana Obeysumner will not make it to the General.