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  • mfikse.com

The latest results are in, and one week after 16-year Seattle City Council incumbent Richard Conlin claimed victory with a seemingly invincible 7.5 percent margin, Socialist Alternative challenger Kshama Sawant has taken a 49.91 to 49.88 percent, 41 vote lead!

While that's an admittedly tiny margin, it came on the back of another big win in today's ballot drop. Sawant won 57.4 percent of the ballots counted today, her second best batch thus far. Sawant would now need to win only 49.9 percent of the remaining ballots to hold her lead. Given the late ballot trend, she'll almost certainly far exceed that. I confidently project a Sawant victory.

In other news, SeaTac Prop 1, the $15 minimum wage initiative, has maintained a 43 vote lead by splitting today's drop of 278 ballots. That's far better than the recent batches, which the no vote won by as much as 63 percent, and suggests a gradual trend back in the yes vote's favor. But these batches are so small it's hard to say whether this is a trend or an anomaly. So be nervous.

Meanwhile, Seattle's Prop 1, public campaign financing, continues its strong comeback, winning 55.3 percent of today's batch, and now trails by 2,966 votes, 49.11 percent to 50.89 percent. Its margins suggest Prop 1 will still fall slightly short, but it'll be damn close. So cross your fingers!