[2] Incumbent mayor Jenny Durkan initially sought reelection to a second term in office in February 2020, but withdrew that December due to backlash from her handling of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic in Seattle as well as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest during the George Floyd protests.

[3] Harrell held a 24-point lead over González when she conceded on November 4; his margin of victory was the largest of a non-incumbent candidate in a Seattle mayoral race since the 1969 election of Wesley C.

[2][4] Harrell took over as mayor on January 1, 2022, having previously held the position as acting mayor for five days in September 2017 upon the resignation of Ed Murray; due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, he was sworn in privately the prior week and held a small inauguration ceremony on January 4.

[5][6] The 2021 election was the first in which mayoral candidates were eligible to use Seattle's democracy vouchers program,[7] which has captured the interest of other cities.

[8] Mayors Seattle city councilmembers Organizations Statewide officeholders State legislators Seattle city councilmembers Federal officeholders State senators State Representatives Seattle city councilmembers Individuals Organizations Media Federal officeholders State legislators Seattle city councilmembers Mayors Organizations Media Federal officeholders Graphical summary By August 6, Echohawk, Farrell, and Houston had all conceded, and Harrell and González were viewed as the winners of the primary.