Shoker edges ahead of Song in Kent City Council race as third round of ballots counted

In a tight race for the City of Kent City Council Position 6 seat, Sharn Shoker has taken a narrow lead over Andy Song as of the third round of results released on Thursday, Nov. 6.

Shoker holds 7,141 votes, or 49.77 percent, while Song trails closely with 7,111 votes, or 49.56 percent, out of 15,458 ballots counted so far in Kent’s election. Shoker now leads by a 30-vote advantage. That means she gained roughly 188 net votes over Song since yesterday, enough to flip the race from a 1.41-point deficit (48.99 % to 50.40 %) to a 0.21-point lead (49.77 % to 49.56 %).

Meanwhile, clear winners are emerging in other city contests:

• Mayor Dana Ralph ran unopposed and secured 11,638 votes, or 96.26 percent, with 452 write-ins accounting for 3.74 percent.
• In Council Position 2, Satwinder Kaur leads with 8,952 votes (62.09 percent) over Neet Grewal, who has 5,354 votes (37.14 percent).
• In the unopposed Council Position 4 race, Toni Troutner received 10,899 votes (97.43 percent).

The latest count of ballots represents a 21.14 percent turnout of the city’s 73,115 registered voters.

King County Council

Steffanie Fain expanded her lead over Peter Kwon in the race for King County Council District No. 5. Fain now has 15,953 votes (53.87%), compared to Kwon’s 13,494 (45.57%), widening her advantage by nearly 1,200 votes since the previous day’s results. On Nov. 5, Fain held 13,454 votes (53.14%) to Kwon’s 11,632 (45.95%), meaning both candidates gained support as additional ballots were counted, but Fain’s share grew slightly, solidifying her position as the likely winner in this closely-watched race.

King County Elections will release its next results update on Friday, Nov. 7, with final certification set for Nov. 25.