Release: New poll says two-thirds of Seattle voters disapprove of Mayor Katie Wilson; 60% say she should resign or be removed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2026
Contact:
contact@changewashington.org
New poll: Two-thirds of Seattle voters disapprove of Mayor Katie Wilson; 60% say she should resign or be removed
Majorities of Democrats and independents say Wilson should resign or be removed from office
SEATTLE — A new poll of Seattle registered voters finds Mayor Katie Wilson facing widespread dissatisfaction just months into her first year in office, with two-thirds of voters disapproving of her job performance and six in ten saying she should resign or be removed from office.
The poll, conducted for Change Washington August 13-17, found just 22% of Seattle voters approve of Wilson’s job performance, compared with 66% who disapprove. Another 12% are unsure.
Among Seattle Democrats, 60% disapprove of Wilson’s performance and only 28% approve. Among independent voters, 79% disapprove and just 8% approve.
Those concerns become even clearer when voters are asked whether Wilson should remain in office.
Overall, 60% of Seattle voters say Wilson should resign or be removed from office, compared with 30% who say she should not and 10% who are unsure.
Importantly, a majority of voters from Wilson’s own political base agree. Fifty-three percent of Democrats say Wilson should resign or be removed, while just 37% say she should remain in office.
Among independents, the result is even more striking: 76% say Wilson should resign or be removed from office, while only 13% disagree.
The most significant finding is not simply that Wilson is unpopular. It is that dissatisfaction has spread deeply among Democratic and independent voters, the very Seattle constituencies a progressive mayor must be able to count on.
With only 22% of voters approving of Wilson’s performance and 60% now saying she should resign or be removed, City Hall should take the message seriously.
The survey polled 452 registered Seattle voters via SMS from August 13-17. Respondents were drawn from a stratified random sample of the L2 voter file, with invitations balanced by age, modeled party and gender. Results were weighted to reflect the Seattle voter file distribution by race and ethnicity, education and party registration.
###