Democrat Manka Dhingra, a deputy prosecutor for Washington's King County, had a 10-point lead Tuesday night over Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund in a suburban Seattle district that will determine the balance of power in the Washington state Senate. If Dhingra wins the seat, left empty when Republican state Sen. Andy Hill died, control of the state Senate will flip to the Democrats, who already hold the governor's mansion and narrowly control the state House. In Oregon and California, as well as four other states, Democrats control both branches of the legislature and the governor's seat, and if Dhingra's lead holds, Republicans won't control a single legislative chamber on the West Coast. (The GOP controls the entire state government in 26 states, CNN notes.)
Because of the stakes, the contest became the most expensive legislative race in Washington history, with the candidates and outside groups spending more than $8.7 million; about $5.9 million of that was from the outside groups, ranging from oil companies and unions to Koch Industries and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Dhingra was born in India, while Englund is Korean-American. Washington's mail-in ballot system means the final results won't be known for days, and England has not conceded the race.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138MSpeed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aidSpeed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spiesSpeed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrikeSpeed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claimsSpeed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claimsSpeed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aidSpeed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of warSpeed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picksSpeed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
