"Time running out: Nickels trails in latest mayor vote count"

Chris Grygiel (Strange Bedfellows):

Mayor Greg Nickels remained in third place behind challengers Joe Mallahan and Michael McGinn following the latest primary vote count released Thursday afternoon.

The top two finishers advance to the November general election, and Nickels, the two-term incumbent, is running out of time to make up ground.

Nickels scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Friday. Spokesman Sandeep Kaushik said the mayor "will address all of the questions about the election then." Kaushik didn't elaborate.

Mallahan, a T-Mobile executive, is still in the lead, with 27.22 percent of the vote. McGinn is in second place, with 26.69 percent. Nickels trails, with 25.56 percent.

McGinn, the attorney and former Sierra Club leader, now leads Nickels by 1,170 votes, compared to 1,016 votes on Wednesday. Elections officials counted about 18,500 votes in the mayor's race Thursday.

More than a third of the ballots cast have yet to be counted, it's estimated.

After Wednesday's count, Mallahan was at 26.76 percent. McGinn was at 26.48 percent and Nickels was at 25.19 percent. That represented about 81,000 Seattle ballots counted.

Following Tuesday's initial count of about 64,000 ballots in Seattle, McGinn was at 26.6 percent, Mallahan at 25.8 percent and Nickels at 25 percent.

Another vote count will be released Friday afternoon.