Third-place finisher in congressional primary endorses Walkinshaw over Jayapal

By Evan Smith

The third-place finisher in the primary-election contest to replace 7th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott has endorsed second-place finisher Brady Piñero Walkinshaw over primary leader Pramila Jayapal.

Democratic King County Councilman Joe McDermott, who is not related to retiring Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott, announced last week that he had endorsed fellow Democrat Walkinshaw over Jayapal, another Democrat, for the November general election.

Primary results posted through Monday showed Jayapal leading with 42 percent of the votes to Walkinshaw’s 21 percent and Joe McDermott’s 19 percent. The remaining votes were divided among two other Democrats, two Republicans and two independents.

Elections officials plan to certify final results Tuesday.

The 7th District includes Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Edmonds, and Woodway, in addition to most of Seattle and Seattle’s southwest suburbs.

Joe McDermott, who now chairs the King County Council, said in endorsing Walkinshaw Thursday, “Brady is a bridge-builder who reaches across the aisle to solve real problems.”

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.