Tipsheet

Seattle Just Elected a Socialist Barista As Mayor

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  November 13, 2025 7:15 AM

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have been making moves to install their preferred candidates across the country. Zohran Mamdani won in New York, and while Omar Fateh lost in Minneapolis, the socialists captured the city council.

In Oregon, a socialist who wants a 90 percent tax rate is on the school board and running for the state legislature. And Seattle just elected a socialist as their mayor.

Meet Katie Wilson, who unseated incumbent Democrat Bruce Harrell.

Here's more:

Socialist Katie Wilson has defeated Democratic incumbent Bruce Harrell to become Seattle's next mayor. The election, which occurred on November 4, saw Harrell in the lead by 7 points, but Wilson gained ground over a week later as mail-in ballots continued to be counted.

The latest ballot count on November 12 showed Wilson leading by nearly 2,000 votes, enough for the race to be called for the Socialist barista, with 50.08 percent to Harrell's 49.59 percent.

Wilson, 43, a progressive community organizer and co-founder of the Transit Riders Union, has never held elected office. Her campaign, similar to that of newly elected NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, focused on "Trump-proofing Seattle," increasing taxes on big businesses and the wealthy, rent control, and doubling down on the homeless industrial complex. Additionally, she vowed to ensure Seattle remains a sanctuary city for illegal migrants, according to her campaign website.

Wilson is bankrolled by her wealthy New York parents, who reportedly send her checks on a regular basis.

That's how she "made a living" as a barista.

Those are not the same thing, of course. Now she's running one of America's biggest cities.

Good luck with that. She's also got ties with Antifa.

If those are truly Antifa militants, Seattle is in deep, deep trouble.

Wilson is also vowing that she "won't allow" grocery stores in the city to close.

"Food deserts aren’t natural. Stores create them when they leave our community," Wilson said. This is easy for a nepo-child who never worked a real job or ran a real business to say.

At the end of October, the Seattle City Council voted to allow new grocery store chains to take over empty grocery stores. This move came in response to several stores closing around the state, including the closure of two Kroger stores in the Puget Sound area. Kroger cited crime and state regulations blocking a merger proposal as reasons behind the closure, and the company was shuttering underperforming stores across the country.

Of course, Wilson has no authority to tell a grocery store that it cannot close. She has no power to force a store to remain open. But since she seems to believe she does, what is her plan? Fines? Government confiscation of the store? How does Wilson plan to force stores to remain open in her expensive, crime-ridden, Antifa-controlled city?

It seems a lot of people are going to learn, and quickly, how disastrous socialism actually is.