King County primary election results certified Tuesday. Who's heading to the general election?

Results from King County’s August primary election were certified Tuesday.

Of the roughly 1.4 million ballots sent out, 485,241 — or 34.37% — were returned and counted. 

The biggest surprise in this month’s election came in the race for Seattle’s city attorney. Incumbent Pete Holmes was squeezed out by challengers Nicole Thomas-Kennedy and Ann Davison, who will advance to the general election in November.

Holmes conceded his loss earlier this month.

“After two decades of public service to Seattle, the last 12 as your city attorney, it’s time to acknowledge that my opponents will be advancing to the general election,” Holmes said in a statement. "So, congratulations, candidates, and best of luck in the general election. With a city so ideologically splintered, whoever wins will certainly need it."

Leftist candidate Thomas-Kennedy finished first with 36% of the vote, while Davison, a Republican, finished with 33%. Holmes finished at the back of the pack with 31%.

Thomas-Kennedy, a public defender who is campaigning on an “abolitionist” platform that would stop prosecuting low-level offenses, released a victory statement shortly after Holmes admitted defeat.

“In this primary election, Seattle voters overwhelmingly declared that the status quo does not work,” she said in a statement.

Other big ticket items included races for King County Executive, Seattle Mayor and two seats on the Seattle City Council.

In the race for King County executive, incumbent Dow Constantine seems poised to win reelection. He won 52% of the vote in a field of five candidates. He will be heading to the general election with state Sen. Joe Nguyen, who came in second with 33%.

After Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced last year that she would not seek a second term, 15 candidates entered this year’s primary in hopes of becoming her successor. Bruce Harrell, former Seattle City Council president, emerged on top with 34% of the vote. He’s trailed by current City Council President M. Lorena González, who secured 32%. Both will be heading to the general election.

In the city council races, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda looks primed to defend her Position 8 seat against engineer Kenneth Wilson in the general election. In a field of 11 candidates, Mosqueda won 59% of votes while Wilson won 16%.    

However, what voters will see in November with regard to the vacant Position 9 seat is more unclear. Community organizer and attorney Nikkita Oliver won the primary with 40% of the vote, but Fremont Brewing Co-Owner Sara Nelson finished just behind her with 39%.

According to an election summary issued by the county's canvassing board, 8,239 ballots the elections office received were tossed out. Most of those ballots —  4,621 — were returned too late. Another 2,250 ballots had signatures that didn't match that voter's signature on a previous ballot, and 1,333 voters returned their ballots unsigned. 

The report also showed voters' preferences for returning ballots: 250,681 were returned in a drop box while 241,560 were returned by mail. 

You can see all the results from this month’s primary on King County’s website.