In Seattle mayoral primary, Moon's 2nd-place lead down to 1,664 votes, Oliver says she's optimistic

SEATTLE -- Seattle mayoral candidate Nikkita Oliver said Monday that she feels "good about our chances" after the latest count showed her 1,664 votes behind second-place finisher Cary Moon.

The two top finishers in the primary election advance to the Nov. 7 general election, and former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan took first place in the Aug. 1 primary. Moon has held a small second-place lead since Election Night, with Oliver not far behind in third place.

Moon has 32,001 votes to Oliver's 30, 337 -- a difference of 1,664.

In releasing the new numbers Monday, King County Elections said they also have 1,803 signature challenges outstanding on ballots for the city of Seattle. Most of those, if resolved, would have to go Oliver's way for her to move into second place.

“Our campaign is excited about today’s results," Oliver said in a news release. "We’re within one percentage point, so we’re far from conceding. I believe in letting the process play itself out, so we’ll wait until every vote is counted. We’re moving in the right direction, and we have faith that the voters of Seattle want us in the general election.

"Our ground game will continue to cure disqualified votes ... While there are still a few thousand votes left to be counted, I feel good about our chances," Oliver said.