Local News

The Seattle Times political team explores national, state and local politics.

Suzan DelBene speaks to the crowd at the Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland. (Photo by Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)

In an excess of caution, Suzan Delbene told her supporters Tuesday night, “I am very confident we’re going to win.”

Democrat DelBene, had 53 percent of the vote to Republican John Koster’s 46 percent in the race for the 1st Congressional Distict, which stretches from Redmond to Canada.

She thanked Koster for his “strong commitment to public service,” but said he had not yet called to concede.

“We have a district that’s evenly divided, supposedly the most evenly divided in the country” she said.

“For me, this campaign always has been about standing up for working families and the middle class.”

Meanwhile, Koster said it’s too soon to concede the race.

“There’s too many votes left to count,” he said late Tuesday.

In an interview, DelBene, a former Microsoft vice president and state revenue director, said, “Voters want someone who’s going to focus on results rather than rhetoric.”

DelBene was joined  by her husband, Kurt, president of Microsoft’s Office division; mother Beth Oliver of Arizona; sister Linda Marquardt; and daughter Becca Fine, a political science major at Dickinson college in Pennsylvania.

“I wanted to be here to experience this with my mom,” Fine said. “My mom and I are very close. I’ve watched her work so hard for this. To see her achieve this is priceless.”