Inslee leads McKenna as first votes counted in governor’s race

With heavy support in King County, Democrat Jay Inslee moved to an early lead over Republican Rob McKenna in Washington’s gubernatorial contest as early vote counts were released Tuesday night.

Inslee led with nearly 52 percent of the statewide vote, compared with 48% for McKenna, according to statewide and King County figures posted after 8 p.m.

The race remained too close to call, as votes were still coming in. But a key indicator was King County, where Inslee was ahead 63 percent to 37 percent. Based on previous elections, McKenna likely needs close to 40 percent of the vote in King County to win statewide.

Both the Inslee and McKenna campaigns signaled they’re ready for a long wait, as the winner of the race may not be known until further vote counts this week.

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Comments | More in General Election, Governor, homepage, Politics Northwest, Statewide | Topics: 2012 gubernatorial race, Jay Inslee, Rob McKenna

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Politics Northwest is the go-to blog for politics in our region. The blog explores national, state and local political news and issues. Reporters from Washington, D.C., to Seattle City Hall to the state capital in Olympia contribute. Editors are Richard Wagoner and Beth Kaiman.

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