Seattle mayoral candidate ditches liberalism to challenge Harrell as a Republican
Mar 5, 2025, 5:32 PM | Updated: Mar 6, 2025, 5:55 am
Capitol Hill entrepreneur and community figure Rachael Savage announced her candidacy for Seattle mayor in February, joining a growing list of challengers to incumbent Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.
However, despite previously identifying as a liberal, Savage is running against Harrell as a Republican—in Seattle.
Savage, who has owned The Vajra retail shop on Broadway since 1998, gained attention for her vocal opposition to the city’s approach to addiction treatment and supportive housing, particularly regarding the proposed Downtown Emergency Service Center facility on Belmont Ave.
“We can save Downtown, the International District, Capitol Hill, First Hill, Queen Anne, Pioneer Square and Ballard if we dramatically change the way that we have tried to help the addicted and the mentally ill,” Savage told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.
Savage has criticized Harrell for failing to deliver meaningful results, arguing the Democratic Party has not been able to effectively address the city’s most pressing challenges.
A recovering addict, Savage has been clean for 35 years as of March. Her experience has led her to advocate for arresting drug users and creating long-term residential treatment centers. She believes progressives have overtaken the Democratic Party, making its policies increasingly misaligned with her views—now more in line with Republican principles.
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Rachael Savage says Bruce Harrell is failing Seattle
Savage believes Harrell should be doing more to fix Seattle’s issues, including actually arresting people who break the law.
“We need to start arresting people for crimes, anyone that’s committing a crime,” she explained. “As far as I can see, the whole Democratic Party has been taken over by the progressives. And even Bruce Harrell, who’s claiming to be a moderate, is certainly not acting like one. The policies don’t reflect it. There are still no arrests for misdemeanors happening. There’s still flagrant drug use on the streets of Seattle. There’s still crime happening all day long.”
Savage said Harrell’s mishandling of the city’s core issues is what caused her to run as a conservative in the first place.
“So, I have been a classic liberal, never a progressive and when I saw happening was more and more lawlessness, drug addiction on the streets of Seattle, and severely mentally ill, and I started to ask questions,” she explained.
Becoming Republican
When she started re-evaluating her beliefs and where the Democratic party in Seattle found itself, she realized she was no longer a match. Savage said Republican positions better represented her views, especially after seeing progressive policies fail in Seattle.
Savage, who is vocal about being in recovery, said she would immediately repeal Harrell’s drug policies if elected.
“I’ve been working with addicts my whole life, or since, you know, for 35 years, helping them get abstinent,” she shared. “Seattle needs to start taking care of itself like a big city. We need our own city jail and we need long-term residential treatment for drug addicts.”
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