So, Macklemore Isn't Running For Mayor?

But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

In 2013, back when a skronky lil tune called “Thrift Shop” topped the charts, Seattle-based rapper Macklemore, AKA Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, tweeted an “OFFICIAL” announcement that he would run for Mayor in 2025. Well, here we are, two studio albums and four Seattle Mayors later, on the filing deadline for the 2025 election without Haggerty signed up to run. Barring some drastic change of heart (and international tour schedule) in the next few hours, it looks like City Hall “Can’t Hold” the Mack. 

Haggerty’s people have a stack of emails from me asking about his abandoned Mayoral bid, likely dating back almost a year when I first started to hear murmurs that Haggerty had allegedly courted local politicos, reviving my intrigue in his old tweet. He did not respond to my requests for comment. Drat. 

Maybe it dawned on Haggerty that he would enjoy touring in Europe a lot more than signing bills and cutting ribbons, or maybe he retreated after getting a taste of the local media’s ire over his ineloquent anti-imperialist messaging, or maybe he, like everyone else who wants to be Mayor, realized organized labor will probably just back the incumbent to keep cozy with power.

Seattle may not have 2010 kitsch pop-rap representation on the ballot, but voters still have a wide range of mayoral candidates to choose from this election! 

Bruce Harrell: Mayor Bruce Harrell is running to be Seattle’s first two-term Mayor in more than a decade. Well, unless you count the five days he held the office after Mayor Ed Murray got booed out of office over child rape allegation — and Harrell would really rather you forget about that. Anyway, Harrell’s top hits include sweeping the unhoused 6.8 times a day, raiding hundreds of thousands in affordable housing dollars, and being kind of a jerk to women allegedly. 

Katie Wilson: She’s the one to watch. Literally. Organized labor, the counter power to corporate donors that backed Harrell last time, is really just watching her, the candidate who obviously aligns closer to their values, instead of coming out in full-throated support. You may know her from movements to raise the wage in Seattle adjacent cities, advocacy for progressive revenue, or the Transit Riders Union. 

Joe Mallahan: Announcing just this week, former T-Mobile Executive Joe Mallahan is running for Mayor — Again! He ran back in 2009 and honestly, his presence in this race feels like a cosmic sign or something. When he ran, he and progressive Mike McGinn pushed the incumbent, Greg Nickles, out during the primary. Ultimately McGinn won. Have the conditions to beat Bruce been replicated? 

Ry Armstrong: You know Armstrong from their recent unsuccessful bid at the District 3 seat. Now they’re back, running to get queer representation in the executive’s office. 

Joe Molloy: Tik Tokers know this one. Joe Malloy is running his campaign out of Tent City 3. Unhoused himself, Malloy wants to really tackle homelessness by making it easier to get referred to housing and handing out a Universal Basic Income. 

Isaiah Willoughby: This guys one of those perennial candidates who usually doesn’t raise any money or knock any doors. 

David Tuniman: No campaign website. Not sure who this person is.