Jessica Forsythe holds a 1,051-vote lead over State Rep. Amy Walen in the race for the 48th Legislative District's House Position 2 seat, according to election night results. The district covers portions of Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Hunts Point and Medina.

As we reported Nov. 4, Democrats led across Bellevue-area races in the first ballot counts. More than 25,000 votes had been counted in the 48th District as of election night, the Washington State Standard reported.

Statewide, more than 2 million ballots had been tallied, with more to come in the days ahead. Results could still change.

The all-Democrat matchup became one of the most expensive and closely watched legislative contests on the Eastside. Forsythe, a two-term Redmond City Council member, ran to Walen's left.

The central divide: the state's new income tax, a 9.9% levy on households earning more than $1 million a year.

Walen, a former Kirkland City Council member who won her House seat in 2018, voted against the income tax bill that her Democratic colleagues passed and Gov. Bob Ferguson signed.

She said she supported Initiative 645 to repeal the tax. Voters rejected that repeal measure by more than 16 points on election night, KUOW reported.

Forsythe said she supports the tax and would work to keep it in place.

The race drew nearly $2 million in outside spending from political committees, dwarfing the candidates' own fundraising, the Washington State Standard reported. Entering the final weekend before the election, Walen had reported spending roughly $382,000 to Forsythe's $128,000.

Washington Needs to Compete, a political action committee (PAC) founded by Microsoft President Brad Smith, led the outside spending.

The PAC had made about $700,000 in independent expenditures to boost Walen, according to state Public Disclosure Commission filings cited by the Washington State Standard. Of the PAC's $13.8 million raised statewide, nearly $5.1 million came from Microsoft and $1 million from T-Mobile.

On the other side, New Direction PAC spent close to $690,000 in the race, with roughly $400,000 going to support Forsythe and the rest opposing Walen. Its largest donors included the Washington Education Association, Washington Federation of State Employees, SEIU and the Kennedy Fund, the political arm of the state Senate Democratic Caucus.

The August primary foreshadowed a tight general election. Only 17 votes separated the two candidates.

Walen had endorsements from Ferguson, former Gov. Gary Locke and former Gov. Christine Gregoire. Forsythe had backing from state Sen. Vandana Slatter and former Gov. Jay Inslee, the Washington State Standard reported.

Ballots will continue to be counted in the coming days before results are certified.