Melody leads Edwards in state Supreme Court Position 1 race

Scott Edwards held 60,561 votes, or 54.4%, to Justice Colleen Melody's 50,442 votes, or 45.3%, in the Washington State Supreme Court Position 1 race as of 8:08 p.m. Nov. 3, according to unofficial results from the Washington Secretary of State. The margin was 10,119 votes, or 9.1 percentage points. Only 5 of 39 reporting units had reported at that time, with 111,331 votes counted.

Later statewide tallies reported by the Secretary of State showed Melody leading with 505,179 votes, or 64.05%, to Edwards' 281,516 votes, or 35.69%, according to Whatcom News. The Seattle Times reported Melody had 60% of the vote to Edwards' 39%.

The race is a special election for the seat held by Melody, whom Gov. Bob Ferguson appointed in November 2025 to replace retiring Justice Mary Yu.

What was at stake

The Washington Supreme Court is the state's highest court and has the final say on questions of state law. Five of the court's nine seats appeared on the Nov. 3 ballot, an unusually large number driven by retirements and regularly scheduled elections, according to a Yahoo News report.

The key issues:

• Edwards, a tax attorney, helped lead the unsuccessful challenge against the state capital gains tax. He said the 1933 court decision banning a progressive income tax was correctly decided, the Seattle Times reported.
• Melody previously led the Washington Attorney General's Office Wing Luke Civil Rights Division for 11 years. She was endorsed by Gov. Ferguson.
• A pending challenge to the state's high earners income tax could come before the court, the Seattle Times reported. The five justices chosen by voters in this election cycle will shape the court's direction on that question.

A little history

Melody was appointed to the court on Nov. 24, 2025, replacing Justice Mary Yu. She began serving Jan. 1, 2026, as the 100th justice in the court's history, according to the Washington Courts website. Before joining the bench, she spent four years with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

Edwards, a Princeton graduate, has spent more than 30 years representing Washington taxpayers and more than 20 years teaching state and local tax law at the University of Washington School of Law, according to his campaign. The Washington State Republican Party recommended him by a two-thirds supermajority vote. This is his first run for elected office.

The race is nonpartisan, but state parties signaled their preferences. Democratic officials endorsed Melody. The state Republican Party recommended Edwards.

What's next

The results remain unofficial. Washington is a universal vote-by-mail state, and ballots postmarked on or before Election Day remain eligible for counting as they arrive in election offices over the following days, according to Fox 13 Seattle. The winner will serve the final two years of Justice Yu's term, according to Yahoo News.

Election results: Washington State Supreme Court Justice - Position 1 (Washington General Election, 2026-11-03)

Source: Washington Secretary of State. Results current as of Nov. 3, 2026, 8:08 p.m. PST. Reporting: 5 of 39. Unofficial results; the count is not complete.