Concerns around public safety are growing among Seattle voters who feel that the city is losing momentum following the World Cup, a Seattle Metro Chamber report found Tuesday.
The organization polled 700 voters between Sept. 23 and Oct. 1, capturing sentiments following this summer's World Cup and the July Bite of Seattle shooting. Andrew Thibault, a pollster and founding Partner of Fulcrum Strategy Group, said 72% of the respondents identified as Democrats or socialists.
Thibault presented the report to reporters Tuesday with Chamber President Joe Nguyen.
They said that despite Democrats making up 64% of the sample, with Socialists at 8%, independents at 16%, and Republicans at 12%, the responses across much of Tuesday’s Index 11 poll were aligned.
Voters ranked crime and public safety as the top concern, followed by homelessness and affordability; both topped public safety until September 2025, with crime/drug use driving a 9-point increase since.
“This doesn't mean that people suddenly stop caring about homelessness or affordability," Thibault told reporters. "It's just that public safety concerns are displacing some of those other concerns."
He said socialists who align with Mayor Katie Wilson tend to see things differently from other voters.
For example, only 43% of Democrat respondents say Seattle is heading in the right direction, with independents at 27% and Republicans at 6%. But 73% of socialists think the city is on track.
Overall, 65% of voters agreed that Seattle is losing momentum on public safety and quality-of-life improvements seen during the World Cup, though 75% remain proud to call themselves a Seattleite.
“When it came to public safety, I think people felt the safest during the World Cup,” Nguyen said, referring to the deteriorating sentiment following the summer. “We certainly have challenges that we face, but it's also very possible to fix because we've seen it happen, you know, during the World Cup.”
Thibault said, “perception is reality,” arguing that news you consume plays a major role in sentiment.
The poll suggests that 75% of respondents lack confidence in Seattle’s plan to address public safety. The poll also says 72% recommend shutting down open-air drug markets as their top policy priority, up 14 points since May, with other priorities calling for reducing homeless encampments and hiring police officers.
Half of voters reported considering moving out of Seattle with 40% of those still considering it.
“Three of the voters' top four priorities are public safety related,” Thibault said. “Four of the top seven are related to businesses. So again, this idea that Seattle voters don't care about their business environment just isn't true. They want city leaders to help local businesses deal with public safety.”
After publication, Wilson addressed the Index 11 report during a media availability at City Hall.
When the mayor said the Chamber poll showed that public safety is a priority for residents, just as it is for her administration, The Center Square asked what she had to say to the 75% of voters who lack confidence in her approach.
“I think that's reflected in the budget that I transmitted to council and is reflected in the work that we're doing right now. So we're going to keep chugging along,” Wilson responded before going into neighborhood-based public safety strategies.
“Real progress means not just reacting to incidents when they occur, but taking that really deep look at the root causes; and that's something that takes time,” Wilson told The Center Square.
