Who Is Jenny Durkan? Seattle Set To Have First Lesbian Mayor

Jenny Durkan won 61 percent of the votes in the mayoral race in Seattle Tuesday, claiming a decisive lead over her opponent Cary Moon, making her the city’s first lesbian mayor and its first woman mayor since the 1920s.

Durkan took a big lead over her opponent Cary Moon after initial returns were released Tuesday, earning 60.62 percent of the vote (64,174 votes) while Moon trailed behind with 39.38 percent (41,683 votes). Around 105,000 votes had been counted Tuesday night.

"There’s a lot of votes left to be counted, but…we are feeling really, really good about where we are, and I think you guys should celebrate," Durkan told supporters at her election party Tuesday, the Seattle Times reported.

Moon acknowledged that her campaign was "up against tough odds" after initial returns were released on Tuesday, but said she was not giving up hope yet.

"Seattle late voters may surprise everyone," Moon said in a statement. "We believe the ballot counts will swing in our direction over time, and we're not out of the race yet," NBC affiliate King 5 reported.

Durkan previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington under former President Barack Obama's administration from 2009 until 2014, when she announced she was stepping down with three years still left in her term.

"[It] seemed like this was a good time for me, for my family and for the office to take on a different challenge," she said at the time.

Durkan, a Seattle native and a graduate of Notre Dame and University of Washington School of Law, earned a reputation as a formidable litigator and was the first ever openly gay attorney to be appointed to the position.

"In 2009, I became the first openly gay U.S. Attorney in our country’s history. That only took 211 years. In fact, I was told I was the first openly gay person ever appointed by a President to a leadership role at the Department of Justice," Durkan wrote on Medium earlier this year.

In June this year, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray endorsed Durkan’s candidacy for the mayoral race after he announced that he would no longer seek re-election.

"I’ve known Jenny for almost three decades," Murray had said. "She has the experience, the temperament, the political skills, and she also has strong relationships regionally and nationally, to move this city forward during uncertain times."

Murray ended his campaign to seek re-election for a second term following a civil lawsuit that was filed against him, accusing him of allegedly sexually abusing a young man during the 1980s.

Durkan is the daughter of Martin Durkan, a prominent lobbyist, a Democrat who earlier served in the Washington State Senate for 16 years, during which made two failed bids for the governorship. On her financial disclosure forms, Durkan reported her net worth to be at $5.75 million.

Durkan has been with her partner, Dana Garvey, for at least 20 years. Although they are not married, Garvey listed herself as "Dana Garvey Durkan," on a deed property that the couple sold in 2009, indicating that she might have legally changed her name. The couple is said to have two sons together, according to Heavy.com.