Rep. Adam Smith, Washington’s longest-serving U.S. House member, was ahead in Tuesday’s primary, with Republican Doug Basler in second place, putting them on course for a likely November matchup.

The result, if it holds, would end the political comeback attempt by Kshama Sawant, the socialist former Seattle city councilmember, who was in third place.

Thousands more votes remain to be counted in the coming days.

In Tuesday’s vote count, Smith, D-Bellevue, had 51% in the 9th Congressional District race. Basler, a perennial GOP candidate, was in second with 24%. Sawant was in third with 13%, barely ahead of Melissa Chaudhry, a Democrat challenging Smith from the left.

Sawant, speaking to about 50 people at the Casa Latina worker center, was defiant in the face of the results. She blamed union leaders for endorsing Smith and Chaudhry for splitting the leftist vote.

“Shame on Melissa Chaudhry,” she shouted, to boos and hisses from the crowd.

Smith, in a statement Tuesday night thanked voters and said he’ll “continue to fight to rebuild our representative democracy that Trump has been trying to tear down.”

Sawant’s longshot bid to unseat Smith sought to capitalize on a growing far-left movement that is challenging establishment Democrats around the country over their approach to the economy and U.S. military aid to Israel. But she ran this year as an independent socialist, rejecting the Democratic Party label in the heavily Democratic district.

Smith is the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and has championed progressive economic causes, but he also has criticized the party’s far-left wing and was among the first Democrats in Congress to call for then-President Joe Biden to drop his 2024 reelection bid.

He has emphasized fighting President Donald Trump and “MAGA extremists who threaten our democracy.” He also has promoted legislation to lower housing costs and raise the federal minimum wage.

Sawant, who served three terms on the Seattle City Council, ran an “independent anti-war revolutionary socialist” and called Smith an “arch-Zionist and warmonger” over his history of backing military aid to Israel. Smith in July voted for an amendment to cut aid to Israel, saying he remains a strong supporter of the country, but he opposes its scorched earth tactics in Gaza.

Basler owns an advertising and video production company and has run for the 9^th District seat several times, losing by wide margins. He also ran for King County elections director in 2023 after backing baseless claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election.

This year, Basler has been campaigning on a pro-business platform, saying government needs to get out of the way of entrepreneurs and allow the next Microsoft or Amazon to grow in the region.

The 9th District includes parts of South Seattle, Bellevue, Renton, Kent, Federal Way and surrounding communities.

Smith approached the primary with an overwhelming fundraising advantage, raising nearly $1.9 million through mid-July. Sawant raised $645,000 and Basler raised $99,000, mostly his own money.

Smith has represented the district since 1997 and has typically won reelection comfortably. His position on Armed Services places him at the center of decisions involving military budgets, U.S. alliances and Pentagon oversight, issues that have become increasingly contentious within the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.

Little drama was unfolding in the primary for several other Democratic House incumbents. Tens of thousands of ballots remain to be counted in the coming days as county elections offices process later arriving mail and dropbox ballots.

In Seattle, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a national progressive leader, was coasting toward a sixth term, taking 83% of the vote against three little-known challengers in the 7th Congressional District.

Washington’s newest Democratic House representative, Emily Randall, led in her first reelection campaign in the Bremerton-area 6th Congressional District.

In what was once viewed as a swing district, Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, led in her campaign for a fifth term, with 54% of the vote and three Republicans vying for the second spot in the general election.

Schrier flipped the 8th Congressional District for Democrats in 2018 after Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert decided not to seek reelection. The 8th Congressional District stretches from the East King County and Pierce County suburbs across the Cascade Mountains to Chelan and Kittitas counties.

U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen, D-Everett; Marilyn Strickland D-Tacoma; and Suzan DelBene, D-Medina, were also easily leading in their respective primaries against a field of underfunded and lesser known challengers.

In addition to her own race, DelBene is leading national efforts for Democrats to retake the majority in the House, as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Seattle Times staff reporters David Gutman and Stephannie Stokes contributed to this report.