Richard Mitchell widened his lead over John Creighton on Wednesday, all but guaranteeing that Mitchell will face Metropolitan King County Councilmember Jane Hague in November in her bid for re-election.

Hague remained first in the four-way primary for District 6 with just under 39 percent of the vote, followed by Mitchell with 29 percent, Creighton 25 percent and Patsy Bonincontri 7 percent.

Creighton, a Port of Seattle commissioner, said he wasn't giving up. "There remain ballots to be counted. We're just going to continue to wait and see until more results are in," Creighton said.

Mitchell's political consultant, Jason Bennett, attributed his strong showing in the Wednesday count, in part, to two late mailers, including one that featured a statement in court by a former girlfriend about Creighton, "I believe he is stalking me and I fear for my safety."

"Undecideds clearly are breaking for Richard because they're tired of the personal and legal drama of the other opponents. That is clearly reflected in the numbers," Bennett said.

Bennett said Hague, who outpolled Mitchell by less than 2 percentage points in ballots counted Wednesday, may have suffered from a backlash by Tim Eyman and other anti-tax conservatives over Hague's decision to vote for an annual $20 car-tab fee to maintain Metro bus service.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com