Marilyn Strickland is projected to win the race for Washingtons 10th Congressional District, The Associated Press reported Wednesday putting her on track to become the first Black member of Congress from the Pacific Northwest, and the first ever Korean-American woman in the legislative body.

Strickland, 58, a former mayor of Tacoma and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, defeated state Rep. Beth Doglio, 55, who had the backing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and other left-leaning groups. Both women are Democrats.

Marilyn was not only a good fit for the district, she was making history, said Sandeep Kaushik, a Seattle-based Democratic strategist. (Kaushik consulted for former state Rep. Kristine Reeves, who came in third place behind Strickland and Doglio in the primary for Washingtons 10th and subsequently endorsed Strickland.)

The 10th, which hugs the southern portion of Puget Sound from Olympia to the Tacoma suburbs, became an open seat when Rep. Denny Heck, a four-term Democrat, announced plans to run for lieutenant governor.

Thanks to Washington states nonpartisan, jungle primary system, which enables the two top vote-getters to proceed to the general election regardless of party, both general election candidates this year were Democrats.

Notwithstanding the historic nature of her victory, Stricklands win is a blow to progressives who took issue with the more moderate Democrats tenure as mayor and her work for Seattles business community. Strickland was in charge of the Seattle Chamber when it joined forces with Amazon to pressure the city into overturning a proposed tax on the employees of big companies to fund services for the growing population of chronically homeless people. The chamber went on to spend $2.5 million trying to unseat city council members who either had supported the tax or had not taken a firm position on it.

Doglio, by contrast, had built a career as an environmental and womens rights activist at home in the progressive movement. She ran on the now-standard platform of ambitious progressive ideas, including Medicare for All, tuition-free public college and the Green New Deal.

Doglios defeat is a particularly harsh blow for the Congressional Progressive Caucus and its chairwoman, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Seattle Democrat.

Jayapal, eager to add another authentic progressive voice to Washington states congressional delegation, mobilized the resources of the CPCs PAC and her own Medicare for All PAC behind Doglio in both the primary and the general election. As part of the CPCs first ever outside-spending program , the PACs independent expenditure arm spent more than $640,000 to elect Doglio. The Medicare for All PACs outside spending arm spent $190,000 on her behalf.

As of mid-October, however, Stricklands campaign had raised slightly more than Doglios, offsetting some of Doglios outside spending advantage.

The outcome is an indication, along with other indications weve had this year, like Joe Biden s victory in the Democratic presidential primary, that the claims that all the energy in the party is on the left, and the progressive wing is on the ascendancy, are not precisely right, Kaushik said. The story is more complicated than that. There are two wings of the Democratic Party , and they both have great strengths.