Live Results: Democratic Sen. Patty Murray defeats Republican Tiffany Smiley in Washington Senate race

• Sen. Patty Murray is running against Republican Tiffany Smiley to represent Washington in the US Senate.
• Murray has been representing solidly blue Washington for nearly three decades.

Longtime Democratic incumbent Sen. Patty Murray faces off against political newcomer Tiffany Smiley in Washington to represent the state in the US Senate.

The polls closed at 8 p.m. local time, or 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Washington's US Senate race candidates

Murray, who's represented the state of Washington in the US Senate for nearly three decades, serves on the Senate Committee on Appropriations and chairs the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

In addition to being the first female senator from Washington, Murray served as the first female chair of the Veterans' Affairs Committee during the 112th Congress and served as the first female chair of the Budget Committee during the 113th Congress. Prior to her time in the US Senate, Murray served in thw Washington State Senate for a single term.

Smiley, a political newcomer seeking to unseat the longtime senator, is a veterans advocate and former nurse. Her husband, Scotty, who was injured in Iraq when a car bomb sent shrapnel into his eyes, became the US military's first-ever blind active duty officer.

If elected, she would become the state's first Republican US senator since 2001.

Washington's voting history

The state voted for Joe Biden over then-President Donald Trump by a margin of 19 percentage points in the 2020 election. In Washington, Democratic candidates have been victorious in presidential races during the last nine elections.

The money race

According to OpenSecrets, Murray has raised $18.5 million, spent $20.7 million, and has $1.6 million cash on hand, as of October 19.

Her challenger, Smiley, has raised $16.4 million, spent $14.7 million, and has $1.7 million cash on hand, as of October 19.

As of late October, over a dozen super PACs, national party committees, politically active nonprofits, and other non-candidate groups had combined to spend about $20 million to advocate for or against candidates in this race, including during the race's primary phase. Here, Murray has a slight advantage.

What experts say

The race between Murray and Smiley is rated as "likely Democratic" by Inside Elections, "likely Democratic" by The Cook Political Report, and "likely Democratic" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.