SEATTLE King County elections officials have released additional results from Tuesdays primary, and things arent looking any better for Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.

With about two-thirds of the vote counted Wednesday, Nickels was still in third place, with T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan narrowly overtaking Sierra Club activist Mike McGinn for the lead. The top two advance to the general election.

Nickels, fighting for a third term, is more than 1,000 votes out of second place. He had 19,864 votes, or 25.2 percent, to Mallahans 21,101, or 26.8 percent, and McGinns 20,880, or 26.5 percent.

Its still a three-way tie so nothings certain, but its a delight to be in first, Mallahan said Wednesday. We had a great field campaign, 20,000 calls made by volunteers in the last five days. We knew that effort would show up in the second round of results.

McGinn said he felt good after seeing his lead over Nickels grow.

Its a tight race, he said. You just have to count the votes.

Nickels spokesman, Sandeep Kaushik, acknowledged the mayor is in trouble, but said there were encouraging signs namely, that Nickels claimed a slightly greater percentage of the votes counted Wednesday than those counted Tuesday, while McGinns percentage dropped slightly from his election night results.

Its possible we could pass him, Kaushik said.

Other candidates included former NBA player James Donaldson at 8.8 percent and city councilwoman Jan Drago at 7.6 percent.

Nickels, considered by mayors across the country to be a leader on climate issues, has been hammered over the citys inability to keep the streets clear during a paralyzing snowstorm last winter. McGinn gained traction by opposing his plan for a multibillion-dollar tunnel to replace a crumbling elevated roadway along Seattles waterfront.

Mallahan said he would modify the tunnel plan to improve access to downtown Seattle.