2020 Washington gubernatorial election
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The 2020 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020. It followed a top-two primary held on August 4. Incumbent Governor Jay Inslee, the Democratic candidate, defeated Loren Culp, the Republican candidate by a wide margin. Inslee, who was eligible to run for a third term due to the lack of gubernatorial term limits,[1] initially launched a campaign for president of the United States in the 2020 election. When he dropped out of that race in August 2019 due to extremely low polling numbers,[2] he announced he would seek a third term as governor.[3] Several other Democratic political figures considered entering the race if Inslee did not run, including Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson; no other major Democratic candidates entered the race.[4] Republican Loren Culp, the police chief of Republic, Washington, placed second in the top-two primary and advanced to the general election alongside Inslee.
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November 3, 2020
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   Inslee: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Culp: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No data | ||||||||||||||||
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The election was clear and decisive, with Inslee winning re-election over Culp by over 13 points. This marked the largest margin of victory in a Washington gubernatorial race since Gary Locke won reelection in 2000. Inslee's landslide victory included him winning over 74% of the vote in King County, the highest for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in the county's history. King County, home to Seattle, has about a third of the state's voters.[5][6] In addition, Inslee became the first Democratic gubernatorial candidate since the aforementioned Locke in 2000 to win any county in Eastern Washington, specifically Whitman County.[7] Culp still ran ahead of the top-ticket presidential candidate, Donald Trump, by about four points.
Despite the margin of victory, Culp refused to concede and filed a lawsuit against Republican Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman five weeks after the election.[8] He did not give a concession speech, while making claims of irregularities which Wyman characterized as "unsubstantiated".[9] Culp's actions drew criticism and were compared to Donald Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 U.S. presidential election.[10]
This election marked the tenth consecutive victory of the Democratic candidate for governor of Washington.
Background
Washington had not had a Republican governor since John Spellman left office in 1985, the longest streak of Democratic leadership of any state in the country and the third longest streak of one-party leadership after South Dakota (which had not had a Democratic governor since Harvey L. Wollman left office in 1979) and Utah (which had not had a Democratic governor since Scott M. Matheson left office nine days prior to Spellman in 1985).[11][12][13] Incumbent Governor Jay Inslee, who previously served in the U.S. House, was first elected to the governorship in the 2012 election and won reelection in 2016.
When Inslee announced his candidacy for president, several political figures expressed interest in running for Governor if Inslee won the Democratic primaries. These included Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and King County Executive Dow Constantine.[14] They stated they would only run if Inslee did not, avoiding a primary challenge.[15][16]
Several Republican politicians announced their own campaigns to challenge Inslee, including businessman Anton Sakharov, Republic police chief Loren Culp, and state senator Phil Fortunato.[17] However, speculated candidates such as former U.S. Representative Dave Reichert, former Seattle Port Commissioner and 2016 gubernatorial candidate Bill Bryant, Pierce County Executive and former state senator Bruce Dammeier, and state House Minority Leader J. T. Wilcox, all declined to be candidates, leaving no prominent Republicans to challenge Inslee, which was seen as a necessary prerequisite to mount a formidable challenge to him.
Primary election
Washington is one of two states that holds a top-two primary, meaning that all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two move on to the general election. Most states have party primaries.
Democratic candidates
Advanced to the general election
- Jay Inslee, incumbent governor of Washington and candidate for president of the United States in 2020[18]
Declined
- Dow Constantine, King County Executive[19][16]
- Bob Ferguson, Washington Attorney General (ran for reelection, endorsed Inslee)[16][18]
- Hilary Franz, Washington Commissioner of Public Lands (ran for reelection, endorsed Inslee)[16]
Republican candidates
Advanced to the general election
Eliminated in the primary
- Tim Eyman, activist and initiative promoter[20]
- Phil Fortunato, state senator[17]
- Joshua Freed, former mayor of Bothell[21]
- Raul Garcia, emergency room physician[22]
- Nate Herzog, former Lake Forest Park city councilman[23]
- Anton Sakharov, program manager[17]
Declined
- Bill Bryant, former Seattle Port Commissioner and candidate for governor in 2016[24]
- Bruce Dammeier, Pierce County Executive (ran for reelection)[25]
- Doug Ericksen, state senator[26]
- Drew MacEwen, state representative (running for reelection)[27]
- Dori Monson, radio personality[28]
- Dave Reichert, former U.S. Representative for Washington's 8th congressional district[29]
- Drew Stokesbary, state representative (running for reelection)[25]
- J. T. Wilcox, minority leader of the Washington House of Representatives (running for reelection)[25]
Green Party
Eliminated in the primary
Independents
Eliminated in the primary
- Cregan Newhouse, City of Seattle Consumer Protection Division acting manager and former public television director[32]
Withdrew
- Asa Palagi, U.S. Army officer and businessman[33]
Endorsements
Statewide officials
- Bob Ferguson, Washington Attorney General[18]
- Hilary Franz, Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands[16]
Local officials
Newspapers
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Jay Inslee (D) |
Loren Culp (R) |
Tim Eyman (R) |
Phil Fortunato (R) |
Joshua Freed (R) |
Raul Garcia (R) |
Anton Sakharov (R) |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[36] | July 22–27, 2020 | 513 (LV) | ± 5.4% | 55% | 9% | 8% | 3% | – | 6% | 4% | 16%[b] |
| Crosscut/Elway[37] | July 11–15, 2020 | 402 (RV) | ± 5.0% | 46% | 14% | 4% | 2% | – | 5% | 6% | 25%[c] |
| SurveyUSA[38] | May 16–19, 2020 | 650 (LV) | ± 5.6% | 50% | 4% | 8% | 6% | 6% | 2% | 1% | 23%[d] |
| SurveyUSA[39] | January 26–28, 2020 | 1,103 (RV) | ± 3.9% | 39% | 5% | 11% | 4% | 4% | – | 3% | 34%[e] |
| Crosscut/Elway[40] | December 26–29, 2019 | 405 (RV) | ± 5% | 46% | 4% | 7%[f] | 4% | 5% | – | – | 34%[g] |
Results
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 80–90%
- 20–30%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jay Inslee (incumbent) | 1,247,916 | 50.14% | |
| Republican | Loren Culp | 433,238 | 17.41% | |
| Republican | Joshua Freed | 222,553 | 8.94% | |
| Republican | Tim Eyman | 159,495 | 6.41% | |
| Republican | Raul Garcia | 135,045 | 5.43% | |
| Republican | Phil Fortunato | 99,265 | 3.99% | |
| Democratic | Don L. Rivers | 25,601 | 1.03% | |
| Trump Republican Party | Leon Lawson | 23,073 | 0.93% | |
| Green | Liz Hallock | 21,537 | 0.87% | |
| Democratic | Cairo D'Almeida | 14,657 | 0.59% | |
| Trump Republican Party | Anton Sakharov | 13,935 | 0.56% | |
| Pre2016 Republican Party | Nate Herzog | 11,303 | 0.45% | |
| Democratic | Gene Hart | 10,605 | 0.43% | |
| Democratic | Omari Tahir Garrett | 8,751 | 0.35% | |
| Unaffiliated Party | Ryan Ryals | 6,264 | 0.25% | |
| Socialist Workers | Henry Clay Dennison | 5,970 | 0.24% | |
| Trump Republican Party | Goodspaceguy | 5,646 | 0.23% | |
| Republican | Richard L. Carpenter | 4,962 | 0.2% | |
| Independent | Elaina J. Gonzales | 4,772 | 0.19% | |
| Republican | Matthew Murray | 4,489 | 0.18% | |
| Independent | Thor Amundson | 3,638 | 0.15% | |
| Republican | Bill Hirt | 2,854 | 0.11% | |
| Republican | Martin L. Wheeler | 2,686 | 0.11% | |
| Republican | Ian Gonzales | 2,537 | 0.1% | |
| New-Liberty Party | Joshua Wolf | 2,315 | 0.09% | |
| No Party Preference | Cregan M. Newhouse | 2,291 | 0.09% | |
| No Party Preference | Brian R. Weed | 2,178 | 0.09% | |
| StandupAmerica Party | Alex Tsimerman | 1,721 | 0.07% | |
| Republican | Tylor Grow | 1,509 | 0.06% | |
| Independent | Dylan B. Nails | 1,470 | 0.06% | |
| Independent | Craig Campbell | 1,178 | 0.05% | |
| American Patriot Party | William Miller | 1,148 | 0.05% | |
| No Party Preference | Cameron M. Vessey | 718 | 0.03% | |
| Propertarianist Party | Winston Wilkes | 702 | 0.03% | |
| Fifth Republic Party | David W. Blomstrom | 519 | 0.02% | |
| Cascadia Labour Party | David Voltz | 480 | 0.02% | |
| Write-in | 1,938 | 0.08% | ||
| Total votes | 2,488,959 | 100% | ||
General election
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 7, 2020 - C-SPAN
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[43] | Safe D | October 23, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[44] | Safe D | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[45] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| Politico[46] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos[47] | Safe D | October 28, 2020 |
| RCP[48] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| 270towin[49] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
Post-primary endorsements
U.S vice presidents
State legislators
- Chris Vance, former state representative, former King County Councilmember, and former chair of the Washington State Republican Party (Independent, former Republican)[51]
Newspapers
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Jay Inslee (D) |
Loren Culp (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swayable[61] | October 23 – November 1, 2020 | 474 (LV) | ± 6% | 59% | 41% | – |
| Public Policy Polling (D)[62][A] | October 14–15, 2020 | 615 (LV) | ± 4% | 56% | 40% | 4% |
| SurveyUSA[63] | October 8–10, 2020 | 591 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 54% | 40% | 6% |
| Strategies 360[64] | September 8–14, 2020 | 501 (RV) | ± 4.4% | 53% | 37% | 9%[i] |
| SurveyUSA[65] | July 22–27, 2020 | 534 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 61% | 32% | 7% |
| SurveyUSA[66] | May 16–19, 2020 | 530 (LV) | ± 5.4% | 56% | 31% | 13% |
Jay Inslee vs. Tim Eyman
Jay Inslee vs. Phil Fortunato
Jay Inslee vs. Joshua Freed
Jay Inslee vs. Raul Garcia
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jay Inslee (incumbent) | 2,294,243 | 56.56% | +2.31% | |
| Republican | Loren Culp | 1,749,066 | 43.12% | −2.37% | |
| Write-in | 13,145 | 0.32% | +0.06% | ||
| Total votes | 4,056,454 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
By county
| County[68] | Jay Inslee
Democratic |
Loren Culp
Republican |
Write-in
Various |
Margin | Total votes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 1,655 | 28.34% | 4,170 | 71.40% | 15 | 0.26% | -2,515 | -43.07% | 5,840 |
| Asotin | 4,212 | 35.49% | 7,627 | 64.26% | 30 | 0.25% | -3,415 | -28.77% | 11,869 |
| Benton | 36,939 | 36.03% | 65,170 | 63.57% | 410 | 0.40% | -28,231 | -27.54% | 102,519 |
| Chelan | 17,922 | 41.63% | 24,936 | 57.93% | 188 | 0.44% | -7,014 | -16.29% | 43,046 |
| Clallam | 24,366 | 49.64% | 24,640 | 50.20% | 82 | 0.17% | -274 | -0.56% | 49,088 |
| Clark | 138,196 | 50.83% | 132,984 | 48.91% | 715 | 0.26% | 5,212 | 1.92% | 271,895 |
| Columbia | 652 | 26.34% | 1,819 | 73.49% | 4 | 0.16% | -1,167 | -47.15% | 2,475 |
| Cowlitz | 22,213 | 37.11% | 37,453 | 62.57% | 193 | 0.32% | -15,240 | -25.46% | 59,859 |
| Douglas | 7,176 | 33.81% | 13,958 | 65.77% | 90 | 0.42% | -6,782 | -31.95% | 21,224 |
| Ferry | 1,345 | 30.79% | 3,000 | 68.68% | 23 | 0.53% | -1,655 | -37.89% | 4,368 |
| Franklin | 12,803 | 39.53% | 19,488 | 60.17% | 96 | 0.30% | -6,685 | -20.64% | 32,387 |
| Garfield | 349 | 23.61% | 1,118 | 75.64% | 11 | 0.74% | -769 | -52.03% | 1,478 |
| Grant | 10,772 | 28.71% | 26,645 | 71.00% | 109 | 0.29% | -15,873 | -42.30% | 37,526 |
| Grays Harbor | 16,502 | 43.08% | 21,686 | 56.61% | 119 | 0.31% | -5,184 | -13.53% | 38,307 |
| Island | 28,239 | 52.75% | 25,145 | 46.97% | 153 | 0.29% | 3,094 | 5.78% | 53,537 |
| Jefferson | 16,992 | 68.79% | 7,651 | 30.97% | 59 | 0.24% | 9,341 | 37.81% | 24,702 |
| King | 887,374 | 74.07% | 307,022 | 25.63% | 3,653 | 0.30% | 580,352 | 48.44% | 1,198,049 |
| Kitsap | 87,766 | 55.69% | 69,288 | 43.97% | 530 | 0.34% | 18,478 | 11.73% | 157,584 |
| Kittitas | 10,529 | 40.21% | 15,567 | 59.45% | 87 | 0.33% | -5,038 | -19.24% | 26,183 |
| Klickitat | 5,693 | 42.31% | 7,735 | 57.49% | 27 | 0.20% | -2,042 | -15.18% | 13,455 |
| Lewis | 13,821 | 30.54% | 31,306 | 69.19% | 122 | 0.27% | -17,485 | -38.64% | 45,249 |
| Lincoln | 1,526 | 21.79% | 5,450 | 77.83% | 26 | 0.37% | -3,924 | -56.04% | 7,002 |
| Mason | 16,502 | 44.40% | 20,562 | 55.32% | 104 | 0.28% | -4,060 | -10.92% | 37,168 |
| Okanogan | 8,298 | 39.15% | 12,843 | 60.59% | 54 | 0.25% | -4,545 | -21.44% | 21,195 |
| Pacific | 6,514 | 46.47% | 7,463 | 53.24% | 41 | 0.29% | -949 | -6.77% | 14,018 |
| Pend Oreille | 2,513 | 29.55% | 5,959 | 70.08% | 31 | 0.36% | -3,446 | -40.53% | 8,503 |
| Pierce | 238,097 | 51.68% | 220,904 | 47.95% | 1,730 | 0.38% | 17,193 | 3.73% | 460,731 |
| San Juan | 9,621 | 73.39% | 3,465 | 26.43% | 23 | 0.18% | 6,156 | 46.96% | 13,109 |
| Skagit | 36,444 | 49.87% | 36,404 | 49.81% | 231 | 0.32% | 40 | 0.05% | 73,079 |
| Skamania | 3,129 | 43.10% | 4,116 | 56.69% | 15 | 0.21% | -987 | -13.60% | 7,260 |
| Snohomish | 244,876 | 56.13% | 189,797 | 43.50% | 1,607 | 0.37% | 55,079 | 12.62% | 436,280 |
| Spokane | 131,734 | 44.82% | 161,138 | 54.82% | 1,053 | 0.36% | -29,404 | -10.00% | 293,925 |
| Stevens | 7,393 | 26.06% | 20,902 | 73.67% | 76 | 0.27% | -13,509 | -47.62% | 28,371 |
| Thurston | 93,723 | 56.19% | 72,506 | 43.47% | 571 | 0.34% | 21,217 | 12.72% | 166,800 |
| Wahkiakum | 1,102 | 37.10% | 1,862 | 62.69% | 6 | 0.20% | -760 | -25.59% | 2,970 |
| Walla Walla | 13,305 | 42.93% | 17,590 | 56.76% | 94 | 0.30% | -4,285 | -13.83% | 30,989 |
| Whatcom | 81,992 | 59.44% | 55,544 | 40.27% | 399 | 0.29% | 26,448 | 19.17% | 137,935 |
| Whitman | 10,806 | 51.62% | 10,056 | 48.04% | 72 | 0.34% | 750 | 3.58% | 20,934 |
| Yakima | 41,152 | 43.07% | 54,097 | 56.62% | 296 | 0.31% | -12,945 | -13.55% | 95,545 |
| Totals | 2,294,243 | 56.56% | 1,749,066 | 43.12% | 13,145 | 0.32% | 545,177 | 13.44% | 4,056,454 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
By congressional district
Inslee won six of ten congressional districts, with the remaining four going to Culp, including one that elected a Democrat.[69]
| District | Inslee | Culp | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 56.43% | 43.2% | Suzan DelBene |
| 2nd | 60.12% | 39.55% | Rick Larsen |
| 3rd | 45.75% | 53.98% | Jaime Herrera Beutler |
| 4th | 37.48% | 62.18% | Dan Newhouse |
| 5th | 42.54% | 57.11% | Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
| 6th | 55.66% | 44.02% | Derek Kilmer |
| 7th | 84.56% | 15.16% | Pramila Jayapal |
| 8th | 49.11% | 50.55% | Kim Schrier |
| 9th | 72.73% | 26.97% | Adam Smith |
| 10th | 54.25% | 45.38% | Denny Heck (116th Congress) |
| Marilyn Strickland (117th Congress) | |||
Notes
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - "Some other candidate" with 4%; Undecided with 12%
- "Other" with 1%; Undecided with 24%
- Undecided with 23%
- Undecided with 34%
- Listed as an independent.
- Undecided with 34%
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - Includes "Refused"
- This poll was sponsored by the Northwest Progressive Institute