Governor
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Jay Inslee (D) | 599,135 | 46.78% |
| Rob McKenna (R) | 554,303 | 43.28% |
| Rob Hill (R) | 42,597 | 3.33% |
| Shahram Hadian (R) | 40,118 | 3.13% |
| James White (I) | 12,767 | 1% |
| Christian Joubert (H) | 9,390 | 0.73% |
| L. Dale Sorgren (I) | 8,711 | 0.68% |
| Max Sampson (R) | 8,170 | 0.64% |
| Javier Lopez (R) | 5,691 | 0.44% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
About the Race
The two candidates with the most votes will advance to the Nov. 6 general election. Washington’s governor is paid $166,891 per year plus medical and other benefits. The governor serves as the chief executive, overseeing all executive branch agencies. Each term is four years.
Featured Candidates
Jay Inslee
- Party:
- Democrat
- Age:
- 73
- City:
- Bainbridge Island, Washington
Education: Earned bachelor’s degree from University of Washington; earned law degree from Willamette University Law School.
Work experience: Former prosecuting attorney, author.
Political experience: Elected governor in 2012 and 2016; member of state Legislature, 1989-92; member U.S. House 1993-94; 1999-2012. Ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, but dropped out before any primary or caucus.
Family: Married to Trudi Inslee. Has three children.
Campaign financing: Raised $6.7 million in contributions as of Oct. 2, 2020, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission, including almost $1.4 million from state Democratic Central Committee and $328,000 in small contributions under $25.
Rob McKenna
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 62
- City:
- Bellevue, WA
- Occupation:
- Lawyer
NOTABLE: Currently finishing his second term as Washington’s attorney general; former King County councilman.
Related Media
Complete Coverage
Biviano vs Shea, Taxes
Amy Biviano, a Democrat, talks about her stance on the requirement for two-thirds votes to approve tax increases. She is running for state House in the 4th Legislative District against incumbent Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, who declined to be interviewed.
Dellwo vs. Holy, Taxes
Former state Rep. Dennis Dellwo, a Democrat, and attorney Jeff Holy, a Republican, give their positions on the requirement for two-thirds votes to approve tax increases. The two are running for state House in Spokane County’s 6th Legislative District, which includes parts of the city of Spokane and most of the West Plains.
Social issues to be decided, and new slate of top officials
Washington state is in for big changes next year. In two days, residents should have an idea of how big. Tuesday will bring an end to back-to-back-to-back candidate commercials that debate and snipe at each other on points of economics or character. An end to phone calls from earnest volunteers or recorded messages from celebrities seeking a vote for or against someone or something. An end to bus or RV odysseys around the state by gaggles of Democratic or Republican candidates trying to exhort supporters who have already voted to find a couple friends who haven’t, then get them to mark and mail their ballots. An end to revelations that some high-tech billionaire, out-of-state millionaire or Hollywood celebrity has sent a five-, six- or seven-figure contribution to a campaign for or against a ballot measure.
Ballot puts plenty at stake for health care, taxes, Medicare
WASHINGTON – The White House, the Senate, the tea party revolution in the House and 11 governorships are on the line Tuesday in a fantastically costly, relentlessly negative election played out in unsettled economic times. There is more at stake, though – the future of the Affordable Care Act, the fate of Medicare – in a land where the campaign tab is counted in the billions of dollars, where voters have been polled to the point of rebelliousness, and where a 4-year-old approached national hero status when she tearily protested the onslaught of campaign advertising.
Spin Control: Santa Claus has a platform, and it’s kids
The voice on the other end of the phone was deep and mellifluous. “Jim, it’s Santa Claus.” Being a reporter of many years, that did not throw me, because I knew it did not belong to the most famous resident of the North Pole, but to a resident of Incline Village, Nev., whose legal name is Santa Claus. A former police official, a monk, a child advocate. A candidate for president.
Poll: Pot initiative favored
SEATTLE – A $2.8 million TV advertising blitz in October by the campaign to legalize marijuana appears to have given Initiative 502 a critical boost just as ballots are being cast. There are no marijuana leaves – or even admitted marijuana users – in the ads, reflecting I-502’s strategy to attack the ban on marijuana while not endorsing its use.
Campaigns steer focus to driver’s license issue
SEATTLE – The races for governor and attorney general have brought renewed attention to a proposal that would create a two-tiered driver’s license system in Washington to address the issue of driving by immigrants who can’t provide proof of legal U.S. residency. Washington and New Mexico remain the only two states in the country that do not require proof of legal U.S. residency when applying for a driver’s license.
Ad Watch: Mix-up in Shea mailer
State Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane, mailed a new ad to voters late last week that sharply criticizes media coverage of him and misrepresents his and his opponent’s positions on key issues. The race between Shea and Democrat Amy Biviano has become one of the most watched in the region, in part because of Shea’s misdemeanor gun charge for possessing a gun in his car without a valid concealed weapons permit and Biviano’s appearance in the “Women of the Ivy League” edition of Playboy magazine when she was a student at Yale University 17 years ago.
Write-in hopefuls eye White House
Voters who don’t like Barack Obama or Mitt Romney have other choices, and not just the four other candidates on Idaho’s presidential ballot or the six others on Washington’s. They also can – and hundreds do – write another name in a space provided. Those votes won’t be counted unless the race between Obama and Romney is so close they would make a difference. Even though that’s unlikely in either state, that didn’t keep 37 would-be White House occupants from filing as official presidential write-in candidates in Washington.
John Webster: The Old Party isn’t so Grand anymore
I used to be a Republican. Voted for them. Wrote nice things about them and their policies. When I was a kid, I even doorbelled for them. Never again.
National votes tallied locally
With white walls and desks full of computers, the nondescript room on the fifth floor of the Lincoln Building in downtown Spokane doesn’t particularly reflect its importance. It’s only used a few times a year, but one night every four years the room becomes the epicenter of history in the making.
Dellwo vs. Holy, Abortion
Former state Rep. Dennis Dellwo, a Democrat, and attorney Jeff Holy, a Republican, give their stances on abortion policy. The two are running for state House in Spokane County’s 6th Legislative District, which includes parts of the city of Spokane, and most of the West Plains.
Biviano vs. Shea, Abortion
Amy Biviano, a Democrat, talks about her stance on abortion policy. She is running for state House in the 4th Legislative District against incumbent Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, who declined to be interviewed.
Last-minute election push is on
With five days left until Election Day, campaigns are shifting their focus from policy arguments to pleas for action. Candidates, meanwhile, are crisscrossing the state to make their final pitches.