Treasurer
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Duane Davidson (R) | 224,302 | 25.52% |
| Michael Waite (R) | 208,143 | 23.68% |
| Marko Liias (D) | 163,643 | 18.62% |
| John Paul Comerford (D) | 162,003 | 18.43% |
| Alec Fisken (D) | 120,929 | 13.76% |
* 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.
The Candidates
Duane Davidson
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 65
- City:
- Richland, Washington
Education: Graduated from Tolt High School. Earned bachelor’s degree in accounting from Central Washington University.
Political experience: Elected state treasurer 2016. Elected Benton County treasurer 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Former president of the state Association of County Treasurers.
Work experience: Former chief financial accountant for Benton County; former auditor for the Washington State Auditor’s Office, where he was assistant audit manager in the Tri-Cities and also led the Walla Walla regional offices.
Family: Widower. Has three children.
Campaign Funds: Raised $157,000 as of Sept. 7, according to the Public Disclosure Commission; among top donors are NW Credit Union Assn., Community Bankers Association and Washington Society of CPAs, with $4,000 each.
Michael Waite
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 948
- City:
- Bothell, WA
Age: 39
Education: Earned a bachelor’s in business administration at Columbus State University and MBA at Emory University.
Political experience: First run for political office.
Work experience: Senior vice president at Bentall Kennedy, an investment company; spent four years with Cascade Investment, the private investment firm of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Former professional tennis player.
Family: Married. Has two children.
Marko Liias
- Party:
- Democratic
- City:
- Everett, Washington
Education: Kamiak High School; earned bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and Master of Public Affairs at University of Washington.
Work experience: Legislator, part-time college instructor.
Political experience: Mukilteo City Council; three terms state House; two terms in state Senate.
Campaign financing: Raised about $270,000 as of Oct. 6, with maximum contributions of $4,000 from donors that include the Service Employees International Union, Federation of State Employees and the Washington Chiropractic Trust.
Family: Single.
Complete Coverage
Davidson is safe choice for treasurer
Policy aside, a look at each candidate’s resume tips the scales to Davidson. He received the endorsements of every county treasurer, except for one who remained neutral.
Washington state treasurer race a GOP showdown
It’s a foregone conclusion that a Republican will be the next state treasurer in Washington state. That’s because the two candidates running in the November election – Duane Davidson and Michael Waite – are both Republicans. It’s the first time in state history that two GOP candidates have advanced to the general election in a statewide office race.
For the first time, the ‘top-two’ system advances candidates from same party for statewide office
Two Republicans will face off for state treasurer, a unique situation in Washington political history.
Fisken tops strong treasurer field
Fisken says he likes McIntire progressive tax proposal, and would want to be part of any discussion on changing the code, but he would be more diplomatic about it. We are impressed with his intellect, background and overall vision. In a strong field of candidates, he earned our endorsement
Transgender bathroom bill fails in Senate
OLYMPIA – Transgender people can continue to use restrooms and other public facilities based on the gender with which they identify. The Senate narrowly rejected an effort to repeal a rule approved late last year by the Human Rights Commission which allows people to use public restrooms, bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity, n
Effort to reverse transgender bathroom rule defeated
A bill to negate a newly codified rule on the use of public restrooms and other facilities by trangender people failed by one vote.