2016 Washington elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Washington on November 8, 2016. The primary was held on August 2.[1]

At the time of the filing deadline of May 20, 2016, 682 candidates had filed for 345 offices statewide.[1][2]

2016 Washington elections

Federal

President of the United States

Washington has 12 electoral votes for the presidential election, which are projected to be awarded to Hillary Clinton.[3]

Statewide party caucuses and primaries were held in the spring of 2016 to determine the allocation of state delegates to the respective Democratic and Republican party national conventions. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic caucus in March, defeating Hillary Clinton and taking 73 percent of delegates;[4] Donald Trump won the Republican primary, taking 76 percent of delegates. A non-binding primary for the Democratic party held in May resulted in a victory for Hillary Clinton.[5][6]

United States House of Representatives

All 10 of Washington's seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for re-election. All but one of the incumbents ran for re-election, the exception being Jim McDermott (D) of the 7th district.[7] McDermott's seat was won by Pramila Jayapal (D).[8] The remaining seats were retained by the incumbents.[3]

United States Senate

Incumbent Democratic senior Senator Patty Murray ran for re-election to a fifth term in office,[9] defeating Republican challenger Chris Vance by 18 points.[10]

United States Senate election in Washington, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Murray (incumbent)	745,421	53.82
	Republican	Chris Vance	381,004	27.51
	Republican	Eric John Makus	57,825	4.18
	Democratic	Phil Cornell	46,460	3.35
	Republican	Scott Nazarino	41,542	3.00
	Libertarian	Mike Luke	20,988	1.52
	Democratic	Mohammad Said	13,362	0.96
	Independent	Donna Rae Lands	11,472	0.83
	Independent	Ted Cummings	11,028	0.80
	Independent	Sam Wright	10,751	0.78
	Republican	Uncle Mover	8,569	0.62
	Independent	Jeremy Teuton	7,991	0.58
	Democratic	Thor Amundson	7,906	0.57
	Independent	Chuck Jackson	6,318	0.46
	Independent	Pano Churchill	5,150	0.37
	Independent	Zach Haller	5,092	0.37
	Independent	Alex Tsimerman	4,117	0.30
Total votes			1,384,996	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Patty Murray (incumbent)	1,913,979	59.0
	Republican	Chris Vance	1,329,338	41.0
Total votes			3,243,317	100.0
	Democratic hold

Statewide

Governor

Incumbent Governor Jay Inslee was re-elected to his second term over Port of Seattle Commissioner Bill Bryant.[11][12]

Washington gubernatorial election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jay Inslee (incumbent)	687,412	49.30
	Republican	Bill Bryant	534,519	38.33
	Republican	Bill Hirt	48,382	3.47
	Democratic	Patrick O'Rourke	40,572	2.91
	Independent	Steve Rubenstein	22,582	1.62
	Democratic	James Robert Deal	14,623	1.05
	Democratic	Johnathan Dodds	14,152	1.01
	Republican	Goodspaceguy	13,191	0.95
	Socialist Workers	Mary Martin	10,374	0.74
	Independent	David Blomstrom	4,512	0.32
	Independent	Christian Joubert	4,103	0.29
Total votes			1,394,422	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Jay Inslee (incumbent)	1,760,520	54.4
	Republican	Bill Bryant	1,476,346	45.6
Total votes			3,236,866	100.0
	Democratic hold

Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen, first elected to the office in 1996, announced that he would not seek a sixth term.[13][14]

Four Democrats (three of whom were state senators), four Republicans, two third-party candidates, and one independent competed in the primary election. Marty McClendon (R) and Cyrus Habib (D) finished as top two and advanced to the general election, where Habib won by 9 points.[15]

Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cyrus Habib	294,641	22.26
	Republican	Marty McClendon	253,714	19.17
	Democratic	Karen Fraser	207,271	15.66
	Democratic	Steve Hobbs	202,427	15.29
	Republican	Phillip Yin	141,680	10.70
	Democratic	Karen Wallace	59,175	4.47
	Republican	Javier Figueroa	56,214	4.25
	Republican	Bill Penor	52,986	4.00
	Libertarian	Paul Addis	26,304	1.99
	Independent	Daniel Davies	16,491	1.25
	Independent	Mark Greene	12,692	0.96
Total votes			1,323,595	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Cyrus Habib	1,698,297	54.4
	Republican	Marty McClendon	1,424,277	45.6
Total votes			3,122,574	100.0
	Democratic hold

Attorney General

Results by county Ferguson:       Trumbull:   

Incumbent Attorney General Bob Ferguson, elected in 2012 as a Democrat, sought reelection, opposed by Joshua B. Trumbull, who ran as a Libertarian.[1]

Washington Attorney General election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Ferguson (incumbent)	906,493	72.6
	Libertarian	Joshua Trumbull	341,932	27.4
Total votes			1,248,425	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Bob Ferguson (incumbent)	2,000,804	67.1
	Libertarian	Joshua Trumbull	979,105	32.9
Total votes			2,979,909	100.0
	Democratic hold

Secretary of State

Incumbent Secretary of State Kim Wyman, elected in 2012 as the only Republican to hold a statewide office on the West Coast, is seeking reelection.[16] Former Seattle City Councilmember Tina Podlodowski announced her bid in January 2016, seeking to become the first Democrat to hold the office since 1965.[17] Wyman retained her seat with 55% of the vote.[18]

Washington Secretary of State election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kim Wyman (incumbent)	645,614	47.90
	Democratic	Tina Podlodowski	621,732	46.13
	Libertarian	Tim Turner	80,570	5.98
Total votes			1,347,916	100.0
General election
	Republican	Kim Wyman (incumbent)	1,713,004	54.7
	Democratic	Tina Podlodowski	1,416,299	45.3
Total votes			3,129,303	100.0
	Republican hold

State Auditor

Incumbent State Auditor Troy Kelley, elected as a Democrat in 2012, was indicted over federal charges of felony theft and money-laundering. Several attempts to remove him from office, including a threat of impeachment by the legislature, proved unsuccessful.[19] Kelley did not file to run for a second term.[20]

Two Democratic, one Republican and two independent candidates competed in the primary. Mark Miloscia (R) and Pat McCarthy (D) finished as top two and advanced to the general election. McCarthy won by 5 points.[21]

Washington Auditor election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Miloscia	481,910	36.71
	Democratic	Pat McCarthy	381,828	29.09
	Democratic	Jeff Sprung	314,290	23.94
	Independent	Mark Wilson	96,972	7.39
	Independent	David Golden	37,727	2.87
Total votes			1,312,727	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Pat McCarthy	1,597,011	52.3
	Republican	Mark Miloscia	1,455,771	47.7
Total votes			3,052,782	100.0
	Democratic hold

State Treasurer

Incumbent James McIntire announced on December 16, 2015, that he would not seek a third term as Washington State Treasurer.[22] Five candidates are running to succeed him: state senator Marko Liias, former Port of Seattle commissioner Alec Fisken, pension consultant John Paul Comerford, Benton County treasurer Duane Davidson, and investment firm executive Michael Waite.[23] Liias, Fisken, and Comerford are running as Democrats; Davidson and Waite, as Republicans.[23]

Duane Davidson and Michael Waite, both Republicans, finished as top two in the primary election and advanced to the general election, marking the first time since the top-two system had been instituted that both of the primary slots in any statewide race had been won by Republicans.[24]

In the general election, Duane Davidson received the endorsements of every county treasurer in Washington state, both Democrat and Republican, as well as Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman. Michael Waite was endorsed by former state Auditor Brian Sonntag and former state Attorney-General Rob McKenna.[25]

Davidson won the general election for Treasurer. This was the first time a Republican had been elected to the office of Treasurer of Washington in more than 50 years.[26]

Washington State Treasurer election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Duane Davidson	322,374	25.09
	Republican	Michael Waite	299,766	23.33
	Democratic	Marko Liias	261,633	20.36
	Democratic	John Paul Comerford	230,904	17.97
	Democratic	Alec Fisken	170,117	13.24
Total votes			1,284,794	100.0
General election
	Republican	Duane Davidson	1,576,580	58.2
	Republican	Michael Waite	1,134,843	41.8
Total votes			2,711,423	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

Public Lands Commissioner

Incumbent Public Lands Commissioner Peter J. Goldmark, elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012, announced his intention to not seek a third term in office.[27]

Five Democrats, one Republican, and one Libertarian competed in the primary. Steve McLaughlin (R) and Hilary Franz (D) finished as top two and advanced to the general election. Franz was elected with 53% of the vote.[28]

Washington Public Lands Commissioner election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve McLaughlin	494,416	37.95
	Democratic	Hilary Franz	297,074	22.80
	Democratic	Dave Upthegrove	183,976	14.12
	Democratic	Mary Verner	159,564	12.25
	Libertarian	Steven Nielson	63,065	4.84
	Democratic	Karen Porterfield	61,710	4.74
	Democratic	John Stillings	43,129	3.31
Total votes			1,302,925	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Hilary Franz	1,630,369	53.2
	Republican	Steve McLaughlin	1,436,817	46.8
Total votes			3,067,186	100.0
	Democratic hold

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Incumbent Randy Dorn declined to run for a third term as Superintendent of Public Instruction. Nine candidates ran in the nonpartisan election. Erin Jones and Chris Reykdal finished as top two and advanced to the general election. In a close race, Reykdal edged out Jones by one point.[29] Jones conceded the election on November 22.[30]

Insurance Commissioner

Mike Kreidler was reelected to his fifth term.

Legislative

State Senate

Twenty-five of the forty-nine seats in the Washington State Senate were up for election. Republicans held a narrow majority in the Senate, taking 26 seats compared to 23 for the Democrats.[1] Seven incumbent senators retired, creating vacancies that had the potential to swing the split of party votes.[31] A Democrat defeated the Republican incumbent in District 41, leaving Republicans with a one-seat majority.

State House of Representatives

All 98 seats in the Washington House of Representatives were up for election. The outgoing House had a narrow Democratic majority, with 50 seats compared to the Republicans' 48.[1] Both parties picked up seats from the other party, resulting in the same overall composition.

Ballot measures

• Washington Initiative 732 proposed a revenue-neutral carbon tax to fight global warming. The measure would have imposed a fee on carbon dioxide emissions within the state, decreased the state's sales tax and business tax, and expanded the state's version of the earned income tax credit. It was rejected by voters on November 8.[32]

Local elections

• Sound Transit 3, a $54 billion tax measure to fund public transit expansion under the Sound Transit special district (which contains portions of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties) was approved by voters.[33]

See also

• Elections in Washington (state)

References

1. O'Sullivan, Joseph (May 20, 2016). "More than Trump: Candidate field gets set for Washington voters". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
2. "2016 Candidates Who Have Filed". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
3. "Washington Election Results 2016". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
4. "Bernie Sanders wins big in Washington caucuses". The Seattle Times. March 26, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
5. "Trump wins Washington state's presidential primaries". CBS News. Associated Press. May 24, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
6. "Washington State Primary Election Results". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
7. Brunner, Jim (January 4, 2016). "Jim McDermott to retire; many consider a run, even another McDermott". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
8. "Washington U.S. House 7th District Results: Pramila Jayapal Wins". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
9. Brunner, Jim (February 9, 2014). "Patty Murray to seek fifth Senate term in 2016". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
10. "Washington U.S. Senate Results: Patty Murray Wins". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
11. Brunner, Jim (May 14, 2015). "Port Commissioner Bill Bryant announces run for governor". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
12. "Washington Governor Results: Jay Inslee Wins". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
13. O'Sullivan, Joseph (March 8, 2016). "Brad Owen won't seek re-election as lieutenant governor". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
14. "Lt. Governor Owen announces he will retire when his fifth term ends" (Press release). Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Washington. March 8, 2016. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
15. "Washington Lieutenant Governor Results: Cyrus Habib Wins". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
16. Connelly, Joel (April 21, 2016). "GOP 'rising star,' Secretaryof State Kim Wyman, plans $1 million campaign". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
17. Brunner, Jim (January 13, 2016). "Tina Podlodowski to challenge Secretary of State Kim Wyman". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
18. "Washington Secretary of State Results: Kim Wyman Wins". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
19. Connelly, Joel (February 23, 2016). "Indicted State Auditor Troy Kelley won't be impeached by the Legislature". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
20. Santos, Melissa (May 20, 2016). "After Troy Kelley trial, a battle for who will take over State Auditor's Office". Tacoma News-Tribune. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
21. "Washington Auditor Results: Pat McCarthy Wins". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
22. Santos, Melissa (December 16, 2015). "State Treasurer Jim McIntire won't seek re-election". Tacoma News Tribune. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
23. Cornfield, Jerry (May 19, 2016). "Liias enters race to become Washington state treasurer". The Herald (Everett). Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
24. Geranios, Nicholas (September 20, 2016). "Washington state treasurer race a GOP showdown". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
25. "Waite has leg up in GOP-only treasurer race". The Olympian. October 20, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
26. Geranios, Nicholas (September 20, 2016). "Washington state treasurer race a GOP showdown". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
27. Bernton, Hal (April 5, 2016). "State lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark won't run for re-election". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
28. "Washington Lands Commissioner Results: Hilary Franz Wins". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
29. Lorch, Matt (November 29, 2016). "Chris Reykdal to be state's top educator, now the tough work begins (VIDEO)". Q13 Fox. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
30. Santos, Melissa (November 23, 2016). "Erin Jones concedes schools chief race to Chris Reykdal". The News Tribune. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
31. O'Sullivan, Joseph (May 29, 2016). "Handful of races could flip political control of Legislature". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
32. "Washington Initiative 732 — Create Carbon Emission Tax — Results: Rejected". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
33. "Washington Proposition 1 — Sound Transit 3 Builds 62 Miles of Light Rail — Results: Approved". The New York Times. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.

External links

• Elections & Voting at the Washington Secretary of State
• Washington at Ballotpedia