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 County results Locke: 50–60% 60–70% Craswell: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1996 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996. Though eligible for a second term, incumbent governorMike Lowry chose not to run for reelection following a series of personal and public scandals, including allegations of sexual harassment.[1] This gubernatorial race was especially significant in that it resulted in the firstAsian Americangovernor in the mainland United States (afterGeorge Ariyoshi of island stateHawaii),DemocratGary Locke.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gary Locke | 287,762 | 23.65% | |
| Democratic | Norm Rice | 212,888 | 17.50% | |
| Republican | Ellen Craswell | 185,680 | 15.26% | |
| Republican | Dale Foreman | 162,615 | 13.37% | |
| Democratic | Jay Inslee | 118,571 | 9.75% | |
| Republican | Norm Maleng | 109,088 | 8.97% | |
| Republican | Jim Waldo | 63,854 | 5.25% | |
| Republican | Pam Roach | 29,533 | 2.43% | |
| Republican | Nona Brazier | 21,237 | 1.75% | |
| Democratic | Brian Zetlen | 6,152 | 0.51% | |
| Republican | Warren E. Hanson | 4,886 | 0.40% | |
| Republican | Bob Tharp | 4,825 | 0.40% | |
| Socialist Workers | Jeff Powers | 3,742 | 0.31% | |
| Democratic | Mohammad H. Said | 3,007 | 0.25% | |
| Democratic | Max Englerius | 2,837 | 0.23% | |
| Total votes | 1,216,677 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gary Locke | 1,296,492 | 57.96% | +5.80% | |
| Republican | Ellen Craswell | 940,538 | 42.04% | −5.80% | |
| Total votes | 2,237,030 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
This is the most recent gubernatorial election in whichKittitas County voted for a Democrat.
| County[16] | Gary Locke Democratic | Ellen Craswell Republican | Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 1,829 | 40.13% | 2,729 | 59.87% | -900 | -19.75% | 4,558 |
| Asotin | 3,696 | 50.89% | 3,567 | 49.11% | 129 | 1.78% | 7,263 |
| Benton | 25,899 | 48.34% | 27,682 | 51.66% | -1,783 | -3.33% | 53,581 |
| Chelan | 9,928 | 42.23% | 13,584 | 57.77% | -3,656 | -15.55% | 23,512 |
| Clallam | 14,536 | 49.31% | 14,941 | 50.69% | -405 | -1.37% | 29,477 |
| Clark | 58,400 | 52.65% | 52,525 | 47.35% | 5,875 | 5.30% | 110,925 |
| Columbia | 863 | 44.10% | 1,094 | 55.90% | -231 | -11.80% | 1,957 |
| Cowlitz | 19,175 | 58.07% | 13,843 | 41.93% | 5,332 | 16.15% | 33,018 |
| Douglas | 4,353 | 40.27% | 6,456 | 59.73% | -2,103 | -19.46% | 10,809 |
| Ferry | 1,251 | 44.76% | 1,544 | 55.24% | -293 | -10.48% | 2,795 |
| Franklin | 5,685 | 46.66% | 6,499 | 53.34% | -814 | -6.68% | 12,184 |
| Garfield | 511 | 40.56% | 749 | 59.44% | -238 | -18.89% | 1,260 |
| Grant | 8,916 | 41.04% | 12,807 | 58.96% | -3,891 | -17.91% | 21,723 |
| Grays Harbor | 15,851 | 60.66% | 10,278 | 39.34% | 5,573 | 21.33% | 26,129 |
| Island | 14,874 | 52.59% | 13,409 | 47.41% | 1,465 | 5.18% | 28,283 |
| Jefferson | 8,268 | 59.18% | 5,702 | 40.82% | 2,566 | 18.37% | 13,970 |
| King | 490,284 | 67.03% | 241,134 | 32.97% | 249,150 | 34.06% | 731,418 |
| Kitsap | 50,121 | 54.84% | 41,275 | 45.16% | 8,846 | 9.68% | 91,396 |
| Kittitas | 6,609 | 53.17% | 5,822 | 46.83% | 787 | 6.33% | 12,431 |
| Klickitat | 3,337 | 49.20% | 3,445 | 50.80% | -108 | -1.59% | 6,782 |
| Lewis | 11,377 | 42.15% | 15,613 | 57.85% | -4,236 | -15.69% | 26,990 |
| Lincoln | 1,947 | 38.92% | 3,055 | 61.08% | -1,108 | -22.15% | 5,002 |
| Mason | 11,421 | 55.30% | 9,231 | 44.70% | 2,190 | 10.60% | 20,652 |
| Okanogan | 5,489 | 42.36% | 7,468 | 57.64% | -1,979 | -15.27% | 12,957 |
| Pacific | 5,699 | 62.85% | 3,368 | 37.15% | 2,331 | 25.71% | 9,067 |
| Pend Oreille | 2,308 | 46.94% | 2,609 | 53.06% | -301 | -6.12% | 4,917 |
| Pierce | 131,194 | 55.43% | 105,500 | 44.57% | 25,694 | 10.86% | 236,694 |
| San Juan | 4,567 | 63.19% | 2,660 | 36.81% | 1,907 | 26.39% | 7,227 |
| Skagit | 21,522 | 52.81% | 19,232 | 47.19% | 2,290 | 5.62% | 40,754 |
| Skamania | 1,915 | 52.04% | 1,765 | 47.96% | 150 | 4.08% | 3,680 |
| Snohomish | 126,425 | 57.40% | 93,827 | 42.60% | 32,598 | 14.80% | 220,252 |
| Spokane | 84,740 | 53.30% | 74,249 | 46.70% | 10,491 | 6.60% | 158,989 |
| Stevens | 6,687 | 40.62% | 9,777 | 59.38% | -3,090 | -18.77% | 16,464 |
| Thurston | 53,106 | 61.10% | 33,813 | 38.90% | 19,293 | 22.20% | 86,919 |
| Wahkiakum | 1,013 | 56.47% | 781 | 43.53% | 232 | 12.93% | 1,794 |
| Walla Walla | 9,710 | 50.11% | 9,669 | 49.89% | 41 | 0.21% | 19,379 |
| Whatcom | 34,679 | 54.02% | 29,517 | 45.98% | 5,162 | 8.04% | 64,196 |
| Whitman | 8,743 | 55.60% | 6,981 | 44.40% | 1,762 | 11.21% | 15,724 |
| Yakima | 29,564 | 47.76% | 32,338 | 52.24% | -2,774 | -4.48% | 61,902 |
| Totals | 1,296,492 | 57.96% | 940,538 | 42.04% | 355,954 | 15.91% | 2,237,030 |
Swing by county
Trend relative to the state by county
County flipsDemocratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold
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The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission opened an investigation in 1997 relating to campaign contributions received from the Chinese Americans and foreign nationals. In example, the Ling Chen Zhe Buddhist temple,[17] where a $5000 cash donation was accepted, returned and five $1000 donations were given in its place. Together with official campaign events held at the Harmony Palace restaurant, co-owned by a leader of the Chinese gangGhost Shadows. In total, six fundraising events for the Locke campaign were organized byJohn Huang, who donated $750 personally, with similar occurrences at each one.[18]
This investigation was subsequently picked up (as part of a probe into the1996 campaign finance scandal) by the IRS, who requested records extending to 1990, the time of Locke's campaign for King County executive.[19] Locke testified before Congress in 2006[20] and denied knowingly accepting campaign contributions from Chinese foreign agents. In 2015, the Locke gubernatorial campaign plead guilty to breaking three campaign fundraising laws relating to the limits for individual contribution, timely reporting of contributions, and failure to deposit cash contributions.[21]
Ellen Craswell suffered from cancer immediately following the election, retired in 2005, and died in 2008.[22]
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