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 County results Congressional district results Precinct resultsInslee: 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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The2020 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020. It followed atop-two primary held on August 4. Incumbent GovernorJay Inslee, theDemocratic candidate, defeated Loren Culp, theRepublican candidate by a wide margin. Inslee, who was eligible to run for a third term due to the lack of gubernatorialterm limits,[1] initiallylaunched a campaign forpresident of the United States inthe 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, includingWashington Attorney GeneralBob Ferguson; no other major Democratic candidates entered the race.[4] Republican Loren Culp, thepolice chief ofRepublic, Washington, placed second in the top-two primary and advanced to the general election alongside Inslee.
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 sinceGary Locke won reelection in2000. Inslee's landslide victory included him winning over 74% of the vote inKing County, the highest for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in the county's history. King County, home toSeattle, 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 inEastern Washington, with Inslee winningWhitman 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 RepublicanWashington Secretary of StateKim Wyman five weeks after the election.[8] He did not give aconcession speech, while making claims of irregularities which Wyman characterized as "unsubstantiated".[9] Culp's actions drew criticism and were compared toDonald Trump's refusal to concede the2020 U.S. presidential election.[10]
This election marked the tenth consecutive victory of the Democratic candidate for governor of Washington.
Washington had not had aRepublican governor sinceJohn 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 afterSouth Dakota (which had not had aDemocratic governor sinceHarvey L. Wollman left office in 1979) andUtah (which had not had a Democratic governor sinceScott M. Matheson left office nine days prior to Spellman in 1985).[11][12][13] Incumbent GovernorJay Inslee, who previously served in theU.S. House, was first elected to the governorship inthe 2012 election and won reelectionin 2016.
When Inslee announcedhis candidacy for president, several political figures expressed interest in running for Governor if Inslee wonthe Democratic primaries. These includedAttorney GeneralBob Ferguson,Commissioner of Public LandsHilary Franz andKing County executiveDow Constantine.[14] They stated they would only run if Inslee did not, avoiding aprimary challenge.[15][16]
SeveralRepublican politicians announced their own campaigns to challenge Inslee, including businessman Anton Sakharov,Republic police chief Loren Culp, andstate senatorPhil Fortunato.[17] However, speculated candidates such as former U.S. RepresentativeDave Reichert, formerSeattle Port Commissioner and 2016 gubernatorial candidateBill Bryant,Pierce County Executive and former state senatorBruce Dammeier, and state House Minority LeaderJ. 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.
Washington is one of two states that holds atop-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.
Statewide officials
Local officials
Newspapers
| 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] |
with Bryant, Constantine, Ferguson, and Franz
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[h] | Margin of error | Bill Bryant (R) | Dow Constantine (D) | Bob Ferguson (D) | Hilary Franz (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chism Strategies (D)[41] | March 8–10, 2019 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 46% | 6% | 25% | 2% | 21% |
| 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% | ||
| 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 |
U.S vice presidents
State legislators
Newspapers
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| 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
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Tim Eyman (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[65] | July 22–27, 2020 | 534 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 62% | 31% | 7% |
| SurveyUSA[66] | May 16–19, 2020 | 530 (LV) | ± 5.4% | 60% | 31% | 9% |
Jay Inslee vs. Phil Fortunato
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Phil Fortunato (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[65] | July 22–27, 2020 | 534 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 61% | 32% | 8% |
| SurveyUSA[66] | May 16–19, 2020 | 530 (LV) | ± 5.4% | 56% | 34% | 10% |
Jay Inslee vs. Joshua Freed
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Joshua Freed (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[65] | July 22–27, 2020 | 534 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 60% | 31% | 9% |
| SurveyUSA[66] | May 16–19, 2020 | 530 (LV) | ± 5.4% | 57% | 30% | 13% |
Jay Inslee vs. Raul Garcia
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Raul Garcia (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[65] | July 22–27, 2020 | 534 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 60% | 32% | 8% |
| 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 | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
| 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
Swing by county
Trend relative to the state by county
County flipsDemocratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold
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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) |
Vance said he's voting against almost every Republican this year.
Official campaign websites
