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 County results Congressional district resultsGoldmark: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Sutherland: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||
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The2008 Washington Public Lands Commissioner election was held on November 4, 2008, to elect theWashington Public Lands Commissioner, concurrently with the2008 U.S. presidential election, as well aselections to theU.S. Senate and variousstate and local elections, including forU.S. House andgovernor of Washington.
DemocratPeter J. Goldmark narrowly defeated incumbentRepublican Public Lands CommissionerDoug Sutherland.[1]
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.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Doug Sutherland (incumbent) | 691,145 | 51.13 | |
| Democratic | Peter J. Goldmark | 660,714 | 48.87 | |
| Total votes | 1,351,859 | 100.00 | ||
| County[5] | Doug Sutherland Republican | Peter J. Goldmark Democratic | Margin | Total votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 1,709 | 68.33% | 792 | 31.67% | 917 | 36.67% | 2,501 |
| Asotin | 2,906 | 55.38% | 2,341 | 44.62% | 565 | 10.77% | 5,247 |
| Benton | 24,980 | 66.40% | 12,638 | 33.60% | 12,342 | 32.81% | 37,618 |
| Chelan | 10,240 | 61.22% | 6,487 | 38.78% | 3,753 | 22.44% | 16,727 |
| Clallam | 11,969 | 55.33% | 9,662 | 44.67% | 2,307 | 10.67% | 21,631 |
| Clark | 38,475 | 53.58% | 33,327 | 46.42% | 5,148 | 7.17% | 71,802 |
| Columbia | 1,012 | 68.84% | 458 | 31.16% | 554 | 37.69% | 1,470 |
| Cowlitz | 10,541 | 49.29% | 10,845 | 50.71% | -304 | -1.42% | 21,386 |
| Douglas | 5,159 | 62.18% | 3,138 | 37.82% | 2,021 | 24.36% | 8,297 |
| Ferry | 1,180 | 58.27% | 845 | 41.73% | 335 | 16.54% | 2,025 |
| Franklin | 7,104 | 65.77% | 3,698 | 34.23% | 3,406 | 31.53% | 10,802 |
| Garfield | 507 | 67.78% | 241 | 32.22% | 266 | 35.56% | 748 |
| Grant | 9,284 | 63.38% | 5,364 | 36.62% | 3,920 | 26.76% | 14,648 |
| Grays Harbor | 9,242 | 54.44% | 7,733 | 45.56% | 1,509 | 8.89% | 16,975 |
| Island | 12,351 | 52.10% | 11,356 | 47.90% | 995 | 4.20% | 23,707 |
| Jefferson | 5,079 | 40.58% | 7,436 | 59.42% | -2,357 | -18.83% | 12,515 |
| King | 137,487 | 41.23% | 196,000 | 58.77% | -58,513 | -17.55% | 333,487 |
| Kitsap | 32,373 | 51.03% | 31,060 | 48.97% | 1,313 | 2.07% | 63,433 |
| Kittitas | 5,828 | 60.96% | 3,733 | 39.04% | 2,095 | 21.91% | 9,561 |
| Klickitat | 2,878 | 55.81% | 2,279 | 44.19% | 599 | 11.62% | 5,157 |
| Lewis | 12,539 | 66.10% | 6,430 | 33.90% | 6,109 | 32.21% | 18,969 |
| Lincoln | 2,291 | 60.59% | 1,490 | 39.41% | 801 | 21.18% | 3,781 |
| Mason | 9,289 | 55.86% | 7,340 | 44.14% | 1,949 | 11.72% | 16,629 |
| Okanogan | 4,584 | 51.29% | 4,353 | 48.71% | 231 | 2.58% | 8,937 |
| Pacific | 3,367 | 50.61% | 3,286 | 49.39% | 81 | 1.22% | 6,653 |
| Pend Oreille | 2,158 | 57.69% | 1,583 | 42.31% | 575 | 15.37% | 3,741 |
| Pierce | 80,609 | 55.61% | 64,349 | 44.39% | 16,260 | 11.22% | 144,958 |
| San Juan | 2,538 | 38.75% | 4,011 | 61.25% | -1,473 | -22.49% | 6,549 |
| Skagit | 15,698 | 53.30% | 13,752 | 46.70% | 1,946 | 6.61% | 29,450 |
| Skamania | 1,264 | 52.67% | 1,136 | 47.33% | 128 | 5.33% | 2,400 |
| Snohomish | 69,230 | 49.77% | 69,864 | 50.23% | -634 | -0.46% | 139,094 |
| Spokane | 54,445 | 51.39% | 51,495 | 48.61% | 2,950 | 2.78% | 105,940 |
| Stevens | 7,737 | 62.31% | 4,679 | 37.69% | 3,058 | 24.63% | 12,416 |
| Thurston | 33,195 | 52.29% | 30,286 | 47.71% | 2,909 | 4.58% | 63,481 |
| Wahkiakum | 787 | 58.08% | 568 | 41.92% | 219 | 16.16% | 1,355 |
| Walla Walla | 8,196 | 62.07% | 5,009 | 37.93% | 3,187 | 24.13% | 13,205 |
| Whatcom | 23,305 | 49.95% | 23,349 | 50.05% | -44 | -0.09% | 46,654 |
| Whitman | 4,231 | 52.62% | 3,810 | 47.38% | 421 | 5.24% | 8,041 |
| Yakima | 25,378 | 63.65% | 14,491 | 36.35% | 10,887 | 27.31% | 39,869 |
| Totals | 691,145 | 51.13% | 660,714 | 48.87% | 30,431 | 2.25% | 1,351,859 |
Newspapers
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Doug Sutherland (R) | Peter Goldmark (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[7] | October 30 – November 2, 2008 | 663 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 48% | 42% | 10% |
| SurveyUSA[8] | October 26–27, 2008 | 630 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 45% | 43% | 12% |
| SurveyUSA[9] | October 12–13, 2008 | 544 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 47% | 38% | 15% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Peter J. Goldmark | 1,416,904 | 50.55 | +3.88 | |
| Republican | Doug Sutherland (incumbent) | 1,385,903 | 49.45 | –0.51 | |
| Total votes | 2,802,807 | 100.00 | N/A | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | |||||
| County[11] | Doug Sutherland Republican | Peter J. Goldmark Democratic | Margin | Total votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 3,077 | 68.50% | 1,415 | 31.50% | -1,662 | -37.00% | 4,492 |
| Asotin | 5,180 | 56.78% | 3,943 | 43.22% | -1,237 | -13.56% | 9,123 |
| Benton | 45,384 | 66.96% | 22,392 | 33.04% | -22,992 | -33.92% | 67,776 |
| Chelan | 18,318 | 61.24% | 11,596 | 38.76% | -6,722 | -22.47% | 29,914 |
| Clallam | 20,349 | 56.12% | 15,913 | 43.88% | -4,436 | -12.23% | 36,262 |
| Clark | 88,956 | 52.92% | 79,143 | 47.08% | -9,813 | -5.84% | 168,099 |
| Columbia | 1,423 | 68.71% | 648 | 31.29% | -775 | -37.42% | 2,071 |
| Cowlitz | 21,964 | 52.36% | 19,988 | 47.64% | -1,976 | -4.71% | 41,952 |
| Douglas | 8,942 | 62.95% | 5,262 | 37.05% | -3,680 | -25.91% | 14,204 |
| Ferry | 1,908 | 57.78% | 1,394 | 42.22% | -514 | -15.57% | 3,302 |
| Franklin | 12,157 | 65.12% | 6,513 | 34.88% | -5,644 | -30.23% | 18,670 |
| Garfield | 913 | 72.46% | 347 | 27.54% | -566 | -44.92% | 1,260 |
| Grant | 16,502 | 64.28% | 9,170 | 35.72% | -7,332 | -28.56% | 25,672 |
| Grays Harbor | 16,852 | 60.53% | 10,988 | 39.47% | -5,864 | -21.06% | 27,840 |
| Island | 20,547 | 52.61% | 18,511 | 47.39% | -2,036 | -5.21% | 39,058 |
| Jefferson | 7,700 | 41.18% | 10,997 | 58.82% | 3,297 | 17.63% | 18,697 |
| King | 314,993 | 38.12% | 511,295 | 61.88% | 196,302 | 23.76% | 826,288 |
| Kitsap | 59,942 | 51.46% | 56,552 | 48.54% | -3,390 | -2.91% | 116,494 |
| Kittitas | 9,874 | 59.71% | 6,663 | 40.29% | -3,211 | -19.42% | 16,537 |
| Klickitat | 5,208 | 55.18% | 4,231 | 44.82% | -977 | -10.35% | 9,439 |
| Lewis | 22,365 | 67.84% | 10,602 | 32.16% | -11,763 | -35.68% | 32,967 |
| Lincoln | 3,489 | 62.36% | 2,106 | 37.64% | -1,383 | -24.72% | 5,595 |
| Mason | 15,407 | 56.97% | 11,635 | 43.03% | -3,772 | -13.95% | 27,042 |
| Okanogan | 8,028 | 49.74% | 8,112 | 50.26% | 84 | 0.52% | 16,140 |
| Pacific | 5,685 | 55.04% | 4,643 | 44.96% | -1,042 | -10.09% | 10,328 |
| Pend Oreille | 3,666 | 59.14% | 2,533 | 40.86% | -1,133 | -18.28% | 6,199 |
| Pierce | 170,256 | 54.79% | 140,483 | 45.21% | -29,773 | -9.58% | 310,739 |
| San Juan | 3,633 | 37.29% | 6,110 | 62.71% | 2,477 | 25.42% | 9,743 |
| Skagit | 28,222 | 54.01% | 24,032 | 45.99% | -4,190 | -8.02% | 52,254 |
| Skamania | 2,738 | 54.13% | 2,320 | 45.87% | -418 | -8.26% | 5,058 |
| Snohomish | 147,375 | 49.32% | 151,459 | 50.68% | 4,084 | 1.37% | 298,834 |
| Spokane | 106,492 | 51.93% | 98,569 | 48.07% | -7,923 | -3.86% | 205,061 |
| Stevens | 13,064 | 61.66% | 8,123 | 38.34% | -4,941 | -23.32% | 21,187 |
| Thurston | 63,028 | 53.40% | 55,008 | 46.60% | -8,020 | -6.79% | 118,036 |
| Wahkiakum | 1,242 | 58.78% | 871 | 41.22% | -371 | -17.56% | 2,113 |
| Walla Walla | 14,152 | 62.72% | 8,412 | 37.28% | -5,740 | -25.44% | 22,564 |
| Whatcom | 45,234 | 48.53% | 47,978 | 51.47% | 2,744 | 2.94% | 93,212 |
| Whitman | 8,377 | 52.01% | 7,731 | 47.99% | -646 | -4.01% | 16,108 |
| Yakima | 43,261 | 59.69% | 29,216 | 40.31% | -14,045 | -19.38% | 72,477 |
| Totals | 1,385,903 | 49.45% | 1,416,904 | 50.55% | 31,001 | 1.11% | 2,802,807 |
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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Despite losing the state, Sutherland won seven of nine congressional districts, including four that elected Democrats.[12]
| District | Sutherland | Goldmark | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 47% | 53% | Jay Inslee |
| 2nd | 51% | 49% | Rick Larsen |
| 3rd | 54% | 46% | Brian Baird |
| 4th | 63% | 37% | Doc Hastings |
| 5th | 54% | 46% | Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
| 6th | 53% | 47% | Norm Dicks |
| 7th | 23% | 77% | Jim McDermott |
| 8th | 53% | 47% | Dave Reichert |
| 9th | 52% | 48% | Adam Smith |
