The 2024 Washington gubernatorial election will be held on November 5, 2024. The

top-two primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party ...

will be held on August 6. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...

announced on May 1, 2023 that he would not run for a fourth term. Inslee, who previously served in the U.S. House, was first elected Governor in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and won re-election in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

by increasing margins each time. Washington has not had a Republican governor since John 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 after

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

(which has not had a Democratic governor since

Harvey Wollman Harvey Lowell Wollman (May 14, 1935 – October 18, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 26th Governor of South Dakota from 1978 to 1979. He was the first Lieutenant Governor in the history of South Dakota to succeed to the govern ...

left office in 1979) and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

(which has not had a Democratic governor since Scott Matheson left office nine days prior to Spellman in 1985).

Primary election

Washington is one of two states that holds a

, meaning that all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two advance to the general election.

Democratic candidates

Declared

*Edward Cale,

state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...

bank advocate * Bob Ferguson,

Washington Attorney General The Attorney General of Washington is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Washington and head of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The attorney general represents clients of the state and defends the public interest i ...

*Reggie Grant, communications professional *Cassondra Hanson, community college graduate *Chayton Inman, artificial intelligence engineer *EL'ona Kearney, entrepreneur and U.S. Army veteran * Mark Mullet, state senator *Don Rivers, retired King County Metro worker and perennial candidate

Withdrawn

* Hilary Franz,

Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over of forest, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington. The DNR also manages of aquatic areas which include shorelines, tidelands, lands un ...

''( running for U.S. House)''

Declined

* Dow Constantine, King County Executive * Denny Heck, Lieutenant Governor of Washington and former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from ''( running for re-election)'' *

, incumbent

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

''(endorsed Ferguson)''

Republican candidates

Declared

*Semi Bird, PCO and chair for the Benton County Republican Party and former Richland school board member *Laurel Khan, restaurant owner * Dave Reichert, former U.S. Representative for (2005–2019) *Kristine Schuler, anti-tax activist

Withdrawn

*Raul Garcia, physician and candidate for governor in

''( running for U.S. Senate, endorsed Reichert)''

Declined

Bruce Dammeier Bruce F. Dammeier (born 1961) is an American politician and engineer serving as the county executive of Pierce County, Washington. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of both chambers of the Washington State Legis ...

, Pierce County Executive (2017–present) and former state senator (2013–2017) ''(endorsed Reichert)'' * Jaime Herrera Beutler, former U.S. Representative for (2011–2023) ''( running for Public Lands Commissioner)'' * Loren Culp, former

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

police chief, runner-up for governor in

, and candidate for in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

''(endorsed Bird)'' *

Drew MacEwen Drew Christian MacEwen (born June 12, 1973) is an American politician of the Republican Party. He is a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 35th district, which covers the entirety of Mason County and parts of Kit ...

, state senator ''( running for U.S. House, endorsed Reichert)'' * J.T. Wilcox, state representative and former Minority Leader of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

Third-party and independent candidates

Declared

*William Combs (Independent), U.S. Navy veteran *Ambra Mason (

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

), design company owner *Leon Lawson (Trump Republican), proponent of the

QAnon conspiracy theory QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". T ...

, candidate for governor in

, and candidate for U.S. Senate in

*Bobbie Samons (Independent), government transparency advocate

Endorsements

Polling

;with Bird, Ferguson, Franz, Garcia, and Mullet ;with Constantine, Dammeier, Ferguson, and Franz ;with Inslee, generic Republican, and generic Democrat

General election

Predictions

Polling

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

* * * (State affiliate of the U.S.

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

) * ;Official campaign websites
Semi Bird (R) for GovernorBob Ferguson (D) for GovernorEL'ona Kearney (D) for GovernorMark Mullet (D) for GovernorDave Reichert (R) for Governor
{{Washington elections

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

Jay Inslee

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...