William Lee Bryant Jr. (born 1957) is an American businessman and politician from the state of

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 ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served on the

Seattle Port Commission The Port of Seattle is a government agency overseeing the seaport and airport of Seattle, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to one of the largest airports and container t ...

from 2008 to 2016. In the

2016 Washington gubernatorial election The 2016 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016. Under Washington's top-two primary law, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the August 2 primary, residents voted for one of several candidat ...

, as one of the top two finishers in the blanket primary, he participated in the general election, losing to incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

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 ...

Early life and education

Bryant was born in

Morton, Washington Morton is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,036 at the 2020 census. History Morton was first settled in 1871 by James Fletcher. It was later named after Benjamin Harrison's Vice President, Levi P. Morton ...

, and attended Capital High School in Olympia. He earned a degree in trade and diplomacy from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

's School of Foreign Service.

Political career

Bryant was first elected to the

Port of Seattle The Port of Seattle is a government agency overseeing the seaport and airport of Seattle, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to one of the largest airports and container t ...

Commission in 2007, narrowly defeating incumbent Alec Fisken. He was reelected in 2011 against

Dean Willard with over 60% of the vote, a remarkable share for a Republican in

King County King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

Gubernatorial campaign

On May 14, 2015, Bryant announced his campaign for

Governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...

in the 2016 election, running as a Republican. He has made reduction of traffic congestion and traffic noise on the 520 bridge as major goals of his campaign. Bryant also supported

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

as well as

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

and opposed

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, placing him in the

socially liberal Cultural liberalism is a social philosophy which expresses the social dimension of liberalism and advocates the freedom of individuals to choose whether to conform to cultural norms. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, it is often expressed a ...

faction of the Republican Party, while opposing raising the statewide minimum wage, making him

fiscally conservative Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., ''An ...

. On November 8, 2016, Bryant lost the election to incumbent Democrat

, receiving 45.5% of the vote to Inslee's 54.2%. Bryant won 30 of 39 counties, with many of his greatest margins in Washington's most rural areas. Inslee won 68% of the vote in King County, Washington's largest, which proved decisive. Bryant remains the last Republican gubernatorial candidate in Washington to come within single digits of winning.

References

External links

* 1957 births 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Living people People from Morton, Washington Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Washington (state) Republicans {{washington-politician-stub