The 2020 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020. 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 ...

was held on August 4. Incumbent Jay Inslee, the Democratic candidate, soundly defeated Loren Culp, the Republican candidate. As Washington does not have gubernatorial term limits, 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 Represent ...

was eligible to run for a third term. Inslee initially launched a campaign 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 ...

in the 2020 election. When he dropped out of that race in August 2019 due to extremely low polling numbers, he announced he would seek a third term as governor. Several other Democratic political figures considered entering the race if Inslee did not run, including

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 ...

Bob Ferguson; no other major Democratic candidates entered the race. The election was clear and decisive, with incumbent Jay Inslee winning re-election over Loren Culp by over 13 points. This marked the largest margin of victory in a Washington gubernatorial race since Gary Locke won reelection in 2000. Inslee's landslide victory was fueled by getting over 74% of the vote in King County, which was the highest a Democrat got there in state history. King County, home to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, has about a third of the state's voters. In addition, this was the first time since

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

that a Democrat won a county in

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanf ...

with Inslee winning Whitman County. Culp still ran ahead of the top-ticket presidential candidate,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, by about 4 points. Republican Loren Culp placed second in the top-two primary and competed against Inslee in the general election on November 3. Inslee easily won re-election to a third term and defeated Culp in the election by a 13.44% margin. Nonetheless, Culp refused to concede and filed a lawsuit against Republican

Washington Secretary of State The secretary of state of Washington is an independently elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Washington. Fifteen individuals have held the office of Secretary of State since statehood. The ...

Kim Wyman Kimberley Marie Wyman (born July 15, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 15th Secretary of State of Washington from 2013 to 2021. Wyman resigned as Secretary of State on November 19, 2021, to work on election security at the Cyberse ...

five weeks after the election. He did not give a

concession speech Concession may refer to: General * Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to operat ...

, while making claims of irregularities which Wyman characterized as "unsubstantiated". Culp's actions drew criticism and were compared to

's refusal to concede the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Background

Washington has not had 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 ...

governor since

John Spellman John Dennis Spellman (December 29, 1926 – January 16, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 18th governor of Washington from 1981 to 1985 and as the first King County Executive from 1969 to 1981. Spellman was elected governor in ...

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 L. Wollman 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 M. Matheson left office nine days prior to Spellman in 1985). Incumbent Governor

, who previously served in the

U.S. House 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 ...

, was first elected to the governorship in the 2012 election and won reelection in 2016. When Inslee announced his candidacy for president, several political figures expressed interest in running for Governor if Inslee won the Democratic primaries. These included

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Bob Ferguson, Commissioner of Public Lands

Hilary Franz Hilary S. Franz (born July 1, 1970) is an American politician and conservation attorney serving as the 16th Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands since 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party who was previously a member of the Bain ...

and King County executive

Dow Constantine James Dow Constantine (born November 15, 1961) is an American politician, lawyer, and urban planner in the state of Washington who is serving his third term as King County Executive, an office he has held since November 2009. He was in the stat ...

. They stated they would only run if Inslee was not, avoiding a

primary challenge In U.S. politics, a primary challenge is when an incumbent holding elective office is challenged by a member of their own political party in a primary election. Such events, known informally as "being primaried," are noteworthy and not frequent ...

. Several

politicians announced their own campaigns to challenge Inslee, including businessman Anton Sakharov,

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 Loren Culp, and state senator

Phil Fortunato Philip D. Fortunato (born 1953 or 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 31st district, based in southeast King County and northeast Pierce County since 2017. A member ...

. However, speculated candidates such as former U.S. Representative

Dave Reichert David George Reichert (; born August 29, 1950) is an American politician, veteran, and former sheriff who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2019. He is a Republican and is the former ele ...

, former Seattle Port Commissioner and 2016 gubernatorial nominee Bill Bryant,

Pierce County Executive The Pierce County Executive is the head of the executive branch of Pierce County, Washington. The position is subject to four-year terms (with a term limit of 2) and is a partisan office. History County voters approved the adoption of a ho ...

and former state senator

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 ...

, and state House Minority Leader J. 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.

Primary election

Washington is one of few states that holds a

, 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.

Democratic candidates

Advanced to the general election

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

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 ...

and candidate for

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- ...

Declined

King County Executive The King County Executive is the highest elected official representing the government of King County, Washington. The post was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968. Previously the powers o ...

* Bob Ferguson,

''( running for reelection)'' *

Washington 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 und ...

''( running for reelection)''

Republican candidates

Advanced to the general election

*Loren Culp, police chief of

, U.S. Army veteran

Eliminated in the primary

* Tim Eyman, activist, initiative promoter *

, state senator *Joshua Freed, former mayor of

Bothell Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48,161 resident ...

*Raul Garcia, emergency room physician *Nate Herzog, former Lake Forest Park city councilman *Anton Sakharov, program manager

Declined

* Bill Bryant, former

Seattle Port Commission The Port of Seattle is a government agency overseeing the Northwest Seaport Alliance, seaport and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, airport of Seattle, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and wa ...

er and nominee for Governor of Washington in 2016 *

(running for reelection) *

Doug Ericksen Douglas John Ericksen (January 28, 1969 – December 17, 2021) was an American politician and lobbyist who served as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 42nd district from 2011 to 2021. Ericksen was the ranking member of t ...

, state senator *

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 representative (running for reelection) *

Dori Monson Dori Monson (October 2, 1961 – December 31, 2022) was an American radio personality who hosted the ''Dori Monson Show'', an afternoon talk radio show in Seattle, Washington, on KIRO-FM. Early life and education Monson, who was of Icelandic ...

, radio personality *

, former U.S. Representative for

Washington's 8th congressional district Washington's 8th congressional district is a district for the United States House of Representatives located in western Washington State. It includes the eastern portions of King and Pierce counties, and crosses the Cascade mountains to include ...

Drew Stokesbary Andrew Ryan Stokesbary (born 1985) is an American lawyer and politician. He serves in the Washington House of Representatives, where he is currently the ranking Republican member on the House Appropriations Committee. During his second term, he w ...

, state representative (running for reelection) * J. T. Wilcox, minority leader of the Washington House of Representatives (running for reelection)

Green Party

Eliminated in the primary

*Liz Hallock, attorney

Independents

Eliminated in the primary

*Cregan Newhouse, City of Seattle Consumer Protection Division acting manager and former public television director

Withdrew

*Asa Palagi, U.S. Army officer and businessman

Polling

;with Bryant, Ferguson, Constantine, and Franz

Results

General election

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 7, 2020 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

;Jay Inslee vs. Tim Eyman ;Jay Inslee vs. Phil Fortunato ;Jay Inslee vs. Joshua Freed ;Jay Inslee vs. Raul Garcia

Results

Results by county

= Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

= *

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

(largest city:

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

) * Skagit (largest city:

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

) * Whitman (largest city: Pullman)

Results by congressional district

Inslee won 6 of 10 congressional districts with the remaining 4 going to Culp, including that elected a Democrat.

Notes

References

External links

* * * (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters) * ;Official campaign websites
Loren Culp (R) for Governor

Jay Inslee (D) 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 o ...

Jay Inslee

Gubernatorial 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 ...