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 candidates from a range of party affiliations. The top two finishers, incumbent Governor Jay Inslee and Port of Seattle Commissioner Bill Bryant, moved on to the November general election, which Inslee won.
Grays Harbor County voted for a Republican candidate for the first time since 1964, and Pacific County did so for the first time since 1924. As of, this was the last gubernatorial election in Washington in which the margin of victory was within single digits.

Background

Democratic governor Christine Gregoire declined to seek a third term in 2012. Democratic former U.S. Representative Jay Inslee was elected to succeed her, defeating Republican Rob McKenna, the outgoing Attorney General of Washington, by 51.5% to 48.5%.

Primary election

Democratic Party

Declared

James Robert Deal
Johnathan Dodds
Jay Inslee, incumbent governor
Patrick O'Rourke

Republican Party

Declared

Bill Bryant, former Seattle Port Commissioner
Goodspaceguy, perennial candidate
Bill Hirt

Declined

Andy Hill, state senator
Steve Litzow, state senator
Rob McKenna, former Attorney General of Washington and candidate for governor in 2012
Dave Reichert, U.S. Representative for Washington's 8th congressional district ''''

Third Party and independent candidates

Declared

David Blomstrom
Christian Joubert
Mary Martin
Steve Rubenstein

Declined

Randy Dorn, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Polling

with Inslee, Bryant, and Dorn

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jay Inslee	Bill Bryant	Randy Dorn	Undecided
Elway Poll	April 14–17, 2016	503	± 3.5%	41%	26%	7%	25%

General election

Debates

, October 19, 2016 - C-SPAN

Polling

Aggregate polls

Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Jay Inslee	Bill Bryant	Other/Undecided	Margin
Real Clear Politics	October 6 – November 2, 2016	November 2, 2016	50.7%	42.3%	7.0%	Inslee +8.4%

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jay Inslee	Bill Bryant	Undecided
SurveyMonkey	November 1–7, 2016	1,451	± 4.6%	55%	42%	3%
	November 4–6, 2016	402	± 4.9%	49%	40%	10%
SurveyMonkey	October 31 – November 6, 2016	1,292	± 4.6%	55%	42%	3%
SurveyMonkey	October 28 – November 3, 2016	944	± 4.6%	56%	41%	3%
SurveyUSA	October 31 – November 2, 2016	667	± 3.9%	50%	43%	6%
SurveyMonkey	October 27 – November 2, 2016	807	± 4.6%	56%	41%	3%
SurveyMonkey	October 26 – November 1, 2016	698	± 4.6%	55%	41%	4%
SurveyMonkey	October 25–31, 2016	745	± 4.6%	55%	42%	3%
Elway Poll	October 20–22, 2016	502	± 4.5%	51%	39%	10%
KCTS 9/YouGov	October 6–13, 2016	750	± 4.4%	51%	45%	4%
Strategies 360/KOMO News	September 29 – October 3, 2016	500	± 4.4%	50%	40%	8%
Elway Poll	August 9–13, 2016	500	± 4.5%	48%	36%	16%
Moore Information	May 16–18, 2016	500	± 4.0%	43%	36%	18%
Elway Poll	April 14–17, 2016	503	± 3.5%	48%	36%	16%
Elway Poll	December 28–30, 2015	500	± 4.5%	39%	30%	31%
Public Policy Polling	May 14–17, 2015	879	± 3.3%	46%	34%	21%

Jay Inslee vs. Andy Hill

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jay Inslee	Andy Hill	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	May 14–17, 2015	879	± 3.3%	45%	31%	24%

Jay Inslee vs. Rob McKenna

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jay Inslee	Rob McKenna	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	May 14–17, 2015	879	± 3.3%	43%	38%	19%

Jay Inslee vs. Dave Reichert

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jay Inslee	Dave Reichert	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	May 14–17, 2015	879	± 3.3%	45%	34%	22%

Jay Inslee vs. generic Republican

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jay Inslee	Generic Republican	Undecided
Elway Poll	December 28–30, 2015	500	± 4.5%	30%	25%	45%

Jay Inslee vs. generic opponent

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jay Inslee	Generic Opponent	Undecided
Moore Information	May 16–18, 2016	500	± 4.0%	38%	47%	15%
Moore Information	May 2015	500	± 4.0%	38%	44%	18%

Generic Democrat vs. generic Republican

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Generic Democrat	Generic Republican	Other	Undecided
Moore Information	May 16–18, 2016	500	± 4.0%	41%	34%	5%	20%
Moore Information	May 2015	500	± 4.0%	34%	30%	16%	20%

Results

By county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Inslee won six of ten congressional districts.

District	Inslee	Bryant	Representative
	51%	49%	Suzan DelBene
	57%	43%	Rick Larsen
	45%	55%	Jaime Herrera Beutler
	40%	60%	Dan Newhouse
	44%	56%	Cathy McMorris Rodgers
	54%	46%	Derek Kilmer
	78%	22%	Jim McDermott
	78%	22%	Pramila Jayapal
	46%	54%	Dave Reichert
	67%	33%	Adam Smith
	53%	47%	Denny Heck