2024 Washington gubernatorial election
The 2024 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2024. The top-two primary was held on August 6. Incumbent [Washington State Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party|Democratic] Governor Jay Inslee was eligible to seek a fourth term but decided that he would not do so. The Democratic candidate, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, defeated the [Washington State Washington State Republican Party|Republican Party|Republican] candidate, former Congressman Dave Reichert, who conceded defeat on November 19. Ferguson defeated Reichert with 55.51% of the vote in the general election. He also became the first Democrat to win Clallam County since 2000.
This election marked the 11th consecutive victory of the Democratic candidate for governor of Washington. 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 and Utah.
Primary election
Washington is one of two states that holds a top-two primary, meaning that all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two advance to the general election.The filing deadline was May 10, 2024. On that day, two candidates named Bob Ferguson entered the race at the behest of a conservative activist who sought people with the same surname as Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who was considered the Democratic frontrunner. The two new candidates—a retired state employee and a U.S. Army veteran—resigned from the race on May 13, the deadline to withdraw, after questions about the legality of their campaigns arose. Washington's state statutes prohibit a new candidate with the same surname as an already-filed candidate from running with the intent to confuse or mislead voters.
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
Eliminated in primary
- Ricky Anthony, retiree
- Edward Cale IV, postal worker
- Fred Grant, communications professional
- Cassondra Hanson, retail worker
- Chaytan Inman, artificial intelligence engineer
- EL'ona Kearney, forgiveness coach
- Mark Mullet, state senator
- Don Rivers, retired King County Metro worker and perennial candidate
Withdrawn
- Bob Arthur Ferguson, former state employee
- Bob Benjamin Ferguson, veteran
- Hilary Franz, Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands ''''
Declined
- Dow Constantine, King County Executive
- Denny Heck, Lieutenant Governor of Washington and former U.S. representative from
- Jay Inslee, incumbent governor and candidate for President of the United States in 2020 ''''
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Dave Reichert, former U.S. representative for
Eliminated in primary
- Semi Bird, former P.C.O. and chair for the Benton County Republican Party and former Richland school board member
- A.L. Brown
- Jim Daniel, former Klickitat Hospital Board commissioner
- Bill Hirt, retired aircraft engineer and perennial candidate
- Jennifer Hoover, pastor
- Martin Wheeler, farmer and candidate for governor in 2020
Withdrawn
- Raul Garcia, physician and candidate for governor in 2020 ''''
Declined
- Bruce Dammeier, Pierce County Executive and former state senator '
- Jaime Herrera Beutler, former U.S. representative for '
- Loren Culp, former Republic police chief, runner-up for governor in 2020, and candidate for in 2022 '
- Drew MacEwen, state senator '
- J.T. Wilcox, state representative and former Minority Leader of the Washington House of Representatives
Third-party and independent candidates
Eliminated in primary
- Brian Bogen, businessman
- Jim Clark, computer programmer
- William Combs, U.S. Navy veteran
- Jeff Curry, school bus driver
- Frank Dare, retiree
- Michael DePaula, enterprise engineer
- Leon Lawson, used car dealer, proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory, candidate for governor in 2020, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022
- Alan Makayev, property manager
- Rosetta Marshall-Williams
- Brad Mjelde, retired businessman
- Andre Stackhouse, nonprofit executive
- Alex Tsimerman, business consultant and perennial candidate
Polling
with Bird, Ferguson, Franz, Garcia, and Mullet| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin | Semi Bird | Bob Ferguson | Hilary Franz | Raul Garcia | Mark Mullet | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | Jun 7–8, 2023 | 773 | ± 3.5% | 10% | 25% | 9% | 17% | 7% | 33% |
with Constantine, Dammeier, Ferguson, and Franz
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin | Dow Constantine | Bruce Dammeier | Bob Ferguson | Hilary Franz | Other / Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | March 7–8, 2023 | 874 | ± 3.3% | 7% | 35% | 21% | 7% | 30% |
with Inslee, generic Republican, and generic Democrat
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin | Jay Inslee | Generic Republican | Generic Democrat | Undecided |
| Crosscut/Elway | December 27–29, 2022 | 403 | ± 5% | 34% | 35% | 17% | 14% |
General election
Polling
Aggregate polls| Source of poll aggregation | Dates administered | Dates updated | Bob Ferguson | Dave Reichert | Undecided | Margin |
| 270ToWin | October 17 – November 4, 2024 | November 4, 2024 | 50.8% | 38.0% | 11.2% | Ferguson +12.8% |
Bob Ferguson vs. Semi Bird
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin | Bob Ferguson | Semi Bird | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | July 24–25, 2024 | 581 | ± 4.0% | 52% | 38% | 10% |
Results
By county
Counties that flipped from Republican to DemocraticBy congressional district
Ferguson won six of ten congressional districts, with the remaining four going to Reichert, including two that elected Democrats.| District | Ferguson | Reichert | Representative |
| 59% | 40% | Suzan DelBene | |
| 58% | 42% | Rick Larsen | |
| 46% | 54% | Marie Gluesenkamp Perez | |
| 37% | 63% | Dan Newhouse | |
| 42% | 58% | Cathy McMorris Rodgers | |
| 42% | 58% | Michael Baumgartner | |
| 56% | 44% | Derek Kilmer | |
| 56% | 44% | Emily Randall | |
| 84% | 16% | Pramila Jayapal | |
| 47% | 53% | Kim Schrier | |
| 67% | 33% | Adam Smith | |
| 55% | 45% | Marilyn Strickland |